UCF has jumped to the top of the list for Roswell (Ga.) offensive lineman Andrew Stargel, who recently made it down to Orlando for a two-day visit.
Stargel was on campus March 10-11, coinciding with the opening of spring practice.
"It was great," Stargel told UCFSports.com. "The visit, then watching the practice to see how they coach. Honestly, it just made me fall more in love with the program."
Stargel was offered by UCF in late January when offensive line coach Herb Hand visited his high school. Not long thereafter, Gus Malzahn and Ted Roof paid a visit themselves.
"I was pretty hyped about (that visit)," Stargel said. "Coach Gus said he turned on my film and after watching five plays said, 'Get this kid on the phone.' I've also been talking to Coach Hand for a while. It was great meeting with him. He's definitely someone who can develop me into a man and a better football player. He can take me to the next leve, that's for sure. He's a great person to be around. He treats his players with a lot of respect."
Stargel already knew a few UCF players, including Kylan Fox and Johnathan Cline. He met the entire offensive line, including Paul Rubelt, Amari Kight, Cam Kinnie, Adrian Medley and Marcellus Marshall.
"They were really cool guys," Stargel said.
UCF sees him as a future guard or center.
"We had a meeting with Coach Malzahn before we left," Stargel said. "I love Coach Gus. The amount of respect I have for that man is crazy. I grew up watching him coach at Auburn. I was watching him in the National Championship. Going in there and seeing his Auburn rings was pretty cool. Coach Gus is someone I'd definitely want to play for and be my head coach."
Stargel has more than 30 offers, including Georgia Tech, Cincinnati, South Florida, Kansas, Tulane, Boston College, Pittsburgh, Indiana and Vanderbilt. He plans to trim his list to a top five soon.
"Let's just say UCF is in my top two and they're not No. 2," Stargel said. "For me, relationships are one of the biggest things. Where I have the best relationship is where I'll be going and as of right now me and UCF have the greatest relationship by a mile. The weather is great too. They treated me very well. They respected me and my mom. They didn't leave her out at all. At the practice, my mom talked to Gus' wife, Kristi, for like the entire time. I liked how I got to talk to a bunch of the players at the Garvy. I feel like I saw everything on the golf cart tour. They totally did all the extra things to make it an extra special visit.
"Coach Gus definitely said I'm a priority for him. He wanted me to know that. At the end we all shook hands and hugged, they made us feel great."
Stargel said an official visit is in the works, likely for Bounce House Weekend on May 31.
