The Transfer Portal for everyone opens (almost) today, Monday, Dec. 4.
There have been plenty of announcements over the past week, but so far just one from a UCF player. CB Fred Davis, a transfer from Clemson who didn't play this season, will be re-entering the portal as a grad transfer.
There will be some UCF portal entries, though if the chatter is accurate UCF has done a pretty good job retaining most of the top talent.
Of the players UCF wants to keep, I'm only hearing there are questions surrounding maybe six of them. And of those six, only three are probably headed to the portal for sure.
I don't want to name those three players, but I'll allude to them.
-Two of them are seniors with one year left. Defense. Good players, played a lot these past four seasons. I don't think UCF is surprised to see them go.
-Another player is on offense and simply wants more playing time. Not a starter.
Then there's the big three with decisions to make: RB RJ Harvey, WR Javon Baker and WR Kobe Hudson.
RJ Harvey - Keep on hearing he's 50/50 on returning to UCF or going to the NFL. Some have heard he might be a late round or UDFA type player, so it's not a slam dunk to leave. He could also go into the portal for a bigger NIL payday, but I've heard his UCF legacy is important to him and he doesn't really want to do that. The Kingdom will do their best to try and keep him.
Javon Baker - This is an interesting case because I've heard he's not a graduate, so he doesn't have leverage. It's either NFL or return to UCF. He already used up his free transfer and the NCAA isn't really granting waivers. I think he's on track to graduate this time a year from now.
I'm told he was referring to NIL last week when he tweeted, "Your 2-year free trial is up, somebody gotta pay."
Baker has since deleted most tweets, but he was hoping for a big NIL payday that I don't think UCF can afford, even if they want to. So I'm very interested to see what happens here. I think UCF is prepared for him to possibly leave, but it's not set in stone.
Kobe Hudson - I've heard that he's a much better possibility to return to UCF. Like RJ and Kobe, he also was weighing the NFL.
In regards to DTs Lee Hunter and Ricky Barber, I've heard both are coming back. Big if it happens. Most thought Barber would have an NFL-type season, but he was hurt most of the year. When he did play, he was not 100 percent. Lee Hunter showed flashes of NFL potential, but he may need another year to develop.
I hadn't heard anything about RB Johnny Richardson. I know there was some speculation he could go in the portal for more playing time. Some of these decisions could potentially be impacted by the decisions of teammates.
The portal is open for 30 days and that's a pretty long time. Again, just passing along what I've been hearing. Things could change.
Obviously, contributions to The Kingdom are really important. I always hesitate in being frank about the realities of roster management because I know some people don't really want to hear it, but it's just the way it is these days.
Every school probably feels like they need a $5M NIL budget to try to compete. Some SEC schools and bluebloods have $10M plus. I think schools feel like they need $3M at a bare minimum.
Nebraska coach Matt Rhule talked about the $1-2M quarterbacks, but in reality most deals don't come close to that. Most players at UCF would be receiving less than $100K. A lot of deals in the $20-60K type range. A $40K deal would be $3,333/month before taxes.
Typically, four and five-star recruits have $$$ NIL options coming out of high school. Some schools will offer deals before they prove themselves. Other schools absolutely will not offer NIL deals to recruits. Instead they say the deal will be there if you earn it.
It's really quite fascinating when you think about it. Recruiting is no longer about evaluation and personal connections, it's also about wisely allocating your budget and making wise personnel decisions whether it's your existing roster or recruits.
Anyway, I'm just sharing what I've been hearing for the past few days. We'll see what happens. Obviously it's a big month of transfer acquisitions as well.
I heard things went well with Texas Tech QB Tyler Shough, but I don't have much more than that. A lot of these transfers may keep things quiet until they announce a decision. And UCF would keep all transfer talk secret if they can. They don't like to publicize who they're targeting.
I did speak with Tufts WR Jaden Richardson earlier tonight. Smart kid. Economics major. It'll be a longer update, so I won't work on that until tomorrow. No commitment yet.
