Hopefully we’ll get a great game. It’s crazy to think Harbaugh could win a title and go straight to the NFL after.

Wes Dorsey is excited to write one final chapter of his college football career.

After five years at Western Kentucky, the 6-foot-7, 315-pound offensive tackle is transferring to UCF for his final season of eligibility. He announced his commitment on Sunday following an official visit.

Dorsey entered the transfer portal in late November, though remained with the Hilltoppers through their bowl game, a 28-point comeback win against Old Dominion in the Famous Toastery Bowl. He took his first and only visit to UCF last week.

"UCF was one of the first schools that reached out to me," Dorsey said. "I wanted to finish the season with my guys, my friends, so I was going to hold off on taking visits."

Dorsey visited UCF in the middle part of last week.

"The campus was beautiful," Dorsey said. "I really like that I'll be able to play in a stadium called the Bounce House. That's pretty cool. Being able to get experience and coaching from Coach (Gus) Malzahn and Coach (Herb) Hand is an absolute blessing. Coach Hand is one of the best offensive line coaches in the country. I think he can make me into a really good player. I'm just really looking forward to getting down there and being in that kind of atmosphere."

Dorsey is originally from Knoxville, Tenn., and graduated from Grace Christian Academy in the Class of 2019. He had offers back then from schools such as Central Michigan, Chattanooga and Austin Peay before picking Western Kentucky.

He described himself as a"twig" in high school, weighing a slender 242 pounds to go along with a 6-foot-6 frame. His early years at WKU were focused on body development.

"It was very difficult for me to gain weight," Dorsey said. "I've been working with nutritionists at Western my entire career. I was always drinking shakes, basically consuming an extra 2,000 calories on top of the usual 3-4 meals a day. It was a struggle trying to get to 300 pounds. It's now a bit easier staying at this weight. I still have to hammer down food all day. It is easier, but still kind of a chore."



Dorsey emerged as a starter at right tackle in 2022, playing in 11 of WKU's 14 games. He became a full-time starter in 2023, appearing in all 13 games including the bowl game.

He believes he will remain a right tackle at UCF.

"As far as I know I'll be a right tackle, but Coach Hand cross trains a lot of guys," Dorsey said. "He was moving people all over the place this year. The right tackle was playing left guard, the left guard was playing center. Honestly, wherever I'm needed, I'll play."

Most of the players were still on holiday break at the time of his visit, though he did get to connect briefly with fellow incoming transfer Jabari Brooks, the center from Samford.

Dorsey committed prior to leaving, but waited a couple days before announcing.

"I loved the atmosphere down there and what they have to offer," he said. "I know a couple of the players, like Ricky Barber who played at WKU. I'm really looking forward to reconnecting with him."

Dorsey was appreciative of his experience at WKU. He said his favorite memory was their appearance in the 2021 Conference USA Championship Game. He also really enjoyed some of their away game experiences, particularly games at Auburn, Louisville and Michigan State.

"I absolutely loved my time at Western," Dorsey said. "It's been great. The relationships and friends I've made will be life long. Two years ago we went to the conference championship, that was a heck of a season. We came up short this past season, but overall we had a great five years. I'm really happy with what we accomplished."

He's looking forward to new experiences at UCF and is especially excited about the schedule. The Knights have a Big 12 home slate featuring Arizona, BYU, Cincinnati, Colorado and Utah, plus road games at Arizona State, Iowa State, TCU and West Virginia. Also, a road non-conference game at Florida.

"Going from a Group of Five to a Power Five team is definitely a big change, but I'm up for the challenge," Dorsey said. "I'm ready for everything thrown my way. I know we're going to have a heck of an offense with a lot of good players returning and coming in. The goal is to win a conference championship. I think we can be the best team in the Big 12."

These were given to me years ago but I never used them. They seem really small, maybe youth or ladies. Or maybe just tight fitting.
Bag strap sleeve included.

First to answer trivia question below gets them.


Q: Who was the first UCF football player to become a pro wrestler?

I don't think I have ever seen this level of moaning and salty behavior. Were we this whiney in 2017 and 2018? Every negative post about the NC game comes from an FSU fan who either 1) Thinks they would have beaten either team, 2) is still bitter about the selection or 3) Is calling Michigan cheaters. Its pretty bad

I listed my two aisle seats in 106 and garage f parking pass for the BYU game in the ticket exchange. $100 for all three.

In Vegas tonight and flying home in the morning so if somebody wants them, DM me and I can transfer them either later tonight or tomorrow on the flight.

