The writing had been on the wall for weeks.
If you'd been following the Dungeon chatter over the last month or so, I think you were prepared for this possibility. I'm trying to remember the first person who brought it up and I think I posted it was "something to watch."
All the signs were there if you observing - DG clearly disconnected at the games and "acting" in a sense while his teammates pretty much ignored him. I understand he has NIL considerations and I respect that, but look at his social media this season. EVERY post is about himself, his clothing line or endorsement deals. Whether or not he personally runs his socials all of the time (I think his brother manages a lot of it), but shouldn't somebody have suggested to act like he cares? There was not one public post supporting the team, Mikey Keene taking over as starter, congratulating the team on wins, etc. It was all about him.
I first started hearing the transfer rumors a couple weeks after the Louisville game. The rationale given is DG was upset over the injury, blaming Gus for being put in that position, not really liking the offense (at least compared to Heupel's) and also believing that a move - likely to the SEC - would enhance his NFL Draft stock and NIL earnings potential.
I didn't know how to take the rumor at first as DG was known to be highly emotional - remember how he deleted all his UCF Instagram photos when TMo hired Gus and not Lebby? He was telling teammates then that he was going to transfer.
A lot of things then started to click... Just based on other stuff that circulated in late 2020 and early this year regarding KZ's transfer and exit. It was said that DG was jealous of the all the attention KZ received while at UCF, particularly last year as his rehab progressed. DG is the one putting up the big stats, but KZ was still No. 1 to the fanbase. Any morsel of information about KZ's comeback was news - whether it was social media engagement, stories on the local TV news, etc. DG felt completely overshadowed.
When it became apparent the NIL law would pass and go into effect the following summer, from what people have told me, DG wanted to make sure KZ was gone.
Now, I do think KZ was always leaving UCF. KZ did not particularly care for Heupel and nobody could have envisioned Heupel would be hired away a couple months later. He was better off making a fresh start elsewhere as this truly was DG's team at that point.
Even so, there was chatter from those on the team that DG tried to start a "DG is thinking about transferring rumor" just so Heupel and staff understood that there was no place for KZ on the team going forward.
I really don't think that was necessary, but mission accomplished. KZ left for FSU, everybody wished him well, and now all the fan attention would be on DG. That coincided with the promotion of "DG The Brand," culminating in the official rollout July 1. Again, there was nothing wrong with that. NIL ushered in a new era and DG certainly wasn't alone in doing something to capitalize on the opportunity.
Back to this season and the present day... When I first heard the transfer rumor, was he just spouting off or serious? I realize he didn't sign up to play in Gus' offense, but UCF was fifth in the nation in total offense after three games. It's fair to say Gus does prefer true dual-threat QBs, though he was adapting to DG's skill set and DG was adapting as well. In the first game against Boise, DG showed off some versatility by rushing for 64 yards.
In any case, at some point in early October shortly after the injury, DG's mind was made up. He was transferring and had no intention to come back and play this season even though his rehab timeline could have had him ready to play by mid-November. It may not have been team-wide knowledge in the early stages, but soon most on the team knew. Gus and the staff were aware. I was told DG was mentally checked out, spending less and less time in the facility outside of rehab. He was a non-factor in mentoring Mikey Keene. There was zero relationship there.
Health wise, DG could have returned by the SMU game. But why would he? He was leaving. The rest of the season was "meaningless" (as his family put it) because he was on the way out. Why risk getting hurt?
There was some internal questioning by a few players why DG continued on as "team captain," but it was the elephant in the room so to speak. Just let him be and focus on the season.
I don't fault DG at all for making the decision he did. The Transfer Portal with immediate eligibility is basically free agency. Coaches make "business decisions" all the time and with NIL, players can do the same. If he goes to Tennessee or any other school with a massive fanbase, his DG The Brand sales will likely increase 10x or more. At minimum, he'll probably get a car from someone. I think most starting QBs in the SEC have been gifted a car (or use of a car aka lease) from a local dealership.
I'm not convinced DG plays another three years in college, but why "waste" a potential year of eligibility by returning late in the season and playing in more than four games? If anything, his three years of eligibility will not only enhance his value to potential schools, but also companies that may want to partner with him for NIL.
We're all still learning about the impact of NIL, but right now UCF can't compete with what we're seeing at some places, particularly around the SEC. And NIL is clearly VERY important to DG.
We'll see what Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler does and any other potential QBs, but right now DG is No. 1 on the available QB free agent list.
