Big XII Recruiting Battles: Who's UCF's Main Competition?
Who will be the most likely programs that UCF needs to win against in recruiting to eventually win the Big XII title? With Texas and Oklahoma leaving the league, it's not easy to just point to one or two programs.
Big XII recruiting is going to be unique moving forward, and not just because of the Sooners and Longhorns leaving. That's why it's an interesting topic.
There’s been plenty of upheaval in the world of college football since last December when all the coaching changes began to take place, creating more uncertainty than at any time in recent memory. Of course the Big XII is adding UCF, Cincinnati, BYU, and Houston as well.
For the UCF Knights, they need to keep hitting the Transfer Portal. It’s been the best recruiting tool since Gus Malzahn made his way to Orlando to be the Head Coach of the Knights. It's working, so keep the foot on the accelerator. There's still more that needs to be done with UCF’s recruiting.
UCF Head Coach Gus Malzahn has been active with recruiting since coming to Orlando.
The Knights need an uptick with high school recruits. As noted in the podcast at the bottom of the article, to consistently win big at the Power Five level and in the Big XII specifically, UCF will need a few more top-notch high school prospects to sign during each recruiting class as compared to what has come to UCF in the last few seasons.
The Knights are on the right track, and now it's going to be interesting to see how recruits react after UCF is officially playing Big XII games. That will almost certainly be a major factor with recruits once they come to Orlando and see Big XII games live in what will become FBC Mortgage Stadium starting this next season.
Now, onto some of the teams that appear to be the long-term recruiting competition for UCF in the Big XII.
**Baylor is the odds-on favorite right now, long-term. Give credit to Head Coach Dave Aranda and his Baylor coaching staff. They've done a great job recruiting and coaching since being in Waco for a couple of years. That staff has also done a great job with the Transfer Portal, including a former LSU player.
Winning the Big XII in year two of his tenure, Dave Aranda and the Bears are a program on the rise.
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They have a "special" player on their campus right now that came by way of Baton Rouge, and he's the model of UCF needs to land consistently too. He's discussed at length in the podcast.
**Watch out for Texas Tech. 20 commitments for the class of 2023 already. If this new coaching staff can be consistent with recruiting from one season to the next, that changes how Texas Tech will perform on the gridiron. It’s that simple. Can the Red Raiders keep it up? That’s the big question.
**Cincinnati is definitely a program that will make noise in the Big XII, and the Bearcats have done a good job of recruiting not only their home state of Ohio but in Georgia, Florida, and other areas of the country to keep the wins coming. The Bearcats will be a formidable recruiting foe, and team to play on the field, for as long as Head Coach Luke Fickell calls Cincinnati home.
Luke Fickell has completely turned the Cincinnati program around, and now he takes the Bearcats into the Big XII.
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**Iowa State has done a tremendous job of raiding Florida and also finding gems in other states, too. If they can find another really good player at quarterback like Brock Purdy, and/or a big-time defensive player to lead the charge, watch out.
Iowa State could be a team at or near the top of the recruiting rankings in the Big XII, as well as the conference standings once those recruits reach campus. Iowa State’s coaching staff does a good job of finding and developing talent that’s willing to live in Ames, Iowa for four or five years. That’s not always easy.
**Houston, the Cougars are a sleeping giant in the recruiting world, especially with the Transfer Portal probably bringing back players to the Houston area after originally going off for college. There are two other prime points about the Cougars.
Now that Houston is finally in the Big XII, in conjunction with being in one of the best talent-producing cities in America, the Cougars could be a team that’s hard to beat along the recruiting trail for high school recruits.
Not many elite Houston-area high school prospects generally go there, but what about after the Cougars are actually playing Big XII games? Head Coach Dana Holgorsen and his staff have a chance to change the narrative with Houston Football.
**Oklahoma State and TCU are both programs that are difficult to read because they do not traditionally recruit at an elite level, but with the Transfer Portal they are both worth keeping an eye on. Oklahoma State, in particular, does a great job with a lot of three-star recruits, too.
**If a person wants the ultimate wildcard with Big XII recruiting, that could be BYU. Players that take Mormon missions and come back makes grading their recruiting quite difficult by itself.
Then there are the junior college transfers, and it's a program that traditionally recruits across the country to find high school talent. That would be the Cougars. It's hard to project BYU's recruiting at almost any point, let alone with all that is going on in college football right now.
For now, watch out for Baylor. That team is going to be very good for a long time. There are also reasons to keep a close eye on other teams like Iowa State, Texas Tech, Houston, TCU and Cincinnati to just name a few.
There are also a few more specific players and situations mentioned in the podcast itself as well. Please feel free to post your comments after listening.
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