Down the Home Stretch, Thoughts on UCF Recruiting

An overview of UCF Football recruiting as National Signing Day nears.

Author:
Brian Smith
Publish date:
Dec 13, 2021 9:58 AM EST

UCF Football has done well with recruiting during Head Coach Gus Malzahn’s first year at the helm. The Knights are securing top in-state targets and finding some talented prospects in Georgia and Texas as well. Now comes the home stretch.

Will the Knights add to their 15-man high school commitments? That’s where this report begins.

Where will Xavier Townsend Sign?

With his decommitment from Iowa State, Townsend is a prime target for many college football programs, UCF included. He has visited UCF unofficially this season. He's a 5'10", 175-pound running back and slot receiver from Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep.

Townsend officially visited UCF (June 25), as well as Iowa State (June 4), Louisville (June 11) and Vanderbilt (June 18). He is the teammate of UCF linebacker commitment TJ Bullard.

There has yet to be anything confirmed about where Townsend will sign. Further, after just getting off the phone with Berkeley Prep Head Coach Dominick Ciao, he mentioned that the school is in the midst of end of semester exams and will not have a National Signing Day ceremony until February when all the Berkeley Prep athletes signing scholarships to play college sports will be at the same function together.

A text message to Townsend has not yet been replied to. If any information about his recruitment status changes, it will be published here and on Twitter: @UCF_FanNation

Castellanos Spurning SEC/ACC Programs, Plans to Sign with UCF

One of the more unique recruitments in Dixie would be that of UCF commitment Thomas Castellanos. The quarterback from Waycross (Ga.) Ware County is a super athlete and can play many positions on the football field. That’s why he received offers from programs like Florida State and Georgia Tech, as well as several other programs that would take him if he decided to play cornerback, running back or another skill position.

Georgia is one of the schools that was highly interested in the talents of Castellanos, just as an example.

Knights will Lean Heavily on Transfers

UCF has 15 high school football players committed as of Monday morning, Dec. 13. That number could change with Townsend, or another prep prospect (one never truly knows until they all sign), and then there are the players at the junior college level, as well as within the transfer portal.

Could the Knights bring in a junior college player? Absolutely. That’s just the start of the possible transfers, however.

The Knights went heavy on the Transfer Portal targets for 2021, and that’s going to be the case again in 2022. If there was ever a more fluid recruiting situation, it’s not been recently. The Transfer Portal is a seemingly never ending wild ride of players coming and going, and the Knights could push towards 10 or more players from the transfer market yet again.

Here’s one of the prime targets for UCF, an offensive lineman that originally played at prep powerhouse Bishop Gormon in Las Vegas, Nev., Cade Briggs.

Briggs is one of several hot commodities along the offensive line in the Transfer Portal. More names could be involved with the Knights prior to spring practice as well.

Based on UCF not having a verbal commitment at defensive tackle, that’s definitely a position to watch with the Transfer Portal. In order of need, here’s how Inside The Knights ranks the top five positions for the Knights to sign players out of the Transfer Portal:

Defensive Tackle - The Knights often struggled with stopping the run when Kalia Davis and/or Ricky Barber were not in the lineup. Davis will move on to the NFL barring something unforeseen. The Knights need to at least bring in two defensive tackles (high school, junior college or Transfer Portal) for 2022. Three would be preferred.
Offensive Tackle - There’s a veteran group of offensive linemen that will likely all be gone by the end of 2023. Further, offensive tackle is a premium position. Depth is always something to look for.
Cornerback - This is about a show stopper. It’s the same situation with every school and the Knights are no exception. While the talent and depth at cornerback is trending upwards, if there’s a possible NFL talent at cornerback for the taking, use the scholarship. If not, ride with the younger players and the top recruits like Nikai Martinez and Ja’Cari Henderson that will sign with UCF on Wednesday.
Tight End - The Knights need at least two tight ends in this recruiting class, preferably one being an older and more physically advanced blocker to complement high school commitment Grant Stevens, a very good receiving tight end that’s roughly 230-pounds.
Wide Receiver - With Brandon Johnson taking his 11 touchdown receptions with him and heading to the NFL Combine, the Knights need a bigger wide receiver to play the boundary wide receiver position.

Big Sam Back for More?

While not technically a recruit, Inside The Knights is hearing that Sam Jackson, the starting right tackle for UCF, will return to play for the Knights in 2022. That’s as big an addition to the recruiting class as there could be. Very good football player and even better person.

Projection

UCF will add at least one high school player on Wednesday to bring that total to 16, and then there’s the question of how the players that will transfer to the Knights will be announced. That’s more fluid.

To begin the 2022 Transfer Portal situation, it’s anyone’s guess if there will be announced names on Wednesday. Further, the Transfer Portal prospects can announce at any point during the calendar year. Just keep that in mind.

Signing Day Plans

Inside The Knights will be at Lakeland High School to cover its Signing Day ceremonies for a number of prospects that begins at 2:30 EST, including UCF commitments Keahnist Thompson, a defensive end, and Miguel Maldonado, an offensive tackle.

For UCF coverage and recruiting information go to: The Daily Knight podcast. For more college football, UCF and recruiting information, go to Twitter: @fbscout_florida and @UCF_FanNation, as well as my YouTube Channel and Instagram page. Like and Subscribe!