UCF has 15 high school commitments, 13 of whom are expected to sign. There are also at least two more targets to watch. Could there be other surprises?
Here's a look at the timeline of signings, however I should add these times may not have any bearing on the "official" signing and acceptance announcement by UCF.
Often times commits will sign the real thing early in the morning (which is done electronically these days, no more need for a fax), so the school ceremony is more for show, an event to celebrate the achievement, etc.
Gus Malzahn's press conference is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., so one would think they'd all be wrapped up by then.
So while some of these times are later, I wouldn't be surprised if a few of these NLIs actually come in much earlier.
LB T.J. Bullard (Tampa Berkeley Prep) - Early in the morning
APB Xavier Townsend (Tampa Berkeley Prep) - Early in the morning
Berkeley Prep is already out for holiday break, so no school means no ceremony. T.J. Bullard tells me he is signing from home tomorrow, it should be pretty early, and he is expecting Xavier Townsend to do the same. The school will have a late ceremony on Feb. 2.
Townsend decommitted from Iowa State a couple days ago and is expected to sign with UCF.
DL Jamaal Johnson (Chaminade Madonna) - Early in the morning
Johnson said his school isn't having a ceremony. He said he'll be signing early in the morning.
K Colton Boomer (Lake Mary) - 7:00 a.m.
Boomer is signing as a PWO, but will have an excellent opportunity to earn a scholarship in time. Schools usually like to save using initial counters on specialists and put them on scholarship later so they don't count against the 25.
RB Jordan McDonald (Alpharetta, Ga./Milton) - 7:15 a.m.
McDonald was arguably UCF's top RB target this entire year (and that includes all the attention the previous Heupel staff gave him in January before leaving). With the season he had, which obviously included a deep run in the playoffs, I'm astounded he didn't get more attention that he did. He looks ready to be an immediate contributor and IMO will be the No. 1 back when UCF enters Big 12 play.
WR Quan Lee (Gainesville Buchholz) - 7:45 a.m.
A one-time commitment to Miami, Quan is a social media extraordinaire and IMO will become one of the most beloved (and controversial?) players.
DB Demari Henderson (Seminole) - 8:00 a.m.
DB Ja'Cari Henderson (Seminole) - 8:00 a.m.
Seminole's main ceremony is at 12 noon, but I was just informed the twins will be signing earlier. It sounded like they just wanted to get it out of the way because their family couldn't be there at noon. Could be the best local players to ever sign with UCF, joining a list that includes players such as Mike Sims-Walker (Edgewater), Steven Moffett (Winter Park) and Brandon Marshall (Lake Howell).
OL Caden Kitler (Pope John Paul II HS near Dallas) - 8:15 a.m.
Caden took a free visit to SMU this past weekend, but has always been locked in. UCF likes him as a center.
TE Grant Stevens (Nease) - 11:15 a.m.
Baby Gronk? UCF desperately needs more out of the tight end position and Stevens can play.
QB Thomas Castellanos (Waycross, Ga./Ware County) - 11:30 a.m.
The Future. The second player to commit to Gus who has been key to building the class. Was already a solid pickup at the time of his pledge (March), but looked amazing as a senior. Perfect for Gus' system. Despite living 3.5 hours away and playing in his own games on Friday nights, he attended more UCF home games than many of you NARFs.
LB Kam Moore (Seminole) - 12 noon
Like the twins, widely considered one of the best players in the area. Brandon Moore's little bro.
DL Khurtiss Perry (Montgomery, Ala./Pike Road) - 1 p.m.
The big one. Will UCF shock the world? Could it be the recruiting upset of the century, stealing a player coveted by Nick Saban? Perry's finalists are UCF, Alabama, Auburn and Clemson. I can tell you this - UCF definitely thinks they have a shot. Will it happen? We'll see. Alabama is very difficult to turn down.
DB Nikai Martinez (Apopka) - 1:45 p.m.
Apopka will play for the 8A state championship this Saturday vs. Venice. Committed to UCF over South Carolina and Notre Dame (among many other offers).
WR Tyler Griffin (Brooklet, Ga./Southeast Bulloch) - 2:30 p.m.
A tall WR that UCF has been lacking. And like Tommy, he loves Mexican food.
DL Keahnist Thompson (Lakeland) - 2:30 p.m.
Edit: UCF has apparently just dropped Maldonado.
***
OL Leyton Nelson (Boone) - As the Orlando Sentinel reported Monday night, Nelson got cold feet and will not sign early. It appears he could be waiting on a potential Florida offer.
OL Miguel Maldonado (Lakeland) - Maldonado has been quiet, and I did notice Lakeland's signing day announcement did not list him. The Orlando Sentinel just confirmed he is not signing tomorrow. I just checked with a source and confirmed he has been processed.
***
Surprises?
Beyond waiting for decisions from
Xavier Townsend and
Khurtiss Perry, I'm not aware of any surprise names that could sign tomorrow. We've been surprised in the past, so we'll see. Locally, UCF had continued to recruit S
JaCorey Thomas (Georgia) and
Markeith Williams (Miami) but there's no indication those players aren't solid with their pledges.
***
Transfers to Watch...
I think any potential transfer announcements won't be made until after early signing day, though some could happen later in the week. We'll see if that holds. I think some guys want to get it out of the way, but there is really no set deadline for transfers as there is nothing binding them to any school until they enroll. UCF's first day of classes is Jan. 10.
QB Bo Nix (Auburn) - Gus' former Auburn QB that just hit the portal. News of Nix's departure surfaced just as Michael Penix Jr. arrived for his UCF official visit. Perhaps this was the reason UCF declined to put the squeeze on Penix, which led to his decision to commit to Washington today. I'm not saying done deal, but I think Gus/UCF feels they have a great shot to land Nix. While Penix is a quality player, his prior injury issues are a major, major concern and any school would be right to hold off if there was a chance to land a first-tier player like Nix.
OL Tylan Grable (Jacksonville State) - Visited a couple weekends ago. Still expecting UCF.
OL Paul Tchio (Clemson) - Expected to come down to UCF and Georgia Tech. I never could get in contact with him, but landing a player like Nix could have some major sway. While GT is a great academic institution, their football trajectory is trending downward.
OL Cade Briggs (New Mexico) - If Leyton Nelson isn't ready to sign, I could see UCF pushing harder for his pledge. He visited ECU this past weekend. He's recently picked up Syracuse and Washington State offers, but the next the opportunity for visits isn't until Jan. 14. He may have to decide between UCF/ECU unless he's willing to commit to a school without visiting.
LB K.D. McDaniel (Kentucky) - Just visited. I'm expecting UCF.
DB Ladarius Tennison (Auburn) - He's gone radio silent since his visit, but he's deciding between UCF, Ole Miss and Missouri.
There could be additional names to surface. UCF has been looking for an immediate contributor at WR and likely would always take DL depth.