But it does seem DG rubbed a lot of his teammates the wrong way. As somebody said to me, as soon as his mind was made up to leave UCF, he just didn't really care anymore.
It's emotional for everybody involved. I get it. There are few graceful exits. KZ was a unique situation. Everybody understood what he had to do.
I think what teammates wanted to see from DG was leadership, even if he was going to leave. Support Mikey, don't berate him for losing to Navy. Be invested in your teammates. Cut the arrogance. Be appreciative of your time at UCF, don't act like you were too good to be here and somehow it's holding you back.
As for a potential landing spot, the rumors have always centered around Tennessee and Ole Miss for obvious reasons. I think Ole Miss, as long as Jeff Lebby remains there, could be DG's preference. But that all depends on Lebby. He could get a lower-level HC opportunity (La Tech? UNT?) or possibly head elsewhere as OC. Even though he's paid quite well at Ole Miss, there's been chatter he's not really in love working for Kiffin. Also, a couple west coast schools are intriguing - UCLA and USC. The latter of course depends on who they ultimately hire. I hear DG will be heading out to LA next week to work with a trainer.
As for UCF, the plan will be to add an experienced QB from the transfer portal to compete with Mikey/Castellanos this spring. The higher-profile the addition, the easier it will be for Gus to recruit other transfers. We'll see how that goes. Gus did seem pretty confident when talking about the portal during his press conference last Monday.
Personally, I wish him well. Never seen a QB at UCF throw a more beautiful deep ball. It's a shame we didn't get to see what this team looked like with a healthy DG, Bowser, Flash, etc. If the latter two didn't go down early in the Louisville game, I think that result is different. UCF probably still loses to Cincinnati (and maybe SMU), but 10-2 would have been pretty solid.
Now that UCF's long-term future is secured with Power Five status and a spot in the Big 12, I honestly think this is for the best. Even if DG came back for another year, I don't think he'd be at UCF in 2023. Since UCF is in a quasi-rebuild anyway due to the talent drain, the exit allows younger players to emerge whether that's Mikey, Tommy or a transfer to be named later. Sure, you want to finish your time in the AAC with a championship in 2022 (and that's very doable with Cincinnati's seniors, Dykes leaving SMU, etc.) but if going younger means you have a consistent offense rolling into 2023 heading into the Big 12, I think that's a good thing.
If you'd been following the Dungeon chatter over the last month or so, I think you were prepared for this possibility. I'm trying to remember the first person who brought it up and I think I posted it was "something to watch."
All the signs were there if you observing - DG clearly disconnected at the games and "acting" in a sense while his teammates pretty much ignored him. I understand he has NIL considerations and I respect that, but look at his social media this season. EVERY post is about himself, his clothing line or endorsement deals. Whether or not he personally runs his socials all of the time (I think his brother manages a lot of it), but shouldn't somebody have suggested to act like he cares? There was not one public post supporting the team, Mikey Keene taking over as starter, congratulating the team on wins, etc. It was all about him.
I first started hearing the transfer rumors a couple weeks after the Louisville game. The rationale given is DG was upset over the injury, blaming Gus for being put in that position, not really liking the offense (at least compared to Heupel's) and also believing that a move - likely to the SEC - would enhance his NFL Draft stock and NIL earnings potential.
I didn't know how to take the rumor at first as DG was known to be highly emotional - remember how he deleted all his UCF Instagram photos when TMo hired Gus and not Lebby? He was telling teammates then that he was going to transfer.
A lot of things then started to click... Just based on other stuff that circulated in late 2020 and early this year regarding KZ's transfer and exit. It was said that DG was jealous of the all the attention KZ received while at UCF, particularly last year as his rehab progressed. DG is the one putting up the big stats, but KZ was still No. 1 to the fanbase. Any morsel of information about KZ's comeback was news - whether it was social media engagement, stories on the local TV news, etc. DG felt completely overshadowed.
When it became apparent the NIL law would pass and go into effect the following summer, from what people have told me, DG wanted to make sure KZ was gone.
Now, I do think KZ was always leaving UCF. KZ did not particularly care for Heupel and nobody could have envisioned Heupel would be hired away a couple months later. He was better off making a fresh start elsewhere as this truly was DG's team at that point.
Even so, there was chatter from those on the team that DG tried to start a "DG is thinking about transferring rumor" just so Heupel and staff understood that there was no place for KZ on the team going forward.
