With early entries at a 14-year low and many traditional draft-eligible prospects staying in school, there’s concern the draft’s later rounds aren’t as deep as in previous years, Denver general manager George Paton conceded at the NFL combine. The changing landscape has forced general managers to adjust their draft strategy this offseason.

“I kind of was, I’m not going to say scared about that, I kind of had thoughts that that might be coming, that those numbers might be dropping,” Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if those numbers drop even more next year. Obviously, traditionally the underclassmen have been the meat of the first two rounds of the draft, so we’ll just kind of see how that changes in the very end.”

NIL has shifted a few options back to the players. In the past, borderline draft prospects would leave and receive a small signing bonus as a late-round pick or undrafted free agent. According to Spotrac, a database for sports finances, the top seventh-round pick will receive a $118,000 bonus in this year’s draft. It’s believed that many starters in Power 5 football programs earn more than that, and the NIL numbers run significantly higher for college quarterbacks.

“I’m sure across the country, NIL has a huge impact on the decision-making process for late-round guys,” Jackson said. “I think that’s more of a quarterback-to-receiver-running back kind of thing because they have the most name, image and likeness versus defensive guys. That’s just the market that we live in.”

Brad Heinrichs, CEO of Iowa’s The Swarm Collective, said the shift of more players opting to stay in college is especially prevalent for the “mid-to-late round draft picks.”

“The NFL practice squad pay is around $200,000 per year,” Heinrichs said. “If a kid can get anywhere in the ballpark of that by staying in school, it can make a ton of sense for them if they are projected to be a late-round pick. The NIL money is guaranteed. In the NFL you can get cut at any time.”

To see Zach Brown and Kenny Chesney. Putting my toes in the sand.

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Let me be clear: I despise the man. He's one of those 'My Faith over My Country' theocrats who doesn't give a sh*t about The Constitution. And he's shown himself to be a hypocritcal A-hole when he *Demanded* that border security be The House's funding Priority #1 --- uh, until his GOP colleagues in the Senate handed him a bipartisan border security bill and Trump ordered him to trash it.

But that said, I'm grateful that, after all his stalling, he ultimately brought a Ukraine funding bill to the House floor. But think about how crazy this all is. The vast majority of Congress has been ready to pass a new funding bill for Ukraine for months. How can the fate of an entire nation be riding on the decision of one representative from Louisiana?

How can we have Congressional policies that allow this kind of sh*t to happen? I thought the same thing when Tubberville, the dipsh*t Senator from Alabama, prevented promotions in the military for ages. It tells me we've got a lot of Congressional rules that are in need of serious updating. For WAY too long, Congress assumed its members were operating in good faith for the betterment of our country. That sure as hell not the case any more.

Anyway, I commend Speaker Johnson (this time) for coming to his senses and doing The Right Thing even though it may cost him his job. "Moscow Marge" and her wacko crew are threatening to kick Johnson to the curb because of it.

There was discussion about this yesterday in the portal thread, but I continue to hear UCF is in good shape to land Cedrick Hawkins, a former four-star safety from Cocoa that redshirted at Ohio State this past season.

Hawkins wants to return closer to home and UCF is his preferred destination.

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Mine would have against a #13 ranked Houston team that came to Bright House Stadium in 2009. On paper, 5-4 UCF team was not supposed beat a ranked 8-1 team. I will always remember UCF wr Quincy McDuffie making a leaping catch over 2 defenders for a 24-yard touchdown. If Instagram was around back then, someone would of done a video of that catch from qb Brett Hodges with the song "Fly Robin Fly" as he seemed to be jumping into the sky.

Got word today of an arrest on the UCF campus involving a player. Starting CB Justin Hodges is currently in the Orange County Jail. Details of the charges should be posted soon.

Hodges has started at nickelback for the past two seasons.

Given the seriousness of the charges, I would imagine his future with the team is in serious jeopardy.

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UCF Softball improves to 22-15 on the season with a 9-1 win over JU.

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KJ listed a potential dark house for the Heisman trophy.

"Kansas' Jalon Daniels and Kansas State's Avery Johnson are potential Heisman Trophy sleepers. Arkansas transfer KJ Jefferson landed at UCF and is yet another intriguing option. "

This is the best part....

