Knights ‘everything’ transfer Wilson searched for
After UCF football lost on the road 34-13 at East Carolina this past season, Pirates defensive back Jireh Wilson was named AAC defensive player of the week.
Wilson recorded an interception, recovered a fumble and totaled 3 tackles against the Knights.
Now he’s joining forces with them as UCF heads to the Big 12 Conference this summer.
“When I entered the portal, I wasn’t really sure what I was going to get,” Wilson said. “I didn’t really have any expected destinations. I was open to all opportunities.”
That included joining a familiar foe in the Knights, a move that Wilson admitted was strange at first.
“I played here twice as an opponent,” he said. “Being in the facility and meeting the coaches that I just played against a few months ago was definitely a little weird.”
Wilson entered the NCAA transfer portal on Dec. 29 and less than two weeks later committed to UCF.
“I wanted the chance to play on a bigger stage than the American Conference,” he said. “I wanted to be somewhere I could call home, develop a good relationship with the coaches, play in an area where the team has a lot of support like Orlando, a chance to play at the next level and a winning history.
“Everything that UCF has is what I was looking for when I entered the portal.”
New UCF defensive coordinator Addison Williams was the first Knights coach to contact Wilson, who played in all 13 games for ECU this past season.
“He pretty much told me that they have a good plan going into the Big 12 this year and a well-put-together team,” Wilson said. “He told me that he liked my skill set and loved my game. He obviously had prior knowledge of mebecauseI’veplayedagainst them the last couple of years.
“Everything he told me felt right. I put my trust in him so I felt like this was the right place for me.”
Wilson is one of three defensive backs UCF added from the portal since the season ended, joining Clemson’s Fred Davis and Texas State’s DeJordan Mask.
The 6-foot-3, 219-pound defensive back finished the 2022 season as ECU’s fifthhighest-rated defensive player according to ProFootballFocus. He recorded 48 tackles to go with 4.5 tackles for loss and 3 interceptions, which was tied for the most on the team.
Wilson shared the reaction from his former ECU teammates when they found out he transferring to UCF.
“Everybody was happy for me,” he said. “Nobody gave me a hard time.”
He has high expectations for the Knights in their first season in the Big 12, which is also Wilson’s final year of eligibility.
“Coach Malzahn came in our first team meeting before we started workouts and said our goal is to win the Big 12,” he said. “That needs to be everybody’s intent with everything we do from conditioning to lifting weights, your diet, how you are on and off the field, to spring ball and everything leading up to the season.
“Everything is about winning the Big 12.”