Beating Florida Adds to UCF's Recruiting Momentum

Victory over Florida continues to elevate the UCF Football program and its recruiting.

Author:
Brian Smith
Publish date:
Dec 25, 2021 10:47 AM EST

ORLANDO - The Knights winning the Gasparilla Bowl 29-17 over Florida caps off the 2021 season. It yet again showed what’s possible with proper planning and execution.

A physical, downhill mentality propelled UCF, as all the Knights combined gashed Florida’s defense with 50 carries, 288 yards, a 5.8 average, and two touchdowns.

While running the football is just a part of the game, it’s a testament to the type of program that UCF wants to be. The so-called “mighty SEC” team was bludgeoned into oblivion with body blow after body blow.

Florida's defense was hammered, plain and simple.

One specific item to note about this victory is that it provides additional credibility for UCF Head Coach Gus Malzahn along the recruiting trail. Whenever he and any member of the UCF coaching staff communicates with a recruit, this game will be a sounding off point.

Each recruit the Knights go after will certainly have videos and photos sent to their email and social media inboxes telling them all about what UCF accomplished this season, and the beat down of Florida will be a prime bullet point.

So, what’s next for UCF recruiting? Here are some key elements of recruiting to consider for the next few months.

**Look for the Knights to be very active with the Transfer Portal action. The next two to three months will see many moments where a player in the Transfer Portal suddenly announces his new school. It’s not quite like traditional high school football recruiting where there are several interviews and updates. UCF will be adding more players. It’s just a matter of when, not if. UCF already announced the transfer of offensive tackle Tylan Grable from Jacksonville State University during the first National Signing Day on Dec. 15.

**UCF will possibly also add more recruits to the high school recruiting class that already has 13 commitments. Key point here: look for the Knights to be extremely selective about the class of 2022 prospects that are able to sign on Feb. 2, 2022. The Transfer Portal will likely be the first priority.

**While UCF will bring in transfers, it’s quite likely that the Knights will also see additional transfers. How many transfers depends on the players, the positions they play, and the needs of the UCF roster.

**Also look for 2023 recruiting to receive a positive bump from the victory over Florida, as the UCF coaching staff and back office administrative staff have worked diligently to make inroads with underclassmen prospects.

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