#ChargeOn Today: The Transfer Portal 👑 — a full Bounce House
😎 Good to see you again, friends! Before we dive in, McKenzie Milton had a touching tribute on Instagram to former Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan, who passed away on Tuesday. RIP to a dude who smashed records.
Today’s read is just 5 minutes ⏲️
Trending in the Kingdom: 👑 The Transfer Portal kings
Thank you lord for this opportunity!!
Time to work
This personal💯⚔️ https://t.co/q9VdxDyfGV
The transfer portal has been kind to UCF since Gus Malzahn took over in Orlando. More on that in a sec.
Here’s the scoop: Former five-star recruit and Notre Dame wide receiver Jordan Johnson committed to UCF, picking the Knights over SEC programs Florida and Missouri. On paper, it’s one of the biggest hauls in school history.
He’s the highest-rated “commitment” ever, with a 247Sports Composite rating of 0.9822. The next-closest, according to 247, was junior college DT DeMarcus Johnson at 0.9333.
In case you forgot: DeMarcus Johnson (no relation) committed to UCF in December of 2001, but a few years later he was suspended for violating team rules, according to the AP. It later came out that he had forged a professor’s signature on a courtesy form that was an excused absence to missing class for football-related activities.
Okay, now back to Jordan Johnson.
So, why’d he leave Notre Dame? According to his Twitter post, he needed a “fresh start” when deciding to transfer, but there’s been hints that he had some academic and “trait” issues, per Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly: “We knew Jordan’s ability,” Kelly said in late October to Notre Dame’s Rivals site. “There are other things that are important here at the university, and we all know that. He has been focused heavily on making the transition. The things that are really difficult are in the classroom.”
But Johnson’s raw talent has never been in question.
He’s a St. Louis native and had an impressive offer list coming out of DeSmet high school. Everyone from Alabama to Ohio State wanted him, but he decided on the Irish, even though he admitted he didn’t even like Notre Dame at first.
“I didn’t like it at all,” he told Irish Illustrated’s Tom Loy. When I decided to commit, they were shocked…the campus was pretty dead. It was pretty cold. I know my mom was sick, I was kind of sick a little bit. So, I just think it wasn’t a good time.“
Maybe that was a sign of things to come, because Johnson played just 26 snaps as a true freshman and didn’t record a single catch. That lack of playing time was rare for five-star enrollees under Brian Kelly at Notre Dame.
He’ll have plenty of time to turn things around at UCF, with all four years of eligibility remaining and a fifth after the NCAA granted all college athletes an additional year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to NDInsider.
And UCF could use more receiver help, too. They lost Marlon Williams, Tre Nixon and Jacob Harris to the NFL. The only sure-thing at receiver right now is Oklahoma transfer Jaylon Robinson, who put up nearly 1,000 yards receiving and six touchdowns. Ryan O'Keefe and Jake Hescock are the other pass-catchers on this roster with true experience, but other than that, it’s an area that needed some beefing-up.
Is #UCF the king of the @RivalsPortal? https://t.co/4tK0W8N228
Like Mike, let’s give it up for Gus and his wizardry with the transfer portal, which has become his favorite tool for stacking UCF’s roster with massive Power 5 talent.
Johnson’s transfer is UCF’s eighth offseason addition via the portal. The others:
RB Isaiah Bowser (Northwestern)
RB Mark-Antony Richards (Auburn)
WR Nate Craig-Myers (Auburn/Colorado State)
DL Big Kat Bryant (Auburn)
DL Ricky Barber Jr. (Western Kentucky)
LB Hirkley Latu (BYU)
WR Brandon Johnson (Tennessee).
It also helps that quarterback Dillon Gabriel is genuinely ecstatic to have Johnson to throw to.
🏟️ All signs point to a full Bounce House
UCF running back Adrian Killins Jr. (9) races into the end zone for a touchdown in front of USF defensive back Devin Studstill (8) during the first half of the "War on I-4" rivalry. (WILLIE J. ALLEN JR. | AP)
Who’s ready to feel the vibration of the Bounce House during Zombie Nation this fall? You know I am. Apparently, everyone involved with athletics is, too.
Tell me more: UCF hasn’t hosted a packed house since November 29, 2019, when they welcomed 45,216 fans in a 34-7 win over USF.
Flashback: Remember when Adrian Killins Jr. threw up the deuces ✌️ when we ran one in for a score? ▶️ In case you needed a refresher:
2019 Football Highlights - USF at UCF
Yeah, I can’t wait to see the end zone cabanas rocking again. Anyway, there’s some whispers that UCF will be opening up its stadium fully for fans this fall.
Back in March, UCF AD Terry Mojajir said prior to the Spring Game, which was limited to 25% capacity, that the athletic department was “moving forward with plans to sell out the Bounce House this fall. We will certainly abide by all medical guidelines, but we’re planning on 100% capacity.”
Then in April, Mojajir hinted at it again on Twitter, saying there were “less than 3,000 tickets left to sell for 100% percent capacity for the Bounce House.”
Knight Nation!! Got an update for you:
https://t.co/Nq3CIy4G4t
https://t.co/NLuJovQlgo https://t.co/NOHopGpOlx
AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco wasn’t as committed to full stadiums in conversation with the Orlando Sentinel. He had a more hopeful tone.
“If the level of vaccination continues to go up…I think there’s a reasonable chance that we’ll be close to capacity. I suspect there’s a chance, but it’s not for sure because a lot of it’s going to be up to the states.”
“The issue for us is the vaccination of our student-athletes because our protocol right now is if you’ve been fully vaccinated, you don’t have to be tested and you don’t have to quarantine if you’ve had a COVID contact. "That’s a real incentive for guys to get vaccinated.”
Deeper Dive 🤿:
AAC commish Mike Aresco hopeful for full football stadiums (via Orlando Sentinel)
Is Florida ‘leading the way’ on pandemic recovery? Not so much, says data (via Florida Today)
UCF Scales Back Mask Requirements, Continues Planning for 100% Capacity at Bounce House This Fall (via Black and Gold Bannerette)
Give me a Knugget 🐴: It has been exactly 530 days since UCF played in front of a fully-crowded stadium. The Knights’ legendary 25-game win streak happened over a span of 745 days. Crazy to think about 🤔.
And you can add another 110+ days to that full-capacity drought with UCF’s season kicking off in early September against Boise State at the Bounce House.
Speaking of, I’ll be in the Black and Gold Cabana, Section 228C. Let’s share cold one together 🍻! - Ryan
By Ryan Bass
The #ChargeOn Today Newsletter is dedicated to covering trending UCF Athletics news and topics. Have some feedback? Shoot me a message: chargeontoday@gmail.com
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