Summer Surge: UCF makes Southern push to aid Big 12 transition

UCF is taking the southern route to contention in the Big 12. The Knights snagged 10 commitments from prospects in the states of Georgia and Florida in June and early in July.

According to On3’s top 300 rankings, 67 of the nation’s top 300 players reside in those states. UCF made a push toward building a winner in the Big 12.

UCF will play its first season in the conference in 2022. The real payoff could come as the class of 2024 matures and develops.

Gus Malzahn has made Atlanta and the state of Florida his recruiting grounds for years as an assistant at Auburn and a head coach at Auburn.

The connections are paying off once again. All five of UCF’s Georgia commits play high school football less than an hour from the state capital of Georgia.

Malzahn has an understanding of the lay of the city of Atlanta and the highly competitive high school football market. He also has the ear of former players who are willing to speak up on his behalf.

Christian Peterson, a safety commit, is a member of Cam Newton’s 7-on-7 program. Peterson didn’t hesitate to ask Newton about Malzahn.

Newton gave a glowing review of his former offensive coordinator.

“Cam said that coach Malzahn was an unbelievable coach,” Peterson said. “He told me he would put me in a position to be successful. He loves you more than on the field, he loves you off the field also.”

The other key to the southern surge for UCF is defensive coordinator Addison Williams.

Williams is from Atlanta. He played high school football at Westlake High School, the alma mater of Cam Newton. Williams has been a consistent name to go to on the relatability scale for recruits.

UCF’s class of 2024 a close-knit bunch

As much as coaching matters in recruiting, chemistry is a big piece of UCF’s puzzle as well. A lot of the prospects set to join UCF’s class of 2024 like one another.

As they all broke out their announcements over the last few weeks, many of the same faces kept popping up. During Kylan Fox’s ceremony, four-star interior offensive line commit and high school teammate Waltclaire Flynn was in attendance.

Peterson, who was uncommitted at the time, was also in attendance. Fox attended Peterson’s announcement at the end of the week. Peterson made his way to watch Jakob Gude commit. There’s a natural comradery that is going to translate.

It’s been in the works for a while. The group isn’t stopping. They have their list of targets who they’ve also connected with. Things could just be beginning for UCF. The class of 2024 is trying to build their own legacy.

“UCF is on the rise,” Flynn told said. “This has been in the works since the official visit during BounceHouse weekend. You looked around and everybody was ready to commit…I know this group will have a big impact in the Big 12. We’ll soon be looking to win the natty.”