UCF expected to land former five-star transfer from Maryland

Maryland football suffered a major blow last month when freshman linebacker Terrence Lewis, a former five-star recruit, opted to leave via the transfer portal. He will now head to UCF and Gus Malzahn, according to On3’s Matt Zenitz.

Lewis did not play this season after receiving surgery before Spring practices began.

Ex-Maryland linebacker Terrence Lewis, a five-star recruit in the 2021 recruiting class, is expected to transfer to UCF, sources tell @on3sportshttps://t.co/IvXbXlVHjI

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) January 3, 2022

Lewis signed with Maryland after a heavy recruiting effort from multiple schools, but ultimately decided on Maryland because of his chance for immediate playing time and his relationship with coach Michael Locksley.

Originally, Terrence Lewis committed to Tennessee but the Maryland program eventually won him over.

Injury would unfortunately keep Lewis from seeing the field all season. Upon joining Maryland, the medical staff diagnosed him with a torn ACL. He’d apparently played on the injury in high school.

After his surgery, Locksley did not have a timeline for Lewis’ return but were optimistic he would be ready for the season opener. Now, Lewis will get a chance to begin his college career in a new location. As this is his first transfer, he’ll be immediately eligible to play for the Knights next season.

Lewis was the No. 43 player in the nation when recruited, according to the On3 Consensus. As a junior at Miami Central high school, Lewis recorded 105 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss, nine sacks and three interceptions in 2019.

Aside from Tennessee’s efforts, Lewis was also recruited locally by Miami, as well as by Gus Malzahn at Auburn.

UCF went 8-4 in the regular season before capping it off with a win versus Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl. The four losses were to Louisville, Navy, Cincinnati and SMU.

Malzahn earns bonus with Gasparilla Bowl win

UCF football coach Gus Malzahn earned a rather large bonus for his Gasparilla Bowl victory against Florida. The first-year coach is now $25,000 richer thanks to the win over the Gators.

In total, Malzahn earned $50,000 in bonuses during his first season with the Knights. This is in addition to the $2.3 million annual salary that Malzahn earned in 2021.

UCF hired Malzahn this past offseason after he parted ways with Auburn. In eight seasons, he compiled a 68-35 record with the Tigers, including a BCS Championship appearance in 2013. He led the Knights to a 9-4 finish in his inaugural season.

They earned a trip to the Gasparilla Bowl to face Florida, which recently let go of coach Dan Mullen after four seasons. Although the game saw six lead changes up until the third quarter, UCF eventually pulled away. The Knights ended the game by scoring 13 unanswered points.