How the NFL Draft Impacts the UCF Football Program in Several Ways
College football continually evolves. So does college football recruiting. While a top-notch education, great weather and a strong recent tradition power UCF football, imagine the impact if the Knights produced multiple NFL first round draft picks from the same draft class.
In 2021, Alabama produced an incredible six first round selections, while Clemson, Virginia Tech, Northwestern, Penn State and Miami accounted for two each. Considering Alabama is a recruiting juggernaut to begin with, there’s little question that the Crimson Tide utilizes its NFL success to help lure more talent to Tuscaloosa, Ala. Further, one can bet that each of those six coaching staffs will sell that fact to high school and junior college prospects across the country. The NFL sells. UCF is also trending in the right direction.
Now that UCF hired Gus Malzahn to be its head football coach, the Knights will be able to combine Coach Malzahn’s charisma and their own NFL Draft success. Five Knights went in the NFL Draft: safety Richie Grant (40th selection, 2nd round), cornerback Aaron Robinson (71st selection, 3rd round), wide receiver Jacob Harris (141st selection, 4th round), cornerback Tay Gowan (223rd selection, 6th round), and wide receiver Tre Nixon (242nd selection, 7th round).
With those five draft picks, UCF’s total number of picks ranked ahead of programs such as Florida State, Miami, South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Texas A&M and Tennessee just to name a few. Considering the resources of those programs, it’s quite an accomplishment for UCF football, and it’s also quite intriguing for future recruiting fortunes.
Immediate Impact
With Coach Malzahn, as well as an assistant coaching staff eager to recruit for UCF, the advantage of the five NFL Draft picks comes in a multitude of ways. For one, it’s simply the young eyeballs seeing UCF players having their names called. That’s a unique moment. Considering it happened five times for UCF, that’s powerful. The NFL Draft will help for this summer.
For UCF football, summer camps, unofficial visits, and official visits will take place during the month of June. Each time a young man visits the Bounce House or walks around campus with a UCF coaching staff member, those NFL totals will surely be brought up. It’s exposure, and even though the last coaching staff helped those young men reach their NFL dreams, it still happened at UCF. Finally, the selling point.
UCF has long since struggled to land truly elite prep prospects. Make no mistake, a lack of NFL Draft picks, as compared to say LSU or Ohio State, worked against the Knights. Now the current UCF coaching staff can show that UCF players are drafted by the NFL, and provide their vision as to why a specific recruit will utilize UCF as a primary place to hone his craft and reach the NFL.
Long-Term Effects
This area is a bit more tricky. Much depends on seasons one and two of the Gus Malzahn era. If the Knights continue their winning ways, more draft picks will likely follow. Further, those draft picks will perpetuate how the UCF coaching staff can recruit. It’s a cycle, and one that UCF stands to benefit from. There is one true missing piece.
That one bona fide stud that goes in the NFL’s first round, under the direction of the current coaching staff, would solidify UCF’s opportunities to recruit at a higher level. It’s common for recruits to go to programs with a high number of early round selections, especially first round selections.
Perhaps UCF signal caller Dillon Gabriel will be that player, or perhaps it’s a player that nobody, not even UCF diehards, are currently discussing as that possible first round pick. That’s why college football can be amazing. It’s just incredible how unpredictable the sport and its top players can be.
Working the NFL Draft to UCF’s Advantage
Here’s something to consider. Auburn has really done a great job of producing NFL players. Cam Newton played under Coach Malzahn during the 2010 national title run, and he went No. 1 overall to the Carolina Panthers in 2011. Then there are first round picks from Auburn like offensive tackle Greg Robinson and defensive end Dee Ford during the 2014 NFL Draft, and the 2020 NFL Draft producing Auburn first picks in cornerback Noah Igbinoghene and defensive tackle Derrick Brown.
There are more ways to utilize the NFL Draft than many might believe. How the UCF football office and especially the behind-the-scenes recruiting administrators operate will be intriguing. There’s so much for them to consider when presenting the NFL as a real destination after playing for the Knights. The end result, UCF football will benefit from the NFL Draft in several ways.
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