This is the final weekend of official visits prior to the dead period, which begins Monday.
Most schools have wrapped up their high school recruiting so the attention has been focused on portal.
I'm not aware of any UCF visitors beyond newly-reclassified 2024 QB commit EJ Colson (OV) and Kylan Fox/Waltclaire Flynn being here as well (unofficially). It's possible there could be some transfers here. Some players have been public about their recruitments, but many have not.
UCF's portal QB search remains TBD. Toledo QB Dequan Finn's Baylor visit was supposed to end today (Saturday), not sure if that left time to visit anywhere else.
Keep in mind, transfers don't necessarily have to make a decision now. Early Signing Day only applies to high school players signing a National Letter of Intent. There's also the rest of the month to enter the portal.
UCF's spring semester begins Monday, January 8. Transfers can also take visits in early January. John Rhys Plumlee was a very late portal entry, then visited UCF in early January and announced his commitment then.
Arkansas QB KJ Jefferson hit the portal today and I would not be surprised if he becomes a UCF target. For some reason I thought he was out of eligibility because Boise State QB Taylen Green committed to Arkansas the other day. 2024 will be Jefferson's sixth year.
Jefferson (6-3, 245) has been a three-year starter at Arkansas. During his career, KJ has passed for 7,911 yards and 67 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,876 yards and 21 TDs.
Some of the early buzz is centering around Auburn for him (and Auburn is also trying to make a last-minute push for Cam Ward). We'll see how this one develops.
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Auburn WR Ja'Varrius Johnson hit the portal on Friday and got an immediate offer from UCF. He was one of the Tigers' top offensive weapons, particularly the pass two seasons. He led AU receivers in yards (347) and touchdowns (3) in 2023.
A member of the 2019 recruiting class and native of the Birmingham area, Johnson was recruited to Auburn by Gus Malzahn.
He also has reported early offers from Arkansas, Cal and Colorado State. One year of eligibility remaining.
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A few known UCF portal targets have committed elsewhere over the last day or so.
LB Ethan Barr (Vanderbilt) committed to Washington.
S Kemari Wilson (Florida) committed to Arizona State.
LB Alex Howard (Youngstown State) committed to Texas A&M.
CB Kenan Johnson (Georgia Tech) committed to Utah.
Barr and Wilson both visited UCF. Wilson was public on it, I'm pretty sure Barr did as well but never publicly acknowledged.
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Players I'm monitoring:
RB
Myles Montgomery (Cincinnati) - Visited UCF, have heard positive things
WR
Jaden Richardson (Tufts) - Visited UCF the first weekend, has since gone quiet
Winston Wright (FSU) - Believed to be a target
TE
Caleb Rillos (Air Force) - Believed to be a target
Evan Morris (Michigan State) - Ditto
DE
Daylan Dotson (UT-Martin) - Visited UCF and now at Tulane
Nate Matlack (Kansas State) - Visited UCF and Arkansas, I think he's now at Pitt
LB
Deshawn Pace (Cincinnati) - Believed to have visited with the other Cincinnati players
Wyatt Wright (JUCO) - Visited UCF and usf and currently at NC State
Deuce Caldwell (North Carolina) - Believed to be a target
S
Phillip Dunnam (Indiana)- Visited the first weekend, would be a huge pickup
Cameron Upshaw (South Carolina/JUCO) - Could be an option, haven't heard much about his recruitment
CB
Jadarrius Perkins (Florida) - Visited UCF last weekend
Nyland Green (Georgia) - Believed to have visited UCF, UNC, Arkansas and maybe now at Pitt
I know there's no OL on the list, I don't believe UCF is done recruiting OL but it seems many of the OL I've been tracking have committed elsewhere or taken visits elsewhere so I'm not sure where that stands.
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On the high school front, UCF WR commit DayDay Farmer visited West Virginia last weekend and there is concern about a late flip to the Mountaineers. He initially flipped from Pitt to UCF.
Four-star Miami DE commit Booker Pickett, who recently took an OV to UCF, seems solid with Miami. UCF had been trying to flip him.
Obviously, UCF picked up a commit on Friday from SC DT Marcus Downs.
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To recap, UCF has three portal commits:
OL Jabari Brooks (Samford)
S Bryon Threats (Cincinnati)
LB Nikhai Hill-Green (Charlotte)
I attempted to reach all three for interviews, none responded.
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Regarding UCF's portal players...
CB Corey Thornton committed to Louisville. He was looking for a bag and UL seems to be on par with SEC schools in terms of NIL budget.
OL Drake Metcalf committed to Virginia.
RB Jordan McDonald is visiting Boston College and could reunited with Tommy Castellanos.
