UCF's 2023 recruiting efforts will blast off this weekend with "Hometown Hero," a Saturday afternoon event that will bring close to a hundred prospects to campus.
The name "Hometown Hero" illustrates UCF's emphasis on recruiting the local Central Florida area. The verbiage was used often last summer when UCF was recruiting players like Nikai Martinez (Apopka), Kameron Moore, Demari Henderson and Ja'Cari Henderson (Seminole), all of whom eventually signed in the 2022 class.
But the event is not exclusive to the local area as players from around the state are expected, as well as a few from outside Florida. There will also be underclassmen visitors (2024, 2025) as well.
Visiting players will tour UCF's facilities, including the Bounce House, while meeting with the coaching staff. There will be games and other fun activities as well.
Hometown Hero is the showcase event, but UCF is also expecting several top 7-on-7 teams to visit throughout the weekend.
On Christmas, UCF secured their first Class of 2023 commitment from Apopka's Kaven Call, a four-defensive end. He was already favoring the Knights, but seeing the Gasparilla Bowl win against Florida pushed him over the top.
"This is big for recruiting," UCF coach Gus Malzahn said immediately following the bowl win against the Gators. "Every day we're fighting against the three in-state schools. A lot of them, the logo is really cool but the reality is, and I believe this, we're the program of the future. That's not just talk. That's what is going to happen."
The Knights will become the state's fourth Power Five school as 2023 is expected to be the first season playing in the Big 12.
"I think what will happen now is these recruits won't just go after the logo," Malzahn said last month. "They'll want to be part of something special and a program that's going (up)... We had a really strong (2022) recruiting class. Our trajectory is going up and everybody knows it. Our fanbase is young and energetic. The future is going to be a lot of fun."
Here's a look at some of the top names expected to visit this weekend.
This list will be broken up into several parts because Rivals can only embed so many recruiting profiles in each post.
FRIDAY
2022 Cocoa QB Davin Wydner
UCF is looking to bring him in as a preferred walk-on. He transferred from Melbourne-Holy Trinity to Cocoa for his senior season, setting the school record with 3,529 passing yards while completing nearly 70 percent of his passes (223 of 320) with 22 TD and eight interceptions.
He is likely an unfortunate victim of the transfer portal squeeze in regards to not having a scholarship spot at an FBS.
Mansfield (Tex.) High School group, including:
2023 S Brenden Jordan
2023 CB Brian Hollins
2023 S Jayden Jefferson
Also, two South Florida underclassmen:
2024 CB Jamari Howard (Westland Hialeah)
2024 CB Tomauri Johnson (Miami International)
7-on-7 TEAMS VISITING
With the big Pylon 7-on-7 tournament taking place this weekend in Kissimmee, there will be many 7-on-7 teams in the area that are expected to tour UCF over the next three days including:
Arkansas Elite
CE Stars (Midwest)
All-En (Texas)
Defcon 1 (South Florida)
South Florida Express
Miami Immortals
New Jersey
NC Team Takeoff
24K
Texas Flex
These teams include DOZENS of high-level prospects that already have a multitude of offers. Several of these players probably would have attended Hometown Hero if not for their 7v7 obligations, so they are squeezing in visits during their downtime. Some of these teams are visiting Friday night, very early Saturday morning, late Saturday afternoon/early evening and Sunday morning.
CONTINUED BELOW...
The name "Hometown Hero" illustrates UCF's emphasis on recruiting the local Central Florida area. The verbiage was used often last summer when UCF was recruiting players like Nikai Martinez (Apopka), Kameron Moore, Demari Henderson and Ja'Cari Henderson (Seminole), all of whom eventually signed in the 2022 class.
But the event is not exclusive to the local area as players from around the state are expected, as well as a few from outside Florida. There will also be underclassmen visitors (2024, 2025) as well.
Visiting players will tour UCF's facilities, including the Bounce House, while meeting with the coaching staff. There will be games and other fun activities as well.
Hometown Hero is the showcase event, but UCF is also expecting several top 7-on-7 teams to visit throughout the weekend.
On Christmas, UCF secured their first Class of 2023 commitment from Apopka's Kaven Call, a four-defensive end. He was already favoring the Knights, but seeing the Gasparilla Bowl win against Florida pushed him over the top.
"This is big for recruiting," UCF coach Gus Malzahn said immediately following the bowl win against the Gators. "Every day we're fighting against the three in-state schools. A lot of them, the logo is really cool but the reality is, and I believe this, we're the program of the future. That's not just talk. That's what is going to happen."
The Knights will become the state's fourth Power Five school as 2023 is expected to be the first season playing in the Big 12.
"I think what will happen now is these recruits won't just go after the logo," Malzahn said last month. "They'll want to be part of something special and a program that's going (up)... We had a really strong (2022) recruiting class. Our trajectory is going up and everybody knows it. Our fanbase is young and energetic. The future is going to be a lot of fun."
Here's a look at some of the top names expected to visit this weekend.
This list will be broken up into several parts because Rivals can only embed so many recruiting profiles in each post.
FRIDAY
2022 Cocoa QB Davin Wydner
UCF is looking to bring him in as a preferred walk-on. He transferred from Melbourne-Holy Trinity to Cocoa for his senior season, setting the school record with 3,529 passing yards while completing nearly 70 percent of his passes (223 of 320) with 22 TD and eight interceptions.
He is likely an unfortunate victim of the transfer portal squeeze in regards to not having a scholarship spot at an FBS.
Mansfield (Tex.) High School group, including:
2023 S Brenden Jordan
2023 CB Brian Hollins
2023 S Jayden Jefferson
Also, two South Florida underclassmen:
2024 CB Jamari Howard (Westland Hialeah)
2024 CB Tomauri Johnson (Miami International)
7-on-7 TEAMS VISITING
With the big Pylon 7-on-7 tournament taking place this weekend in Kissimmee, there will be many 7-on-7 teams in the area that are expected to tour UCF over the next three days including:
Arkansas Elite
CE Stars (Midwest)
All-En (Texas)
Defcon 1 (South Florida)
South Florida Express
Miami Immortals
New Jersey
NC Team Takeoff
24K
Texas Flex
These teams include DOZENS of high-level prospects that already have a multitude of offers. Several of these players probably would have attended Hometown Hero if not for their 7v7 obligations, so they are squeezing in visits during their downtime. Some of these teams are visiting Friday night, very early Saturday morning, late Saturday afternoon/early evening and Sunday morning.
CONTINUED BELOW...