There have been plenty of announcements over the past week, but so far just one from a UCF player. CB Fred Davis, a transfer from Clemson who didn't play this season, will be re-entering the portal as a grad transfer.
There will be some UCF portal entries, though if the chatter is accurate UCF has done a pretty good job retaining most of the top talent.
Of the players UCF wants to keep, I'm only hearing there are questions surrounding maybe six of them. And of those six, only three are probably headed to the portal for sure.
I don't want to name those three players, but I'll allude to them.
-Two of them are seniors with one year left. Defense. Good players, played a lot these past four seasons. I don't think UCF is surprised to see them go.
-Another player is on offense and simply wants more playing time. Not a starter.
Then there's the big three with decisions to make: RB RJ Harvey, WR Javon Baker and WR Kobe Hudson.
RJ Harvey - Keep on hearing he's 50/50 on returning to UCF or going to the NFL. Some have heard he might be a late round or UDFA type player, so it's not a slam dunk to leave. He could also go into the portal for a bigger NIL payday, but I've heard his UCF legacy is important to him and he doesn't really want to do that. The Kingdom will do their best to try and keep him.
Javon Baker - This is an interesting case because I've heard he's not a graduate, so he doesn't have leverage. It's either NFL or return to UCF. He already used up his free transfer and the NCAA isn't really granting waivers. I think he's on track to graduate this time a year from now.
I'm told he was referring to NIL last week when he tweeted, "Your 2-year free trial is up, somebody gotta pay."
Baker has since deleted most tweets, but he was hoping for a big NIL payday that I don't think UCF can afford, even if they want to. So I'm very interested to see what happens here. I think UCF is prepared for him to possibly leave, but it's not set in stone.
Kobe Hudson - I've heard that he's a much better possibility to return to UCF. Like RJ and Kobe, he also was weighing the NFL.
In regards to DTs Lee Hunter and Ricky Barber, I've heard both are coming back. Big if it happens. Most thought Barber would have an NFL-type season, but he was hurt most of the year. When he did play, he was not 100 percent. Lee Hunter showed flashes of NFL potential, but he may need another year to develop.
I hadn't heard anything about RB Johnny Richardson. I know there was some speculation he could go in the portal for more playing time. Some of these decisions could potentially be impacted by the decisions of teammates.
The portal is open for 30 days and that's a pretty long time. Again, just passing along what I've been hearing. Things could change.
Obviously, contributions to The Kingdom are really important. I always hesitate in being frank about the realities of roster management because I know some people don't really want to hear it, but it's just the way it is these days.
Every school probably feels like they need a $5M NIL budget to try to compete. Some SEC schools and bluebloods have $10M plus. I think schools feel like they need $3M at a bare minimum.
Nebraska coach Matt Rhule talked about the $1-2M quarterbacks, but in reality most deals don't come close to that. Most players at UCF would be receiving less than $100K. A lot of deals in the $20-60K type range. A $40K deal would be $3,333/month before taxes.
Typically, four and five-star recruits have $$$ NIL options coming out of high school. Some schools will offer deals before they prove themselves. Other schools absolutely will not offer NIL deals to recruits. Instead they say the deal will be there if you earn it.
It's really quite fascinating when you think about it. Recruiting is no longer about evaluation and personal connections, it's also about wisely allocating your budget and making wise personnel decisions whether it's your existing roster or recruits.
Anyway, I'm just sharing what I've been hearing for the past few days. We'll see what happens. Obviously it's a big month of transfer acquisitions as well.
I heard things went well with Texas Tech QB Tyler Shough, but I don't have much more than that. A lot of these transfers may keep things quiet until they announce a decision. And UCF would keep all transfer talk secret if they can. They don't like to publicize who they're targeting.
I did speak with Tufts WR Jaden Richardson earlier tonight. Smart kid. Economics major. It'll be a longer update, so I won't work on that until tomorrow. No commitment yet.
