Linebacker Grier to transfer to UCF

After losing starting linebacker Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste to the NCAA transfer portal, UCF l was in need of help for a critical position on defense. The Knights didn’t have to look far.

USF transfer linebacker Antonio Grier announced his intentions to head to the Orlando school after five seasons in Tampa.

“New beginnings,” Grier wrote on Twitter, with a graphic indicating his plans to transfer to UCF.

The commitment to the Knights comes following a trip to campus over the weekend, a person familiar with the visit told the Orlando Sentinel. UCFSports.com first reported the visit.

A preseason All-AAC firstteam pick by Athlon Sports and the Phil Steele College Football Preview Magazine, Grier appeared in just three games this season due to a hand injury but was a force to be reckoned with in previous years.

In 2021, Grier started all 12 games he played and led the Bulls with 92 tackles and 8 tackles for loss. He added 3 sacks and finished tiedfor-first on the team with 2 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles.

He earned second-team All-AAC honors from the league’s coaches in back-toback seasons after leading USF with 59 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and a pair of forced fumbles in 2020.

In 35 games played throughout five years at USF, Grier recorded 230 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, 5 forced fumbles and 2 interceptions. When he announced that he would be transferring from USF on Nov. 29 after taking a redshirt this year, the Atlanta native indicated he had one season of eligibility remaining. Even if it is just for one year, Grier brings a wealth of experience to the UCF linebacker room following the departure of Jean-Baptiste, who entered the transfer portal on Dec. 5.

Beyond Grier, UCF is set to have the team’s leading tackler, Jason Johnson, back at linebacker as well as veteran Walter Yates, junior Quade Mosier and freshmen Kam More and TJ Bullard among others at the position.

The Knights also have two linebackers orally pledged to UCF: Lake Brantley’s 4-star brothers Andrew Harris and Michael Harris, who committed over the summer.

All verbal commitments are nonbinding until the early signing period opens and they can become official.

Grier’s transfer to UCF won’t become official until he enrolls and attends a class in person at the start of the spring semester in January.

Graduate transfer Grier is the second player in this recruiting cycle to move from USF to UCF — two schools that have been tied at the hip over the past 17 years because of a heated rivalry between programs located less than 100 miles apart.

Former USF quarterback Timmy McClain transferred to UCF in August but had to sit out the season due to the timing of his decision. He entered the transfer portal well after the May 1 deadline, thus not being eligible to use the one-time transfer exception to be immediately available to play at his next school.

McClain and Grier join a movement of players transferring to schools that they previously faced on the field year in and year out.

AARON DOSTER/AP South Florida linebacker Antonio Grier is transferring to UCF, he announced on Monday.