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On June 1, the floodgates opened to allow in-person recruiting for the first time in 15 months. UCF's first visitor was Orlando (Fla.) Timber Creek offensive tackle
T.J. Shanahan, rated by Rivals.com as the No. 50 overall prospect in the 2023 class.
The day obviously included a facility tour and learning more about the program, but the best part for Shanahan was building on his relationship with
Herb Hand, UCF's offensive line coach.
"It was a great visit," Shanahan said. "Coach (Herb) Hand and I talked a lot. He's a great guy. The visit was awesome. I met a lot of new faces. But one thing I can say is it was great to finally meet Coach Hand and shake his hand. I've been talking to him on the phone a lot, so it was good to see him in person."
Shanahan learned what it would be like to play on Hand's offensive line.
"Coach Hand had a little slideshow that showed everything about his life and how he coaches, all the accomplishments that he's had. He's coached a lot of great players at Auburn, Texas, Tulsa, a bunch of schools."
Another highlight was getting to put on the uniform.
"Walking out into UCF's stadium with the gear on was awesome," Shanahan said. "Just being there with Coach Hand and the UCF crew was awesome."
Shanahan wasn't able to connect with
Gus Malzahn in person on this visit, but did catch up with via FaceTime.
"I've had a lot of conversations with Coach Malzahn," Shanahan said. "I can tell he's a great guy. And based on watching him coach, I know he's going to get the UCF program rolling."
Being local, Shanahan knows he didn't need to fit everything into this one day. He'll be back for other visits and possibly for some games this fall.
"I really appreciated how everyone at UCF treated me," Shanahan said. "It felt like home. It's right down the street. It was my first ever visit and they made it real special. I'll be there again soon."
Shanahan visited Florida on Wednesday and later this week he'll be flying across the country to embark on a multi-state tour with visits planned to Oregon, Cal, Stanford, USC, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, Texas, Texas A&M and TCU. He's hoping to find time to squeeze in a visit to Ohio State and North Carolina as well.
As a 2023 prospect, Shanahan knows he has plenty of time to make a decision.
"I don't think I'm going to be making a commitment any time soon," he said. "I'll probably do it before my early signing day or right before my senior year. I want to take the most time that I can to make the best decision for myself to succeed at the next level."
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