No. 12 UCF plays host to recruits
No. 12 UCF had a decent showing of local college football prospects on hand for a rare Thursday night game against Temple, and one of the bigger surprises at Spectrum Stadium was CB/RB Damarius Good, a Miami commitment out of Lake Brantley High.
Good, a speedy running back who has not played a lot of cornerback during his high school career, is penciled in to be a defensive back at Miami. It was his first time attending a UCF game, and he could consider the Knights to be an option. The 6-foot, 170-pound Good committed to the Hurricanes shortly after being offered a scholarship on May 30.
Several other local players were in attendance, including a pair of 2019 UCF commits. Hagerty offensive lineman Matt Lee, a UCF pledge who helped to lead the Huskies to a Class 7A district title with a big victory over previously unbeaten Edgewater last Friday night, was in the house as usual. He was joined by defensive lineman Raymond Cutts, a UCF pledge who helped lead Jones High to a Class 5A district title this season.
Cutts was joined by offensive line teammates Evan Anderson (2020) and Javonte Gardner (2021). Gardner got a scholarship offer from UCF last month and also has a Florida offer. The 6-foot-5, 290-pounder is one of the top young prospects in the Orlando area.
Edgewater was represented by 2020 RB Isaiah Connelly, 2021 DL Diante Shepard, 2020 ATH D.J. Hampton and 2022 DB Jeremiah Connelly Orlando Christian Prep DB Barry Wagner Jr. (2021) also attended the game.
Lakeland High had several representatives in the crowd, including junior CB Fenley Graham.
Cougars grateful: While UCF continues to be the star of the American Athletic Conference East Division, Houston has quietly put itself into the mix for a West crown with a 7-1 record. The Cougars are riding a five-game win streak and earned the No. 17 spot in the latest Associated Press and coaches’ top 25 polls.
“I think they're grateful. They're grateful of the recognition and the respect of the coaches' poll, but I think we're all on the same page because we haven't won anything,” Houston coach Major Applewhite told reporters earlier this week. “These are just rankings. These are the entertainment dollars right now; these aren't real. This is what people want to get involved with, talk about, like and re-tweet, but it doesn't matter.
“What matters is that we go out and have a great Tuesday practice, just like we've been doing. We try to be different in everything that we do, and that goes for everybody. We're going to be different in our preparation, and that's what we're going to hang our hat on, and be proud of. It's about focus, and discipline in our assignments."
Houston wasn’t ranked in the first College Football Playoff rankings, which were released Tuesday night.
Wright honored: Kicker Matthew Wright was named one of 20 semifinalists for the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the top kicker in the country. Wright is 8-of-8 this season on field goals and 41-of-41 on extra points. Five of the 20 players listed were previous semifinalists, including Utah’s Matt Gay, who was last year’s Groza winner.