Here’s who is expected to enroll early after signing with Knights
UCF signed 14 high school prospects on Early Signing Day and more than half the class will be arriving on campus in less than three weeks.
Nine of the 14 who signed their National Letter of Intent with the Knights have completed high school and will be enrolling early at UCF when the spring semester begins Jan. 9.
By enrolling early, the signees will not only be able to get a head start on college classes but also participate in spring practice with the team, which generally begins in the middle of March.
UCF coach Gus Malzahn said those who enroll early will be on a fast track compared with summer enrollees.
“To get here and get used to the college life and routine — and then 15 practices of college [football] — it’s the development,” he said. “It really helps them and helps us from a coach’s standpoint.
“We’ve got quite a few guys that’ll be here early.”
Here’s who is expected to arrive on campus next month, according to UCF:
DE Kaven Call, 6-3, 240 (Apopka) OL Johnathan Cline, 6-4, 295 (Cartersville, Ga.)
OL Keyon Cox, 6-5, 270 (Central, Ala.)
DB Jason Duclona, 6-1, 170 (Estero) CB Braeden Marshall, 5-10, 175 (Lake Mary)
DB Ja’Maric Morris, 6-2, 205 (Hutchinson C.C., Kan.)
TE Randy Pittman, 6-2, 225 (Mosley)
K Grant Reddick, 5-10, 190 (Boone) DT John Walker, 6-4, 300 (Osceola) Walker is already practicing with the team.
Because he’s enrolling early at UCF in January and has completed his high school classes at Osceola, Walker is able to capitalize on a new rule that allows him to participate in bowlgame practices and even travel with the team to Annapolis, Md., for the Military Bowl on Wednesday.
Walker, however, can’t play in the bowl game itself.
Malzahn shared his early impressions of the highest-ranked recruit to ever sign with the program.
“He’s everything I thought he’d be,” Malzahn said about Walker, who ranked as the No. 12 defensive lineman nationally and No. 101 overall recruit in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite ratings that combine prospect rankings listed by major recruiting services.
It takes coordination and hard work behind the scenes to ensure that high school seniors will finish their classes early and enroll at UCF months before their classmates graduate.
Malzahn gave a nod to UCF’s off-the-field recruiting staff.
“That’s a group that doesn’t get enough credit and they did a wonderful job led by [special assistant to the head coach] Andrew Blaylock and his team,” he said.
Here are the five UCF signees who aren’t expected to enroll early and likely arrive to campus over the summer instead:
DE Isaiah Nixon, 6-4, 215 (St. Petersburg Lakewood)
QB Dylan Rizk, 6-2, 205 (Cardinal Gibbons)
LB Troy Ford Jr., 6-2, 235 (Calvary Day, Ga.)
WR Tyree Patterson, 6-2, 175 (Eustis)
DT Andrew Rumph, 6-3, 265 (Palmetto)