Early National Signing Day
New UCF coach works quickly to land 12 recruits
was a mixed bag for the state’s college football programs, with many new coaches aiming to get recruits locked in. Jones High lineman Stacy Kirby was one surprise, signing with USF instead of UCF.
New UCF football coach Josh Heupel hasn’t found a normal home in Orlando yet — his wife and children fly in town to house-hunt Friday, just a few days before Christmas. But so far, he’s been successful making UCF home to at least 12 signees Wednesday, the first day of the new early signing period.
Heupel had less than two weeks to prepare for the early signing period without a full staff and office space as his group shares amenities with departing UCF coach Scott Frost and his staff.
Given the less-than-ideal circumstances, Heupel had reason to feel proud.
“I’m really excited to announce what I think is a great start to the 2018 class,” he said. “It’s kind of odd this year where you have multiple signing days, but I’m really excited about the kids that we were able to go out and sign to this great university.”
Aside from retaining several earlier Frost recruits, Heupel added two new names to the
mix in junior-college offensive-lineman transfers Josh McMullen and Trevor Elbert.
Heupel said bolstering the Knights’ offensive line — particularly at tackle — and adding another bigbodied tight end filled an immediate need.
UCF will graduate two of its five starting offensive linemen after the Peach Bowl in long-time starting left tackle Aaron Evans and right guard Chavis Dickey.
“I think whenever you’re building a program, the trenches are absolutely critical,” Heupel said. “You look at some of the great skill players that are currently on our roster and what they’re able to do, and a lot of those kids are still coming back here next year or maybe two years.”
Heupel added, “Certainly up front, you gotta continue to get bigger, stronger and more athletic. You can’t have enough big bodies inside of your program. Those guys are always going to help you.”
Bishop Moore standout Eric Seidelman, an offensive lineman, kicked off the day with his letter of intent marking the Knights’ first signee at 7:02 a.m. The school signed five offensive linemen including Seidelman, James Collins (Virginia), Edward Collins (Alabama), Elbert (Texas) and McMullen (Mississippi).
UCF also added 6-foot-5 tight end Chris Deloach, which should help fill some of the gaps left at tight end when seniors Michael Colubiale and Jordan Franks and likely NFL-bound Jordan Akins move on in 2018.
The only real surprise of the day was losing UCF recruit Stacy Kirby to rival USF. Kirby, a defensive lineman from Orlando Jones High School, was previously committed to FSU but leaned toward UCF after Willie Taggart backed off the school’s original offer.
Losing Kirby left UCF’s staff with just one signee so far from the Central Florida region.
“[There are a] lot of great players right here that we certainly need to attract and keep home. It’s important for us in January to do that and then it’s absolutely critical for us moving forward,” Heupel said. “The great thing about being where we are is you put the fence up in this area and you’re gonna have a lot of great players. You drive a couple of hours in either direction and you can attract some phenomenal players as well.”
Heupel, 39, was introduced as the school’s 10th head coach on Tuesday, Dec. 5, a few days after Frost resigned to become Nebraska’s next head coach.
Heupel was forced to work quickly in retaining UCF’s recruits while shorthanded on staff. Heupel said he expects to announce the remainder of his assistants and support staff by New Year’s Day once the bulk of bowl games conclude.