Most schools have wrapped up their high school recruiting so the attention has been focused on portal.
I'm not aware of any UCF visitors beyond newly-reclassified 2024 QB commit EJ Colson (OV) and Kylan Fox/Waltclaire Flynn being here as well (unofficially). It's possible there could be some transfers here. Some players have been public about their recruitments, but many have not.
UCF's portal QB search remains TBD. Toledo QB Dequan Finn's Baylor visit was supposed to end today (Saturday), not sure if that left time to visit anywhere else.
Keep in mind, transfers don't necessarily have to make a decision now. Early Signing Day only applies to high school players signing a National Letter of Intent. There's also the rest of the month to enter the portal.
UCF's spring semester begins Monday, January 8. Transfers can also take visits in early January. John Rhys Plumlee was a very late portal entry, then visited UCF in early January and announced his commitment then.
Arkansas QB KJ Jefferson hit the portal today and I would not be surprised if he becomes a UCF target. For some reason I thought he was out of eligibility because Boise State QB Taylen Green committed to Arkansas the other day. 2024 will be Jefferson's sixth year.
Jefferson (6-3, 245) has been a three-year starter at Arkansas. During his career, KJ has passed for 7,911 yards and 67 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,876 yards and 21 TDs.
Some of the early buzz is centering around Auburn for him (and Auburn is also trying to make a last-minute push for Cam Ward). We'll see how this one develops.
==
Auburn WR Ja'Varrius Johnson hit the portal on Friday and got an immediate offer from UCF. He was one of the Tigers' top offensive weapons, particularly the pass two seasons. He led AU receivers in yards (347) and touchdowns (3) in 2023.
A member of the 2019 recruiting class and native of the Birmingham area, Johnson was recruited to Auburn by Gus Malzahn.
He also has reported early offers from Arkansas, Cal and Colorado State. One year of eligibility remaining.
==
A few known UCF portal targets have committed elsewhere over the last day or so.
LB Ethan Barr (Vanderbilt) committed to Washington.
S Kemari Wilson (Florida) committed to Arizona State.
LB Alex Howard (Youngstown State) committed to Texas A&M.
CB Kenan Johnson (Georgia Tech) committed to Utah.
Barr and Wilson both visited UCF. Wilson was public on it, I'm pretty sure Barr did as well but never publicly acknowledged.
==
Players I'm monitoring:
RB
Myles Montgomery (Cincinnati) - Visited UCF, have heard positive things
WR
Jaden Richardson (Tufts) - Visited UCF the first weekend, has since gone quiet
Winston Wright (FSU) - Believed to be a target
TE
Caleb Rillos (Air Force) - Believed to be a target
Evan Morris (Michigan State) - Ditto
DE
Daylan Dotson (UT-Martin) - Visited UCF and now at Tulane
Nate Matlack (Kansas State) - Visited UCF and Arkansas, I think he's now at Pitt
LB
Deshawn Pace (Cincinnati) - Believed to have visited with the other Cincinnati players
Wyatt Wright (JUCO) - Visited UCF and usf and currently at NC State
Deuce Caldwell (North Carolina) - Believed to be a target
S
Phillip Dunnam (Indiana)- Visited the first weekend, would be a huge pickup
Cameron Upshaw (South Carolina/JUCO) - Could be an option, haven't heard much about his recruitment
CB
Jadarrius Perkins (Florida) - Visited UCF last weekend
Nyland Green (Georgia) - Believed to have visited UCF, UNC, Arkansas and maybe now at Pitt
I know there's no OL on the list, I don't believe UCF is done recruiting OL but it seems many of the OL I've been tracking have committed elsewhere or taken visits elsewhere so I'm not sure where that stands.
==
On the high school front, UCF WR commit DayDay Farmer visited West Virginia last weekend and there is concern about a late flip to the Mountaineers. He initially flipped from Pitt to UCF.
Four-star Miami DE commit Booker Pickett, who recently took an OV to UCF, seems solid with Miami. UCF had been trying to flip him.
Obviously, UCF picked up a commit on Friday from SC DT Marcus Downs.
==
To recap, UCF has three portal commits:
OL Jabari Brooks (Samford)
S Bryon Threats (Cincinnati)
LB Nikhai Hill-Green (Charlotte)
I attempted to reach all three for interviews, none responded.
==
Regarding UCF's portal players...
CB Corey Thornton committed to Louisville. He was looking for a bag and UL seems to be on par with SEC schools in terms of NIL budget.
OL Drake Metcalf committed to Virginia.
RB Jordan McDonald is visiting Boston College and could reunited with Tommy Castellanos.
