2023 Florida Prospect UCF Should Recruit: Tyree Patterson

The UCF Football program was built on in-state prospects with a high upside. The class of 2023 should still use that model.

Brian Smith | Feb 2, 2022

ORLANDO - Not every recruit needs to be a four or five star. Take a look at former UCF wide receiver Gabe Davis, who’s now an incredible player for the Buffalo Bills. He was a lowly ranked three star when he came out of Sanford (Fla.) Seminole.

He is proof that with proper planning, teams can develop top-notch talent from within their own program. Historically speaking, UCF is full of players like Davis, and so is the current roster.

Look at running back Johnny Richardson. He’s one of the most productive players in college football. Coming out of Lake Wales (Fla.) High School he did not receive the full credit he should have been. UCF knew better and went after this young man. After a sophomore season in which he racked up 733 yards, a 7.1 average, and three touchdowns on the ground, there are probably a lot of college programs that wish they offered Richardson.

Sometimes it’s not the talent, but the location and/or a prospect coming on strong during the latter portion of his high school career. With the following list of players, UCF would do well to be mindful that not all the recruits need to be obvious studs that the entire world knows about. To that end, that’s exactly how the UCF Football coaching staff went about the class of 2022, mixing in high upside talent like linebacker Kameron Moore with some national recruits. It was an excellent job of recruiting by the Knights.

For 2023, there are several in-state recruits that UCF should keep an eye on and recruit because they could also produce for the UCF Football program.

Keep in mind, as 2023 recruiting profiles begin to be published at Inside The Knights, several of these young men have likely already heard from the Knights. For today’s article, a key prospect lives just north of Orlando.

Tyree Patterson

Size: 6’3”, 180-pounds

Position: Wide Receiver

School: Eustis (Fla.) High School

Offers

Massachusetts and North Texas.

Why Recruit Patterson?

That offer list does not look legit, does it? Why would a soon to be Power Five school recruit this young man? The eyes do not lie.

Watching him on film is really fun. Seeing Patterson live, better yet. He makes smaller defensive backs completely miss in the open field. He’s smooth out of his initial stance and has the bounce off the ground to make 50-50 ball catches. His overall upside is the bottom line on why UCF and numerous other programs should look into recruiting Patterson.

Despite an 1,100 yard junior season, playing for Eustis has left Patterson with very few schools that have come through to check him out. It’s roughly an hour north of Orlando, in the sticks, and it’s not a traditional Florida power. Those facts have not stopped him from being a very talented performer on the gridiron.

How many offers would Patterson have if he played at Lakeland or Orlando (Jones)?@Ree1411 https://t.co/5UHWfVA0ql
— Brian Smith (@fbscout_florida) February 2, 2022

Watching Patterson play shows a smooth and effortless wide receiver. The footage also displays a player that’s capable of making catches away from his body, the ability to quickly transition into a threat with the football in his hands after the catch, and the speed to run away from defenders.

To say that Patterson is the type of player that UCF and many other non-Power Five programs built their programs with would be accurate. It’s also how programs like Miami and Florida State truly got started in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Look for several more of these recruiting profiles over the next few months as 2023 recruiting ramps up for UCF.

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