The Daily Knight: UCF Recruiting, 2021 Compared to Future Classes (2024)

ORLANDO - Checking with recruits over the past few weeks, as well as several contacts around the South, UCF Football recruiting continues to grow. There will be several visitors coming to Orlando over the next few months, and much of the reason why would be hard work by the UCF coaching staff.

Since the arrival of now Head Coach Gus Malzahn, the UCF Football program changed its recruiting strategy, style and just about anything else that could possibly happen with recruiting. Most importantly, it’s aggressive.

No more just going after developmental players. For the Knights to climb the ladder of college football, a serious influx of talent will be needed. Coach Malzahn and his coaching staff know that and that’s probably why players all the way down to the class of 2025 are receiving offers.

Colin Hurley is a rare prospect. He will likely have 50 offers by the time he’s finished with high school. That being stated, he’s a microcosm of what the Knights needed to do with underclassmen recruiting, recruiting Florida overall, and not being afraid of recruiting against elite programs from the SEC.

Make no mistake, Hurley will have every major offer he desires. UCF’s coaching staff knows that and does not mind. They want to move the program forward, and to do that elite talent is a must within every recruiting class. Still, there’s a balance with how and when the talent will be brought to Orlando.

Keep Going After the Best

While the Knights start bringing in top-notch talent coveted by other leagues like the ACC and SEC, there needs to be a scholarship balance so that the Knights have room for the prospects from the transfer portal.

It’s murky waters right now with extended scholarships available for the class of 2022 only (for now it’s 2022, but it’s the NCAA making the decisions so who knows), UCF could also bring in extra high school recruits for 2022 and not just players out of the portal. It’s all about timing.

Waiting too long on a high school prospect to commit risks losing a player from the portal and vice versa. It will be interesting to see just how many high school players sign with the Knights for the class of 2022.

The Coaching Staff Continues to Impress

From communicating with recruits around the South, there’s one thing that is consistent about UCF recruiting: the coaching staff is well liked. Recruits feel comfortable with the UCF coaches. As simple as that might be, it’s a huge aspect of recruiting. High School coaches also bring that up how much prospects like the UCF staff. That’s vital.

It’s also why the UCF recruiting trajectory will climb steadily. Will UCF suddenly pass Alabama in the recruiting rankings? Of course not. It’s a long road. It’s just good to know that UCF is on the proper path.

When Does UCF Reach the Recruiting Big-time?

That’s a question that will evolve over time, but the early guess would be about three or four years from now. There will be success stories along the way; landing a big-time player from Alabama would be one example. Securing several Florida prospects that were also offered by Miami, Florida and Florida State.

Those are the types of situations that can happen now, but they must happen with more frequency for the Knights to reach their long-term recruiting goals.

Here’s today’s podcast for The Daily Knight with more insights about UCF recruiting:

For UCF insights, college football news, and recruiting information go to: The Daily Knight podcast. It will be found on iTunes and Spotify. For more UCF and recruiting information, go to Twitter: @fbscout_florida and @UCF_FanNation, as well as my YouTube Channel and Instagram page. Like and Subscribe!

Recent Articles From Inside The Knights

Recruiting Comparison Between East Carolina and UCF, How They Built Their Programs

A Special Teams "Disaster" for UCF Football

Knights Lead Throughout, but Fall to Navy 34-30

Gameday Central: UCF at Navy

Game Prediction: UCF at Navy

Scouting Prospects from Tampa Catholic and Tampa Berkeley Prep

Player Picks to Click: UCF at Navy

The Daily Knight: The Best Option Quarterbacks and Why the Triple-Option Attack Still Works

UCF Special Teams, Going Unnoticed Can be Good

Predicting the Cincinnati at Notre Dame Outcome, with Trends and Matchups to Watch

The Daily Knight: UCF Offensive Play Calling and Key Matchups

SEC Game Predictions: Arkansas at Georgia and Ole Miss at Alabama

The State of Florida Recruiting Report

Public Perception of UCF Football: Winning Matters Before the Knights Join the Big XII

The Daily Knight: UCF's Defense Must Improve by Finalizing Plays

A Closer Statistical Examination of Navy's Defense

The Navy Offense, A Statistical Perspective and History Lesson

The Daily Knight: Why UCF Should Dismantle Navy

Videos and Press Conference Notes From Coach Malzahn, O'Keefe, and Armstrong

UCF QB Commitment Thomas Castellanos Shows Continued Improvement

With Mikey Keene Leading the Charge, it's Time to Prepare for Navy

Football and Community Come Together in Lake City

Mikey Keene's Former High School Head Coach Knows What UCF Football Fans Should Expect

Can UCF Compete with the SEC for Football Recruits?

