It's hilarious how coaches and staff shutdown Brandon's traditionally long-winded questions (Gus, Terry, and now Botsford).

I mean @Brandon, why don't you just answer the gd questions for them while you're at it. DF.

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What’s everyone reading? I’m reading this right now. It’s about researching the mountain Lion aka Puma. Amazing book!*

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Michael McClenton's dream is becoming a reality.

The standout Ocoee Knights linebacker and one of Central Florida's top players has long aspired to stay home and represent Orlando as a 'Hometown Hero.'

His patience paid off last week when UCF coaches Scott Frost and Kenny Martin made it official with a scholarship offer during their visit to Ocoee High School. Less than a week later, McClenton became Frost's first Class of 2026 commitment.

"I was beyond excited," McClenton told Rivals about receiving his UCF offer last Wednesday. "I didn't really know for sure, but I had a good feeling once the new staff came in and Coach Kenny (Martin) was still there, knowing the way Coach Kenny pushed for me with the old staff.

"I was in school and I get a call from coach to come to the office. At first, I saw Coach Martin through the window, but I didn't see Coach Frost. When I saw him, I was like, 'Oh yeah, it's getting serious now!' They shook my hand and we started talking. Coach Frost was like, 'I want to give you the opportunity to play at UCF.'

"I was like, thank you, thank you, thank you. It was a great moment."

McClenton has put up monster stats at Ocoee with more than 200 tackles in each of the past two seasons. As a junior in 2024, he recorded 219 tackles with 46 tackles for loss and 19 sacks.

"(Coach Frost said) I play with a high motor, high intensity, good passion for the game, great hands, good technique," McClenton said.

Despite the high-level production, FBS offers had been light with just Liberty and Marshall so far. Many coaches like bigger linebackers than McClenton's 6-foot height.

"Coach Frost coached Shaquem Griffin and said how I kind of resembled him," McClenton said. "I know he has the one hand, but just based off the fact that he was doubted so many times. He didn't have all the things that other people have or the high recruits had. So they just basically told me they were coming to get me based off productivity and not measurables. That's what they care about. He's not a coach that thinks measurables are more important than productivity."



That was last Wednesday. McClenton was thinking about committing on the spot, but wanted to be deliberate with his decision.

"Coach Kenny and my head coach, we've been having countless talks about my future," McClenton said. "Talking with my family. Praying to God about it. God woke me up today and I had it in my mind. I talked to my parents last night about the decision, talked to my coach last night and ultimately I was just going to sleep on it and just let God handle the rest. And I woke up this morning and I had that good feeling in my body that I should make this commitment.

"So I went in my coach's office, we called Coach Kenny and Coach Frost and told them."

McClenton will have the distinction of being the first high school commitment of Frost's new UCF era.

"They were beyond excited," McClenton said. "They were just screaming, jumping around, ready to get me on campus. I'm going to be an early enrollee at UCF in 2026. I'm his first commit in 2026 class."

McClenton began his high school career at Lake Mary where he looked up to Braeden Marshall, who is now one of UCF's key defensive players.

"Braeden is my former teammate, so I was hanging around him a lot last season," McClenton said. "Watching him last spring, seeing him go through the process and grow through that UCF program. I saw how welcoming their fans are, really just seeing how welcoming everything at UCF was."

In fact, McClenton had a long conversation with Marshall right before he announced his commitment.

"He was telling me congratulations. Keep pushing, but ultimately stay humble and just keep working. He knows they got a dog. Once I get in there, I'm going to put my head down and go to work. He was talking about what we're gonna do, put in countless hours and just keep my head on straight."

McClenton could play any linebacker position in college.

"Hybrid, middle or sometimes down on the line," McClenton said. "And that's another reason why I really like Coach Frost. He says he's not going to limit me to just one spot. He said, 'I'm going to let you play and be the ball player I know you know how to be.'"

His family was also super excited about the decision. His father, Michael McClenton Sr., serves on Ocoee's coaching staff under head coach Buck Gurley.

"I've been playing football all my life," McClenton said. "I came out with a football in my hands. My high school head coach, Coach Buck, he's like my uncle. Him and my dad have been coaching together for 10-plus years. They started off at Lake Mary Prep.

