Knights Hosting JUCO Cornerback
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With the departure of Davonte Brown to the Transfer Portal, the need to add more cornerback talent became obvious for the UCF Knights.
They already hold a commitment from prep talent Braeden Marshall from nearby Lake Mary (Fla.) High School, as well as Jason Duclona from Estero (Fla.) High School. That's a tremendous start to the cornerback haul for the Knights.
Still, adding an experienced player could potentially help the UCF roster as well as those two young men.
It’s rare for there to be many truly big-time college cornerbacks hitting the Transfer Portal. There’s also another way for UCF head coach Gus Malzahn and his coaching staff to improve the roster.
The junior college ranks.
The Knights are hosting Ja’Maric Morris, a 6-foot-3 and 205-pound talent from famed Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. He is taking his official visit to UCF this weekend.
OV @UCF_Football this week ⚔️
— Ja’Maric Morris (@Jamaricmorris6) December 16, 2022
Watching the highlights of Morris, a few obvious high-level skills are present. This young man’s natural size and well-rounded frame are evident. He’s physically ready to compete at the Power 5 level. That is paramount with UCF moving to the Big 12 this next July.
He’s also capable of pivoting out of his backpedal and going into a race with a receiver during a nine route, i.e. an opposing receiver racing down the field during a go route. If a cornerback cannot defend this pass, he cannot make a true impact at the Power 5 level. Morris shows the capabilities of doing just that. Check out the video below for evidence.
Semifinals film Vs coffeyville pic.twitter.com/xWeFI1cGFZ
— Ja’Maric Morris (@Jamaricmorris6) December 5, 2022
He’s also versatile. While primarily a boundary cornerback that goes against a bigger wide receiver, Morris’s film also shows him playing slot cornerback and blitzing, plus being in one-on-one coverage and excelling. Being able to move a big athlete like him around is a great way to make a defense more difficult to attack. One more point.
The film is of Morris playing at the junior college level and looks comfortable. That’s a big step up from the prep ranks. Even against quality competition, Morris plays with the same even keel mentality, play after play, that's necessary to be efficient with his technique and utilize the natural size he possesses. That means he’s confident with what he’s doing. Good sign.
Morris is a really good football player and the Knights would do well to land his services.
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