Gonna be out of town this weekend so looking to sell two seats in 106 on the aisle as well as a garage F parking pass to the BYU game Saturday.

$100 for all 3.

DM me here and I can transfer them later tonight or tomorrow. I’m in Vegas today and flying back tomorrow to make the Kansas game.

I’ve felt over the past 5-6 years, UCF has been recruiting WR and LB poorly at least compared to the previous 5 years, especially at the HS level.

I know the portal has changed the game and there is less emphasis on HS Recruiting, but UCF is still getting at least 15 players a year out of HS.

So I went back to the 2018 recruiting class and looked at every class since then for both WR and LB. Then I did the same thing for the portal. I was looking for players who ucf “hit” on v missed. I considered a hit anyone who played meaningful snaps whether they were a reserve or starter. For any “hits” that ended up transferring out of UCF, such as Tatum Bethune, I still counted that as a hit.

I excluded 2024. I counted 2023 but generally look at anyone in that class as someone who could still be a contributor.

Here are the results:

WR:

- 13 HS commits
- 12 portal commits.

Of the 13 HS recruits, 10 have transferred out of UCF. Of those 10, only O’Keefe panned out. Of the 3 that are still at UCF, only Townsend has worked out. So, literally only 2 of 13 WRs have made an impact and one of those 2 transferred. That means the last time UCF has hit on a single HS wide receiver ROK in 2019, which is 3 years and counting since we’ve had a viable HS WR.

In the portal, UCF has fared better, hitting on 5 of the 12 transfers, with 1 (Jaylon Robinson), transferring again.

Overall, we’ve seen 7 of 25 WRs work out since 2018 (Robinson, ROK, Townsend, Baker, Hudson, Tre Nixon, Brandon Johnson).

Linebacker:

- 12 HS linebackers since 2018,
- 11 transfer LBs since 2018

literally every single non freshman of the group has transferred. Of the 12, just 3 of them have hit: JJB, Gilyard and Bethune, and all 3 of them transferred. Obviously, it’s still too soon to judge the 4 remaining with Harris, Moore, Bullard and Ford all being under classmen.

For transfers, the success rate wasn’t high here either. Only 3 out of 11 hits in the portal- Johnson, Yates and Armstrong. So overall, UCF has only been able to land 6 out 23 linebackers since 2018.

Maybe you could do this with any position but seems more glaring at WR and LB, especially for HS commits.

Episode 248 of the Sons of UCF podcast features an interview with former UCF Knights LB Walter Yates III (2022-23).

Walt shares some insight on his journey from small school football to the D1 stage at UCF.

From adjusting to a new scheme, meeting new teammates, and working with new coaches, Walt molded himself into a productive player for the Knights.

Walt also shares insights on some of the biggest games and moments from his time at UCF, and talks about the close bond he has with his teammates.

Click here to watch.

Breakdown by conference:

SEC: 8
Big 12: 7
B1G: 6
ACC: 3

I know it's way too early - but still nice to see the New Big 12 with a strong showing. Keeping this up will go a long way towards solidfying the conference.

Rumor is he's going to play for Prime. And Ole Miss pays crazy money in NIL.

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didn’t realize he was such a contributor. He looks like a monster out there

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He may not have been their first choice.

He may not have been their second choice.

He may not have been their third choice.

He may not have been their (summation from n=0 to k of (n+1))th choice.

BUT THEY GOT THEIR MAN!*

$50 each Sec 201, ROW C, Seats 17-18

Also have them listed through the sales link through UCF site.

DM me if interested. Have jury service this week so will check in breaks.

We have very hard water and would like to put in a while house filtration/softener system. Any experiences or recommendations?

It's who ya WANT not who THINK will win.

So normally I'd be pulling for a B12 member or an underdog team...seeing as Texas is leaving the B12 and is basically property of the SEC yet they are still technically a B12 member, and Washington is by far the ONLY team I actually want win the whole thing...I'm pretty conflicted.

If Texas wins the whole thing, B12 can say they have a championship in the playoff era (important) even though they are on the way out....but also having them beat Washington and play Alabama and lose to them in the championship just creates more promotions for the SEC next year.

Idk. I've always hated Texas, even before they announced they were leaving the SEC. But they're still B12. And no matter what having a B12 member in the playoff I still think is beneficial for the stats (just like TCU killing Michigan in the playoffs last year was a great stat for the B12). Or am I wrong here and Texas winning the whole thing is just worst overall for the B12?