14. BYU​

Starter: Senior Gerry Bohanon (19 career starts, 12 starts at Baylor, 7 starts at UCF)

Backup: Junior Jake Retzlaff

Situation: Kedon Slovis started eight games for the Cougars last season, and Retzlaff had 648 yards, three TDs and three interceptions in four games. Retzlaff likely will slide into a backup role behind Bohanon, who led Baylor to a 12-2 record and Sugar Bowl victory in 2021. Bohanon spent the last two seasons at UCF, and he has not played in game action since suffering a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder in 2022. Bohanon did have 2,200 passing yards, 323 rushing yards and 27 total TDs at Baylor in 2021. He will get one more chance with the Cougars. Treyson Bourguet is the third option.



Also noteworthy...

13. Boston College​

Starter: Thomas Castellanos (12 career starts at Boston College)

Backup: Junior Grayson James

Situation heading into the fall: Castellanos was outstanding in his first year as BC’s starter. He won the job from Emmett Morehead in Week 2 and never looked back, accounting for 28 touchdowns (15 passing, 13 rushing), which was good for third in the ACC behind King and Drake May. He is an elusive runner who was third in the ACC in rushing with 1,113 yards. It will be interesting to see what he can do in Bill O’Brien’s offense, which historically has been more pro-style. Castellanos will need to up his 57 percent completion percentage and cut down his 14 interceptions.

Sporting News has not ranked Group of Five QBs, but my guess is Mikey Keene will be in the Top 15.


But Gus cannot evaluate, recruit, and develop quarterbacks.

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Joey Hart, one of the emerging players in the Class of 2023, made an official visit to UCF over the weekend.

The 6-foot-5 shooting guard who attends Indiana's Linton-Stockton High School has been on UCF's radar since the summer and also visited unofficially a couple months back.

"We started talking more in the summer during AAU," Hart said. "I noticed Coach (Jaycob) Ammerman attending a lot of my games, so when he reached out I wasn't surprised."

Head coach Johnny Dawkins and assistant coach Robbie Laing recently went up to Indiana to see him.

"I actually took an unofficial to UCF at the beginning of the school year, then Coach Dawkins and Coach Laing came up a couple weeks ago to watch my practice and visit with me."

The official visit was locked in for this past weekend.

"I arrived Thursday night," Hart said. "We went and ate, then I spent the day there on Friday. Went to the football game, toured campus and watched their practice. Met the weightlifting coach. We ate dinner again. On Saturday, we took off in the morning."

His favorite part of the visit?

"I really like talking to Coach Dawkins," Hart said. "He's obviously a legend. A real genuine nice guy. He has great stories."

He said he likes the staff a lot.

"I like all the coaches," Hart said. "They're all good guys, especially Coach Dawkins, Coach Laing and Coach Ammerman. Those are the main guys I've been talking to."

Hart averaged 14.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 blocks as a sophomore. He'll become the focal point of Linton-Stockton's offense this season following the graduation of the program's leading scorer, Lincoln Hale, who averaged 27 points last year.

"We were in Coach Dawkins' office and went over my playing style, how I'd fit in with them," Hart said. "They really like me in that shooter's role."

Hart said he enjoyed being able to watch a college practice.

"One thing I noticed from a high school to a college level practice is how they talk on the court," Hart said. "It's a lot louder. A lot more intense of a practice. A lot more competitive because everybody in a college practice can play."

A big plus for UCF will be their upcoming membership into the Big 12, which has been college basketball's top-rated conference.

"They're not going to have an easy game," Hart said. "Their schedule is going to get a lot harder. I think it will be easier for them to make the tournament. You won't have to win as many games because it's Power Five."

Since the beginning of his junior year, Hart has also visited Indiana, Northwestern, Ball State and Loyola. That will probably be all the visits for now as he plans to put his full focus into his upcoming junior season.

No favorites yet, but Hart said he likes all the schools recruiting him. He doesn't know when he'll have a decision, though there's no big rush since the earliest he can sign is Nov. 2022.

"I'm just trying to enjoy the process and see what happens," Hart said.

