What's Next for UCF Football Recruiting?

The Knights are in a position to land top prospects that can make an impact in Orlando.

Brian Smith | Apr 25, 2022

ORLANDO - UCF Football is now in a position to make a move with its program via recruiting. All of the six commitments that the Knights landed thus far have SEC offers, and all of the players also possess specific skills that fit what UCF wants to do. Here are five areas that would further improve UCF’s recruiting success.

Keep Up the Pace

Six commitments, four of which happened in less than a week, which has UCF Football recruiting rolling right along. No need to just let off the gas either. It’s important for UCF’s entire coaching staff to get after it on the recruiting trail regardless of where the recruits are located. On that front, a key point to make next.

UCF’s Recruiting Footprint Must Include Texas

With the Big XII looming on the horizon, the Knights must find a way to consistently map out a plan in Texas. It’s one of the most talented high school football states in the country, and the Knights will be playing there anyway. So, what is the plan?

Texas is massive. The four areas most commonly discussed by coaches would be the Dallas Metroplex (all of Dallas, Arlington, Fort Worth, etc.), Houston, East Texas (no area better in the country per capita for top talent), and the greater Central Texas area that runs from just north of Austin to San Antonio. That does not even count El Paso and West Texas.

There are connections to be made with seven-on-seven coaches, high school coaches and trainers. From there, the Knights should be able to sign at least two prospects a year. Which region(s) those players come from in the Lone Star State will work itself out most likely. It’s just important that all of the UCF coaches study this state because that one extra recruit could be the difference in making the College Football Playoffs.

Recruit South Florida

The number of elite players in Palm Beach, Broward and Dade is something to consistently monitor. It’s not like the Knights do not already know this, but now with a year of building the brand that UCF Head Coach Gus Malzahn desires, it should be easier to present the plan to prospects and those around them to help secure their signatures on National Signing Day.

This is not an easy task with Miami hiring Mario Cristobal at Miami, but there’s plenty of talent to go around. After seeing hyper-athletic running back Jamari Ford of Miami (Fla.) Northwestern this past weekend during the DR Sportz “The Crown” National Championship in Tampa, he’s a great example of a prospect UCF should go after. He’s absolutely lightning in a bottle with his jump cuts, much like UCF’s own Johnny Richardson. He’s also built like a tank, much like Richardson. Miami does not appear to be serious about offering him, although that could change.

Jamari Ford Running Back Miami Northwestern - 4th Quarter Mentality 7v7 - 2023 — RB/Slot receiver Jamari Fordundefinedembarrassed several defenders with jump cuts and juke moves during the DR Sportz tournament this past weekend in Tampa / Brian Smith, Inside The Knights

At the very least, Ford is the microcosm of the type of player in the greater Miami area that is often overlooked. UCF should always be able to find gems in Fort Lauderdale and Miami like Ford. They’ve done their own homework in the past, and there’s no reason to believe that will change with this UCF coaching staff. Ford can play for any college football program, and so can many other players from his area that are not at the top of the board for Miami, Alabama, FSU, etc.

Attract “That Dude” Even If He’s Under the Radar

When building a program, finding that elite stud that everyone wants is sometimes hard. Still, elite players go under the radar and end up being really productive at name brand programs. Hardly anyone wanted Tyrann “The Honeybadger” Mathieu when LSU took his commitment. While truly a rare player, that’s the type of situation where UCF still needs to hold true to its roots and recruit prospects with serious upside.

Look at Gabriel Davis for the Buffalo Bills as a prime example. He’s a dude that UCF found and cultivated his talents. It’s certainly worked at the following position quite well, too.

Take Advantage of Secondary Success

The talent that’s in the UCF secondary is quite high, but much of it went under the radar like with Brandon Adams. He played mostly offense in high school so few teams had a clue that he could be a 6’3” cornerback. UCF found a gem with Adams and they need more defensive backs like that.

Considering how UCF’s secondary performed during the back half of 2021, there’s good reason to believe that there’s going to be a lot more talented defensive backs taking a hard look at the Knights. That’s actually already true with this past recruiting class – the Henderson twins and Nakai Martinez – as defensive back recruiting was excellent for UCF. With the 2022 season looking like one that the defensive backs could have a huge year, UCF recruiting needs to find gems like Adams as well as pluck another elite defensive back from the hands of an Alabama or Georgia, etc. They’ve already done that multiple times with talented players, and having back-to-back defensive back recruiting hauls with top talent will help change the trajectory of the UCF program overall.

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