Anyone follow this? Who ya got?

Incarnate Word maybe?

Nm*

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One of the top players in the 2023 class is headed to UCF.

East Carolina cornerback Antione Jackson, a former four-star prospect at Fort Lauderdale's Dillard High School, announced his transfer commitment to UCF on Sunday.

In December 2022, Jackson signed with Miami but later asked for a release so he could attend ECU alongside his girlfriend, Karina Gordon, a women's basketball signee.

Jackson was initially on track to be a member of the 2024 recruiting class, but accelerated his academic timeline to reclassify to 2023.

He was 17 years old during his freshman season at ECU, playing in 10 games and starting three. He finished with 19 tackles, three pass breakups and one interception, which was a pick-six. He earned a PFF season grade of 66.3.

During this recent portal cycle, Jackson had offers from Nebraska, Utah, Colorado and many others.


2024 UCF Transfer Commitments:

-OL Jabari Brooks (Samford)
-S Bryon Threats (Cincinnati)
-RB Myles Montgomery (Cincinnati)
-TE Evan Morris (Michigan State)
-DE Daylan Dotson (UT Martin)
-QB KJ Jefferson (Arkansas)
-S Deshawn Pace (Cincinnati)
-LB Jesiah Pierre (Texas Tech)
-CB Antione Jackson (East Carolina)


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With QB KJ Jefferson in the fold, UCF's attention now shifts to filling out the remainder of their transfer class. The dead period ends on Wednesday and UCF is expected to bring in several players for visits in the upcoming days.

I am expecting some news as early as today (Wednesday) from Cincinnati LB Deshawn Pace. He visited UCF during one of the first weekends and would complete the trifecta of Cincinnati portal targets. His Bearcat teammates, S Bryon Threats and RB Myles Montgomery, have already committed to UCF.

Pace led Cincinnati with 80 tackles this past season. And Threats was their second-leading tackler with 57.

It will represent a massive pickup for UCF as Charlotte LB Nikhai Hill-Green was recently dropped due to academic concerns.

Once Pace is in the fold, UCF will turn their attention to the rest of their LB portal class. I would think they need at least three total. I've confirmed a pair of linebackers are coming in on visits: Xe'ree Alexander (Idaho) and Jesiah Pierre (Texas Tech).

Xe'ree Alexander, a freshman from Seattle, tells me he is arriving at UCF today. He also has offers from Washington, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Oregon State and several others. He has family in Florida, which could be a plus.

During his first season with the FCS Vandals, Alexander recorded 74 tackles, four TFLs, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He would have three years of eligibility remaining.

Jesiah Pierre, who is originally from Mount Dora, also confirmed he will be visiting UCF. He began his career at Florida, seeing limited action during his first two seasons (2019 and 2020) in Gainesville. He then transferred to Texas Tech and has played the last three seasons in Lubbock. He started to come into his own in 2022, establishing himself as a starter with 40 tackles, 7.0 TFLs and 4.5 sacks. During this most recent season of 2023, Pierre was fourth on the team with 66 tackles, 1.5 TFLs and 0.5 sacks. Pierre would have one year left.

Another top target is Jaheim Thomas of Arkansas, who recently hit the portal. He actually began his career at Cincinnati and is tight with Pace and Threats. He led the Razorbacks with 90 tackles while adding 6.5 TFLs and 3.5 sacks. He will be in high demand - I haven't been able to confirm his visit plans, though I'm sure UCF would love to have him.

==

UCF is still continuing to recruit offensive linemen. Temple's Victor Stoffel, a native of Sweden, is down to UCF, Cal and Texas A&M per On3. I actually messaged him earlier on Tueday, but never heard back. I would assume he's visiting at some point this week.

Stoffel has been at Temple since 2019 and was their starting right tackle. He earned a 73.6 season grade according to PFF. He missed the first five games of 2022 due to injury - his first game back was Temple's 70-13 loss at UCF (he graded at 52.8 in that game).

==

UCF is recruiting portal WRs in anticipation of losing Javon Baker. As I stated in a prior update, Ohio State freshman Bryson Rodgers will be a focus and I would not be surprised if he's visiting.

==

Louisiana-Lafayette QB Zeon Chriss was originally slated to visit UCF tomorrow. With UCF landing KJ, I figured the visit was canceled but I texted him to confirm. He acknowledged that it was and said he is now visiting Houston this upcoming weekend. It seems South Carolina dropped him too.