As for UCF, he says there's a lot to like.

"I like how much they believe in themselves," Hart said. "I think they know they're going to be good. They're obviously on the rise right now. They're coming up."

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Made it to campus for the first time in a while today. Got the kids the citranaught plushies. Shockingly, the girl at the register was wearing a UF gator basketball shirt🤦‍♂️🤮. Then I went out the door and immediately saw a kid in an fsu shirt🤮. Not much has changed in 20 years with the students I see.

January used to be a mad scramble to solidify recruiting classes for the current year, but the early signing period has totally changed the dynamic. The majority of efforts this month have revolved around evaluation of the next era with an emphasis on 2020 and 2021 prospects.

By my count, UCF has offered 103 2020 prospects, 40 in 2021 and nine in the 2022 class. The first 2023 prospect reported a UCF offer, CB Cedrick Hawkins from Cocoa.

The biggest offer news this week is UCF offering pretty much all the top players at Orlando Jones and Sanford Seminole. That group includes 2021 Sanford Seminole QB Timmy McClain.

I've been making posts every few days with updated offers. Here are the offers from about Tuesday until now:

2020:

RB Deondre Jackson - Stone Mountain (Ga.) Stephenson
WR A.J. Hamilton - Dunnellon
WR Kaleb Long - Tampa Chamberlain
WR Khaishef Edwards - Largo
WR Justin Robinson - McDonough (Ga.) Eagle's Landing
WR Marquez Bell - Lake City Columbia
WR Jahvante Royal - Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas
OL Marlon Martinez - Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas
OL Gerald Mincey - Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons
OL Trey Zimmerman - Roswell (Ga.)
OL Sean Hill - Snellville (Ga.) Brookwood
DE Jared Ivey - Suwanee (Ga.) North Gwinnett
DE Damarjhe Lewis - Griffin (Ga.) - Committed to Auburn
DE Zykeivous Walker - Ellaville (Ga.) Schley
DE Geri Theodore - Clearwater Academy
DE Vincent Dinkins - Marietta (Ga.) Kell
CB Branden Coleman - Miami Columbus
CB Colby Dempsey - West Palm Beach Dwyer
ATH Jevaun Jacobsen - Clearwater Academy

2021:

QB Timmy McClain - Sanford Seminole
WR Mario Williams - Plant City
WR Kionte Curry - Cocoa
WR Kentron Poitier - Miami Palmetto
S Ahmari Harvey - Tallahassee Florida
ATH Rickey Smith - Orlando Jones

2022:

WR Eddie Kelly - Orlando Jones
CB Damari Henderson - Sanford Seminole
CB Ja'Cari Henderson - Sanford Seminole
S Malik Bryant - Orlando Jones
S James Weatherspoon - Orlando Jones
ATH O.J. Ross - Cocoa

2023:

CB Cedrick Hawkins - Cocoa

All offers can be found here:

https://ucf.rivals.com/offers/football/2020

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UCF Women’s Softball puts their 10 game winning streak on the line starting at 7:30 pm EDT tonight.

AT Baylor University (Waco, Texas).



Let’s Gooooooooo Ladies…

free chicken strips. you're welcome

They had a lot of Small Tommy Bahama shirts 50% off (saw 1 or 2 Mediums) and lots of hats (non Nike) are 50%.

Some of the sale items weren't marked but look for green stickers.

UCF Graduations begin in 2 weeks so good time to go before it gets really busy.

I’ve not spent much time in the office real estate sector but this has to be a huge red flag.

On this week's Sons of UCF LIVE, former UCF Football Assistant Coach Paul Lounsberry joins us to look back on the Spring Game and Spring Camp. Then, Jonathan Adams, Sports Contributor at Heavy.com, talks about Knights prospects in next week's NFL Draft.

All this and more can be found here on this week's Sons of UCF LIVE.

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Anyone watching?

Just saw his pro day numbers and they were awful. He had a great end to his UCF career but his numbers basically put him deep into undrafted territory.


4.96 40 time
Short arms for an EDGE prospect
Small frame
3-cone falls way below thresholds
So do his vertical and broad jumps

a few other players tested very poorly as well.