"I've just been around the game so long. I used to be pushed in a stroller at practice when I was a fresh baby. I've just been around the game all my life. This is like a dream come true."

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UCF VP and Director of Athletics Terry Mohajir met the media before the groundbreaking ceremony on the new Roth Tower construction project.

Watch here.

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I took my girlfriend on a surprise trip to Iceland. Told her that we were going to spend a few days in Boston, but then we left from Boston Logan for Reykjavík.


So far, we’ve gotten one “go Knights” in Reykjavík.


We saw the aurora borealis last night.


I call it the areola borealis. Sounds better.


And speaking of @KAWknightsGF, I think that she is going to need a new Rivals handle.

ESPN predicts 2025 starting quarterback for every Big 12 team


UCF Knights

Projected starter: Tayven Jackson
Competition: Cam Fancher, Dylan Rizk, Jacurri Brown

UCF started four different quarterbacks in 2024. Now, with a new but familiar head coach in Scott Frost, they’re looking for more stability. That could come in the form of transfer Tayven Jackson. However, UCF has options. Cam Fancher is another transfer. Then, both Dylan Rizk and Jacurri Brown started games at UCF in 2024 to varying degrees of success.

Long time OS writer has Past.
Larry

I travelled all over SE Asia for 3 months. Mrs Z had Thule Landmark 60 and I had the Landmark 70. Both packs are basically 2 packs in one, with a larger pack and then a small daypack attached. Mrs Z’s larger pack was 40L and could be used as carry on, where as mine was too large to be used as carry on and always had to be checked.

I am trying to find the largest pack I can and still carry on. I can order the Thule my wife has which isn’t bad, but I am curious about other bags. Right now I’m leaning towards the Osprey Sojourn Porter 46L. I’ve also looked at the Farpoint but sojourn looks like it will hold more. Anyone have any other ideas of different brands?

For the past year or two, it seems to be popular to place "Coyote Warning" signs in yards. Seen a ton of signs in College Park and Winter Park. Now I'm seeing warnings/signs in Seminole County over some new sightings.

I know there are certainly some random coyotes hanging about, but is this really a big deal?

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Two genomics experts did recent studies on a random sampling of mRNA from Pfizer what they found is highly disturbing

Oncogenic debris leftover from the mfr process that can cause cancer, cardiac death. Integration with the human DNA on the table and likely .

Another conspiracy theory looking like it's true. What a joke 🇺🇸 quality and safety has become on the world stage

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Sluka is 21/48 for 318 yards, 6 pass touchdowns, 1 int

Also ran for 253 yards and a touchdown

Faced Kansas, Utah Tech and Houston.

It was his first season in Las Vegas after 4 seasons at Holy Cross.

UCF may have found their "quarterback of the defense."

Colgate's Cole Kozlowski, the No. 2 leading tackler in FCS, committed to UCF on Saturday night. His experience could give him the inside track to earn the starting middle linebacker position.

UCFSports.com caught up with Kozlowski, who is originally from Spring Lake, N.J.

"I grew about three blocks from the beach," Kozlowski said. "Great spot. A lot of pride for the Jersey Shore."

Kozlowski was a do-it-all player at Manasquan High School where he graduated in 2022.

"My whole life until college obviously I played all three sports-- football, baseball and basketball," Kozlowski said. "Football-wise, I was playing safety on defense and more of a Taysom Hill on offense, playing quarterback, receiver, running back, tight end, kind of everywhere on offense.

"I was literally like 6'2", 225 pounds playing safety in high school, which is kind of funny, but it helped me kind of be as athletic as I am nowadays. I got recruited to Colgate to play linebacker. I knew that my body type was more of a linebacker body type just from the start, once I started lifting weights in high school and things like that."

Kozlowski saw immediate playing time at Colgate.

" I was starting off on special teams, then midway through my freshman year I would go in on some third-down packages and made a name for myself," Kozlowski said. "Started playing more and more as a freshman. Then had a breakout sophomore season, kind of doing my thing with some pretty good stats."