The Daily Knight: UCF Recruiting, 2021 Compared to Future Classes (2024)

FAQs

How good are the UCF Knights? ›

In AAC conference play, UCF has the conference all-time series lead in football (8-2), men's basketball (14-7), baseball (25-11), softball (21-10), women's tennis (8-5), and volleyball (20-0). USF leads the conference all-time series lead in men's tennis (8-7), women's basketball (13-9), and men's soccer (8-5).

Why did UCF change from Golden Knights to Knights? ›

2007. After an anemic 2006 which saw the Golden Knights go a mere 4–8, the team rebranded in 2007 in preparation for its move to its new on-campus venue, Bright House Networks Stadium (later known as Spectrum Stadium and now as FBC Mortgage Stadium). They dropped the "Golden" from their name, becoming the "UCF Knights" ...

What is the UCF Knight called? ›

Knightro. Knightro debuted at the first Spirit Splash in 1994 as a knight in golden armor without a name. Over the next year, the golden mascot made appearances at events, sporting events and other student gatherings before being officially named Knightro.

What is Knight Walk UCF? ›

The Knight Walk Legacy Brick Program provides UCF Knight fans the opportunity to become a permanent and visible part of FBC Mortgage Stadium.

Is UCF a top tier school? ›

University of Central Florida is ranked #124 out of 439 National Universities. Schools are ranked according to their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence.

Does UCF care about class rank? ›

When accurately reported, class rank will be a consideration, however, unranked students will not be disadvantaged in the admission review process.

What was UCF originally called? ›

Fifty years ago, Central Florida changed forever when UCF — then known as Florida Technological University — opened for classes on October 7, 1968.

Is UCF knighting mandatory? ›

The Knighting, mandatory for all first year students, is the official university welcome for new students (freshmen and transfers alike).

What is UCF rival school? ›

The South Florida–UCF football rivalry, better known as the War on I-4, is an American college football rivalry between the South Florida Bulls football team of the University of South Florida and UCF Knights football team of the University of Central Florida.

What is UCF Knight for a day? ›

Knight for a Day Open House events give you more information about UCF's campus, programs, housing, student life and more. The Campus Visit Experience is a tour of the campus — it's included in the Open House event, but may be condensed due to time constraints.

What is the UCF motto? ›

University of Central Florida. Former names. Florida Technological University (1966–1978) Motto. "Reach for the Stars"

What celebrity donated a horse to UCF? ›

The horses

The university has had an array of horses used as Pegasus during its history. Since the creation of the Pegasus Mascot Program in 2001, all horses used must be white. Horses have been donated by Burt Reynolds, UCF Board of Trustees member Rick Walsh and Medieval Times.

What is the Knightmare at UCF? ›

The Knightmare Society (formerly known as the Student Knights Club) was founded in 2017 to assist in fund-raising efforts to support UCF Athletic's expanding program. The Knightmare is an organization built and run by UCF Students, and is supported by UCF Athletics.

Why does UCF not have a men's track team? ›

Since the football program started in 1979, UCF has never fielded a men's track and field team. Title IX restrictions requiring an equal number of scholarship opportunities for men and women and money restrictions are the biggest factors why the school has not added one yet.

What makes UCF special? ›

UCF is an academic, partnership and research leader in numerous fields, such as optics and lasers, modeling and simulation, engineering and computer science, business, public administration, education, hospitality management, healthcare and video game design.

Is UCF good academically? ›

UCF, which is renowned for its dedication to academic quality, provides a wide range of graduate and undergraduate programmes. The university's success in fields like computer science, engineering, and hospitality management is indicative of its strong focus on innovation and research.

Is Knights Circle UCF affiliated? ›

UCF Affiliated Housing – Knights Circle and The Pointe at Central. UCF is affiliated with two off-campus apartment complexes, Knights Circle and The Pointe at Central.

What is UCF Peer Knights? ›

Welcome to PeerKnights Coaching

PeerKnights Coaches are undergraduate and graduate students who will help you navigate UCF. They'll share their experiences and answer your questions. PeerKnights Coaches can help you in many ways: Connect you with campus resources.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Domingo Moore

Last Updated:

Views: 5491

Rating: 4.2 / 5 (53 voted)

Reviews: 84% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Domingo Moore

Birthday: 1997-05-20

Address: 6485 Kohler Route, Antonioton, VT 77375-0299

Phone: +3213869077934

Job: Sales Analyst

Hobby: Kayaking, Roller skating, Cabaret, Rugby, Homebrewing, Creative writing, amateur radio

Introduction: My name is Domingo Moore, I am a attractive, gorgeous, funny, jolly, spotless, nice, fantastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.