Preston Cushman is excited for a new start at UCF.
After three years at Ole Miss, the former Clearwater Calvary Christian offensive lineman had his eyes set on a return to the Sunshine State, quickly locking in with UCF.
Cushman described his transfer portal recruitment as a whirlwind. He entered the portal December 19, immediately booked a visit to UCF and officially signed Dec. 23.
"UCF was definitely one of the first schools to hit me up," Cushman told UCFSports.com. "It was kind of like high school recruiting again. I really didn't think it would go like that, even though it's kind of how the portal works. My whole goal was I wanted to be closer to home. That was huge for me. And then meeting the coaching staff, it was like, all right, this is the best of what I wanted. I'm back home. I'm a St. Petersburg guy. I'm right down the road. This is where I want to be."
Although he was just a couple hours away, Cushman wasn't too familiar with UCF. His junior high school season took place in 2020 during the COVID dead period era and for whatever reason he wasn't targeted when Gus Malzahn and staff arrived in early 2021. He committed to Ole Miss in July 2021 before officially enrolling in 2022.
"I've never been around UCF," Cushman said. "I've been to Orlando a couple times. But I never got recruited by UCF, never really been on campus. I've been to one baseball game in my whole life there. I've never been in the Bounce House before. I just never really was associated with UCF Football. In high school, I talked to FSU. I had an offer from Florida, went to Miami, been to all those other schools. Grew up a Florida State fan, but UCF was never in the picture."
His visit was quick, just 24 hours. That's all he needed. He felt an instant connection with UCF offensive line coach Shawn Clark, who most recently was head coach at Appalachian State.
"My visit wasn't too crazy," Cushman said. "I just needed to see the nuts and bolts of academics and football and a little bit of campus. For me, I'm a huge relationship guy, so sitting down with Coach Clark was great. Me and him clicked immediately. I remember when I got in the portal, we got on a phone call and didn't even talk about football. We clicked immediately. I thought he was the man.
"I liked his outlook, coming from a head coach and what he had to deal with at App State. He's going to be great in how he manages a room and a team. I'm super excited to play for that guy. He's going to build a great culture as an offensive line room because he had to do it with the whole team.
"I've got a new outlook too on playing ball. It's a clean slate for me. I'm close to home and just ready to play the game. So Coach Clark, combined with Coach (Steve) Cooper and finishing off my visit with Coach (Scott) Frost and my parents, that sealed it for me. It's all about the people as I've gotten older."
Cushman played guard his first two years at Ole Miss, then moved to tackle prior to the 2024 season. He played in six games as the Rebels' backup right tackle.
"Me and Coach Clark, we're so new to the whole situation (at UCF)," Cushman said. "He just got there too, so he's learning about what he's got. I know we've got Paul Rubelt as a returning guy and Gaard Memmelaar, a Washington transfer, and a few other guys. I know Gaard is a great player. I've played with three Washington transfers at Ole Miss, and I've thought super highly of all those guys. I'm super excited to get to meet him here soon.
"But, the vision for me is being a tackle. I loved playing tackle this past season."
Cushman loved what he heard about UCF's offense. From what he understood, Frost and Cooper will collaborate together on what will be a Mid Zone scheme.
"For linemen, that type of offense is getting athletic guys on the move and moving people," Cushman said. "It's not just clanging heads on the inside and trying to run the ball up the gut every play. It's stretching the defense out. We talked a lot about that too, which really sparked my interest on how Coach Coop and Coach Frost are going to run the offense."
Frost made quite the impression.
"Coach Frost, obviously, personality-wise, great dude," Cushman said. "Connected with my mom and dad. Super genuine. Like, he's the freaking man. He was a legend at UCF. He's done it here. He's won. That's what he talked about. This is where he wants to be. He wouldn't have taken any other position but to come back to UCF, to Orlando, where he's been in the past. He loves this place. He's all in. And I'm excited that they're all in on me, too."
Cushman isn't too familiar with any current UCF players, though he did match up against fellow portal commitment Sincere Edwards during the high school camp circuit. He has communicated recently with a couple future offensive line teammates in Gaard Memmelaar and Paul Rubelt.
"Paul was welcoming me to the team," Cushman said. "He said if I had any questions to ask him. It was pretty nice to hear from him. He's ready to work."
Cushman officially reports on Sunday, a day before spring semester classes begin.
"For me, I'm focused on building a great culture," Cushman said. "Getting in the locker room and just working my butt off and playing for the guy next to me, all those things. Like I said, I've got a new outlook. I'm ready to play ball, and I'm ready to go win some games with the guys.
"As an offensive line, get a tight offensive line group that wants to play for each other and plays their butts off. That's what I'm looking forward to. It's not about the external fame for us offensive linemen. I'm excited to get in and meet a new group of guys and get to work with them. I've seen it before at Ole Miss. We've had a bunch of transfers there too and we'll have the same here at UCF with the coaching change. So, the first objective is coming together and becoming a tight-knit group."