Kozlowski more than doubled his tackle total as a junior in 2024, going from 60 tackles to 133, which was second-best in FCS. He also had 4.5 sacks, eight tackles for loss, one interception, one forced fumble and seven pass breakups. He was named First Team All-Patriot League.

"Going into my junior year, I had goals set of 100-plus tackles, things like that, and once I started to average like 11 tackles a game, it got to the point where I was like, all right, this goal's going to be hit, but I want more," Kozlowski said. "You start making plays and you just feel more confident. I feel like one of the strongest points of my game is kind of just having an IQ and a great feel for the game, like I know things before they're going to happen. I've got a great sense out there.

"I'm also 6'2", 240 pounds right now, and I don't think there's a lot of guys out there who are 240 pounds and move like me."



Kozlowski entered the transfer portal the first week of December and garnered about 25 offers in total. He was considering schools like James Madison, Washington State and Colorado State before settling on a final two of Purdue and UCF. He visited Orlando last week.

"Once I got to UCF in the sunshine, the great weather was legit," Kozlowski said. "I was a big fan of campus, big fan of Coach (Scott) Frost and the whole coaching staff they brought in, especially the linebacker coach, Coach D (Mark D'Onofrio). I fell in love with it and knew it was going to be the spot for me."

Kozlowski spent about a day and a half on campus.

"They flew me in to Orlando, which is awesome how close the campus is to the airport and everything," Kozlowski said. "Just getting a feel for the campus, getting to see everything, getting to meet some people. Pretty much met everyone over there, the whole staff, a good amount of the team.

"I love the facilities. The stadium was my favorite part of it all. A huge fan. I love how they call it the Bounce House as well. That's awesome."

He also felt a connection with D'Onofrio.

"I was with with him a bunch during the visit," Kozlowski said. "We were talking ball, talking schemes, things like that. Really right off the bat, he was showing me film of what he does with linebackers and what he's done in his past jobs. He was at Stanford last year. His resume, as well as everyone, honestly, Coach (Alex) Grinch as well, their resumes of their past coaching experiences are legit, and I was also a big fan of that. Coach Frost as well.

"It was very enticing for me, to be honest with you. Coach D was a defensive coordinator at U-Miami and some other big schools, which is awesome. Once we got on the board, we started talking some football and showing me some film, like how he does his drills and everything, and how he's developed some of his past linebackers to the next level. That's my goal, obviously, is to play at the next level, play football for as long as possible. (D'Onofrio) played in the league himself. He was a Penn State All-American linebacker.

"I definitely felt like it was the best opportunity and best situation to come into for me because I was looking for a place to play. I mean, I've got one more year of eligibility left. Hopefully they pass that five-year thing that they're talking about on Twitter, that would be nice, but I'm looking for the best situation. I thought that UCF fit me the best."

Kozlowski also felt honored that he was Frost's No. 1 linebacker pick in the portal. Frost is obviously is more known for his offensive background, but he did coach linebackers for a couple years at Northern Iowa in addition to playing safety in the NFL.

"I loved (Frost's) mentality, Kozlowski said. "I loved what he stood for. I loved the way he talked about me as well, his sincere interest in me and things like that. He was saying that they were watching all these linebacker films throughout the portal, and at the end of the day, he said, 'I don't like anyone more than the Colgate kid. The Colgate kid keeps sticking out to me.' When such a great coach like that is saying things like that about me, it's definitely a good reason why I'll be ending up at UCF."

Kozlowski said the staff hadn't yet decided on a defensive scheme, though they were leaning towards a 3-4 front. He'll be continuing his role as mike linebacker. Fellow transfer Phil Picciotti (Oklahoma) will also be at that spot.

2024 was the first year for helmet communication in FBS, allowing for one player on offense (the quarterback) and defense (typically, the mike linebacker) to receive pre-snap instruction from coaches.

"We didn't have that in FCS, but I got to do it for one game because we played Akron in the MAC," Kozlowski said. "I actually ended up having my best game of the season that game. I had 13 tackles, 4.5 TFLs with three sacks. So that was a good game, and it was nice to have the little green dot in my helmet. I was a big fan of that."

Kozlowski said he enjoyed his experience at Colgate, but is looking forward to a new experience at UCF.

