Knights are coming home
Quintet of former UCF players resume their football careers in new league
For 5 former UCF players, Apollos’ opener doubles as homecoming.
The moments before a football is snapped might seem like a strange time for levity.
Don’t tell that to former UCF offensive linemen Chris Martin, Jordan McCray and Justin McCray. They enjoyed citing quotes from films, sometimes even as they were crouched at the line of scrimmage, awaiting the next play.
“Rush Hour,” starring Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, was a go-to movie.
“There’s a scene where they were getting ready to fight, and they were like, ‘I go that way, you go this way’ — something like that,” said Martin. “We’d be in a stance, and defenders are getting ready, snarling at us. And we’d be like, ‘I go that way, you go this way.’ ”
Martin and Jordan McCray are among five former UCF players — joining wide receiver Rannell Hall, defensive lineman Tony Guerad and offensive lineman Aaron Evans — with the Orlando Apollos of the inaugural Alliance of American Football.
Coached by Steve Spurrier, the Apollos will host the Atlanta Legends at UCF’s Spectrum Stadium in both teams’ season opener Saturday at 8 p.m. CBS (WKMG-Ch. 6) will broadcast the game.
“The atmosphere is beautiful,” Guerad said. “We’re going to feed off the fans, so the fans have to show up. We’re going to show up too.”
As much a lifeline as a league, the Alliance attracted players who have been told, “No,” more times than a young child requesting a doughnut right before bedtime. They keep coming back.
“It was just my love for this game,” Martin said. “I couldn’t just let it slip out of my hands.”
Martin, 29, signed with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2014 and has skipped among several NFL teams, including the Miami Dolphins, in search of an elusive roster spot. During his stints away from playing, Martin kept busy coaching high school football and tending to his daughters, Jada and Aurora.
“This entire league has given opportunities to so many of us who were right on the cusp of
“We’re going to feed off the fans, so the fans have to show up. We’re going to show up too.’’ Tony Guerad, Apollos defensive lineman
greatness that didn’t get there,” Martin said.
Like Jordan McCray, for example.
Justin McCray just completed his second season as a guard with the Green Bay Packers. Jordan, 26, still is trying to find a home in professional football, if one exists.
After abbreviated stints with the Packers, Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers, he played in the Arena Football League the past three seasons — including with the Orlando Predators in 2016.
McCray heeds some good advice whenever the search for a new team begins.
“You’ve got to keep working,” Jordan said, recalling Justin’s words. “Getting back to that level is never promised, but you never want to have an opportunity to get back and not be ready for it.”
Hall, who accounted for more than 2,000 receiving yards at UCF, joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after no team drafted him in 2015. Most of his time in the NFL was spent with the Cleveland Browns.
He was active for one game, the Browns’ regular-season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Jan. 3, 2016.
“I didn’t get any catches, but I got a few plays out there,” Hall said. “It was exciting, man, just to be in the NFL on a professional level, just to be out there.”
Guerad and Evans last played for the Knights’ undefeated team in 2017.
Guerad said he received tryouts from the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills and had been working out in Tampa, awaiting another chance. The Apollos called. “I’m ready to get back to it,” Guerad said.
Guerad and the other Knights are coming home.
“I’m really looking forward to being in that electric stadium again,” Martin said.