Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Early interest from UCF lands Joyce
BENTONVILLE — Central Florida thought enough of Cole Joyce that the Knights offered him a spot on their football team before his junior season.
Bentonville’s senior linebacker returned the favor Wednesday by signing his national letter of intent with the Orlando-based university before a host of teammates and family members at a local pizza restaurant.
“There’s a sense of relief, knowing that I found my dream school and now I can work toward the next chapter in my life,” Joyce said. “What attracted me was the way the coaches encountered me. They really stuck with me and never had any doubts about me. They’re super excited about me.”
Joyce, the 18th-ranked inside linebacker nationally by ESPN and the top-ranked linebacker in the state, chose Central Florida over SMU and Houston. He started every game at inside linebacker during his three seasons at Bentonville, and he filled in at times in the Tigers’ offensive backfield, especially on short-yardage situations.
He finished with a teamhigh 102 tackles, 2 interceptions, a forced fumble and 2 touchdowns. Joyce had compiled almost 300 tackles during his career at Bentonville, and he also set a school record for pass breakups for an inside linebacker.
“Central Florida is about to get a blue- collar, hardworking, phenomenal football player,” Bentonville Coach Jody Grant said. “More importantly, they’re going to get a future leader in their program. The expectations are for him to go down there and play early.
“A lot of the recruiting world is about connections, and we were fortunate enough to have a connection with [UCF defensive coordinator] Randy Shannon when he was at Arkansas. They liked the film of him when we sent it, so they sent some coaches to lay eyes on him. The more they laid eyes on him and watched him, they offered him before his junior season.”
Joyce committed to Central Florida without making a visit to the campus, but it won’t be long before he gets there. He will graduate from Bentonville this month, then report to the Knights on Jan. 8.
Joyce said he will have to make some adjustments since he played in a 3-4 defensive scheme at Bentonville. Central Florida utilizes a 4- 3 scheme.
“It was important for me to graduate early because there are so many things you can do to better yourself,” Joyce said. “You get to go through spring camp, then you get the extra things help you along the way.”
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER
McRae inks with Memphis
SPRINGDALE — Most of 2020 will be forgettable for Springdale Har-Ber senior Errington McRae, but the Wildcats senior is closing the year on a positive note.
McRae, a tight end, played just three games this season before a knee injury forced him to the sidelines. The 6-3, 250-pounder already had secured his future with a commitment to Memphis in the summer, and McRae followed through on that commitment by signing a letter of intent with the Tigers on Wednesday in the Har-Ber football fieldhouse.
“Memphis is somewhere where I always saw myself as a fit in their offense,” McRae said Wednesday. “I feel like it was a great environment for me to go in early and be surrounded by a family-oriented coaching staff.”
McRae will be a January enrollee at Memphis and will participate in spring practices.
In his injury-shortened senior season, McRae caught 13 passes for 157 yards and 1 touchdown. As a junior, McRae emerged as one of the state’s premier tight ends with 41 catches for 801 yards and 6 touchdowns.
McRae had arthroscopic surgery on his injured knee this fall and was able to rehab. He’s also dropped about 20 pounds, he said.
“I had two pieces of cartilage from the top of my femur go down into my knee and float around, so they did an arthroscopic procedure and went in and got it out,” McRae said of the surgery. “I rehabbed for six weeks, and I’m back at it.”
Har- Ber Coach Chris Wood said McRae’s future is bright both on and off the field.
“Errington leads by example. He works hard, he’s driven. He has a servant-leader mentality,” Wood said. “That is a representation of his mom. His mom has done a fantastic job raising him.
“He’s going to be very successful in life. I think he’s going to be a player for Memphis and help them down the road as he continues to get older. And whatever he does in the business world, he’s going to make an impact in this world in a positive way for a ton of lives.”