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."
