UCF's Kaven Call pens scathing letter to Gus Malzahn announcing plans to transfer

UCF EDGE Kaven Call will enter the NCAA transfer portal, he announced on Twitter. He spent two seasons with the Knights.

“I would like to say thank you to the UCF staff and those who have helped me along the way,” Call wrote on Twitter. “I would also like to thank the UCF fans for always supporting since Day 1. With that being said, I will be officially entering the transfer portal.”

Call penned a letter to head coach Gus Malzahn, which can be read in its entirety below, via Call’s Twitter.

I would like to say thank you to the UCF staff and those who have helped me along the way. I would also like to thank the UCF fans for always supporting since Day 1. With that being said, I will be officially entering the transfer portal. pic.twitter.com/UYbcc8wIfP

— Kaven Call (@Kavencall7) October 22, 2024

“I am sending this letter to set the record straight and do not want your Chief of Staff, Coach Ross Newton, misleading other schools about me,” Call wrote to begin.

Call wrote to Malzahn explaining his excitement about UCF when he committed on Christmas of 2021 and was ready to be apart of history with the Knights moving into the Big 12. However, despite loving the university and his teammates, things changed this September.

“However, on September 17, 2024, I was completely blindsided when told by Chief of Staff, Ross Newton, that if I redshirted, I would be kicked off the team and expected to clean out my locker,” Call wrote. “Coach Ingram and I discussing redshirting at the end of last season. When I met with Coach Ingram this year about redshirting, I was told he would inform you and ‘start the process.’ Being kicked off the team was never mentioned or discussed, and Coach Ingram said he understood. I simply requested a redshirt year to continue to build and be a contributing factor for the team.”

Call named Newton as one who said there would be a “stigma” attached to Call’s name and that UCF would see the player as a quitter and that he “bailed out” on the team. Newton allegedly said he would “tell them the truth” about Call.

“I didn’t want to clean out my locker, but I was told to do so, and I did,” Call wrote. “I didn’t want to leave the team, but I was told to do so, and I did. Thank you for the opportunity to be a UCF Knight.”

Call played in one game this season and logged two tackles.

As a member of the Class of 2023, Call was a three-star recruit out of Apopka (Fla.) High, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 95 overall prospect in the state, the No. 49 EDGE in the class and the No. 570 overall prospect in the class.