I really don't think that was necessary, but mission accomplished. KZ left for FSU, everybody wished him well, and now all the fan attention would be on DG. That coincided with the promotion of "DG The Brand," culminating in the official rollout July 1. Again, there was nothing wrong with that. NIL ushered in a new era and DG certainly wasn't alone in doing something to capitalize on the opportunity.
Back to this season and the present day... When I first heard the transfer rumor, was he just spouting off or serious? I realize he didn't sign up to play in Gus' offense, but UCF was fifth in the nation in total offense after three games. It's fair to say Gus does prefer true dual-threat QBs, though he was adapting to DG's skill set and DG was adapting as well. In the first game against Boise, DG showed off some versatility by rushing for 64 yards.
In any case, at some point in early October shortly after the injury, DG's mind was made up. He was transferring and had no intention to come back and play this season even though his rehab timeline could have had him ready to play by mid-November. It may not have been team-wide knowledge in the early stages, but soon most on the team knew. Gus and the staff were aware. I was told DG was mentally checked out, spending less and less time in the facility outside of rehab. He was a non-factor in mentoring Mikey Keene. There was zero relationship there.
Health wise, DG could have returned by the SMU game. But why would he? He was leaving. The rest of the season was "meaningless" (as his family put it) because he was on the way out. Why risk getting hurt?
There was some internal questioning by a few players why DG continued on as "team captain," but it was the elephant in the room so to speak. Just let him be and focus on the season.
I don't fault DG at all for making the decision he did. The Transfer Portal with immediate eligibility is basically free agency. Coaches make "business decisions" all the time and with NIL, players can do the same. If he goes to Tennessee or any other school with a massive fanbase, his DG The Brand sales will likely increase 10x or more. At minimum, he'll probably get a car from someone. I think most starting QBs in the SEC have been gifted a car (or use of a car aka lease) from a local dealership.
I'm not convinced DG plays another three years in college, but why "waste" a potential year of eligibility by returning late in the season and playing in more than four games? If anything, his three years of eligibility will not only enhance his value to potential schools, but also companies that may want to partner with him for NIL.
We're all still learning about the impact of NIL, but right now UCF can't compete with what we're seeing at some places, particularly around the SEC. And NIL is clearly VERY important to DG.
We'll see what Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler does and any other potential QBs, but right now DG is No. 1 on the available QB free agent list.
But it does seem DG rubbed a lot of his teammates the wrong way. As somebody said to me, as soon as his mind was made up to leave UCF, he just didn't really care anymore.
It's emotional for everybody involved. I get it. There are few graceful exits. KZ was a unique situation. Everybody understood what he had to do.
I think what teammates wanted to see from DG was leadership, even if he was going to leave. Support Mikey, don't berate him for losing to Navy. Be invested in your teammates. Cut the arrogance. Be appreciative of your time at UCF, don't act like you were too good to be here and somehow it's holding you back.
As for a potential landing spot, the rumors have always centered around Tennessee and Ole Miss for obvious reasons. I think Ole Miss, as long as Jeff Lebby remains there, could be DG's preference. But that all depends on Lebby. He could get a lower-level HC opportunity (La Tech? UNT?) or possibly head elsewhere as OC. Even though he's paid quite well at Ole Miss, there's been chatter he's not really in love working for Kiffin. Also, a couple west coast schools are intriguing - UCLA and USC. The latter of course depends on who they ultimately hire. I hear DG will be heading out to LA next week to work with a trainer.
As for UCF, the plan will be to add an experienced QB from the transfer portal to compete with Mikey/Castellanos this spring. The higher-profile the addition, the easier it will be for Gus to recruit other transfers. We'll see how that goes. Gus did seem pretty confident when talking about the portal during his press conference last Monday.
Personally, I wish him well. Never seen a QB at UCF throw a more beautiful deep ball. It's a shame we didn't get to see what this team looked like with a healthy DG, Bowser, Flash, etc. If the latter two didn't go down early in the Louisville game, I think that result is different. UCF probably still loses to Cincinnati (and maybe SMU), but 10-2 would have been pretty solid.
Now that UCF's long-term future is secured with Power Five status and a spot in the Big 12, I honestly think this is for the best. Even if DG came back for another year, I don't think he'd be at UCF in 2023. Since UCF is in a quasi-rebuild anyway due to the talent drain, the exit allows younger players to emerge whether that's Mikey, Tommy or a transfer to be named later. Sure, you want to finish your time in the AAC with a championship in 2022 (and that's very doable with Cincinnati's seniors, Dykes leaving SMU, etc.) but if going younger means you have a consistent offense rolling into 2023 heading into the Big 12, I think that's a good thing.