"This UCF opportunity I got right here, it couldn't be more opposite of Colgate," Kozlowski said. "It's in Upstate New York, in Hamilton. About 4,000 people go to the school. You got the beautiful campus, the Greek life row, the little Main Street town with a few bars and things to do there. But then besides that, it's very isolated, not much to do out there. So very, very excited to get to experience a real big college."

After talking about the Purdue and UCF opportunities with his family, Kozlowski said it was the Knights that checked all his boxes.

"I called up Coach Frost, told him I'm ready to be a Knight," Kozlowski said. "I'm ecstatic about it. And he was ecstatic as well. He told me how much he's excited to see me. He said he wants to be proven right by me. So, yeah, he's a big fan of me, as some of the other coaches are as well. They're also excited to see how I can lead a defense."

Kozlowski was in the midst of preparing for the move for Florida. He'll report to UCF on Wednesday.

"I want to make an impact right away," Kozlowski said. "I want to make a name for myself on the team. I want these guys to be able to look up to me as a leader, coming in as an experienced guy. I want these guys to follow my lead, especially if I'm going to be the mike linebacker for them. I want to help turn this program around, get back to where it was back when Coach Frost was there in 2017, 2016, those years. Kind of just get this program right back to the success it needs to be. And overall, I want to be a great teammate as well."

He's excited about the opportunity to prove he can be impactful at the highest level of college football.

"To be able to compete at this level is something I've dreamed of since I started putting on the pads," Kozlowski said. "I've been confident. I've always knew I could do it. I've always felt like I could play at the biggest level possible. I'm excited to prove myself at this level."

The Orlando Magic look good in the home opener. This season they are expected to at least make the playoffs and show some progress with the talent they have accumulated IMO.

Thoughts?

The level of jealousy, anger, and delusion requires it’s own thread.

FazaUSF​

Posted 8 hours ago
Understandable frustration from the OP. Yes, this is exactly how UCF fans felt in 2003 when their team had 30 years of doing nothing under its belt, and USF was invited to the Big East with 6 years of football under its belt. Yes, UCF has gone all-in and sold out in favor of football success, and it has worked for them. It has also tarred their institution's reputation greatly, and conference realignment aside, political and educational circles in the state will always respect USF far above the diploma mill to the east.
The revamped Big 12 will be the latest iteration of the tallest midget conference, and USF will for a time be relegated to a lower status. My hope is the AAC does not invite FAU or FIU, especially because Taggart is likely to have FAU on a winning spree soon. But, now is not the time to deprive USF Athletics of the support of its most staunch supporters in its time of need.
True, Mark Harlan and Charlie Strong really set us back. But Michael Kelly is the real deal. Jeff Scott and crew will have the football team back in shape soon. And if the last 20 years and beyond have taught us anything, there will be realignments every several years or a few times a decade. The focus has to be on improving ourselves for the time the next round comes. If we have an IPF, football success, continued academic success, and the RayJay starts getting better attendance again for a winning team with a winning culture, we can position well for the future.
I'm as unhappy with the news as any. But I'm not surprised. I think we were one coaching hire away from a different result, had Harlan chosen better than Strong. But things still look great for USF's future, even if it has been a decade of setbacks lately.
Go Bulls!

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I am sorry but 20% is not the industry average. It does not shock me that people like him exist, but the most I've ever been told by a player or agent was 9.5% and that is high. The majority are like 5%. What sucks is without a national player association like the NFL has, kids have no real way to compare agents or see if they are getting taken advantage of. Yet another example of the NCAA screwing things up and not having things in place before this are implemented.

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We welcome back our old friends from Loudonville NY, Siena Univ. to open the baseball season. The following weekend Bryant University, with former UCF assistant coach Ryan Klosterman in his 6th year as manager make an appearance ⚾

And so it begins...

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Fun atmosphere at UCF's 2 Fiesta Bowl game site...as that place is PACKED with fans from both teams (Rams and Vikings...tons of transplants from both teams out in AZ plus a lit.of folks flee or drove over.from LA) and with a lot of locals.

Marc Daniels talked about going to the game with others from UCF Athletics who were out there with the team.

Rams just kicked a FG to go up 10-0.