#ChargeOn Today: UCF makes NFL Draft history — going on tour — White Castle chaos
🗣️ Blaaaaack! Gooooold! Let’s Charge On.
It’s a short one today. Word count: 809 words (4 minutes).
1 trending thing: 🏈 UCF's Fab Five
UCF's historic 2021 NFL Draft class (via @UCF_Football)
A total of five UCF Knights were selected in the 2021 NFL draft, breaking the program record, set back in 2003 and 2018.
Here’s the scoop: S Richie Grant (2nd round, 40th overall - Atlanta Falcons), CB Aaron Robinson (3rd round, 71st overall - New York Giants), TE Jacob Harris (4th round, 141st overall - Los Angeles Rams), CB Tay Gowan (6th round, 223rd overall - Arizona Cardinals) and WR Tre Nixon (7th round, 242nd overall - New England Patriots) were taken over the three days of the NFL Draft.
What they said on each pick:
Grant: “Favorite pick of the second round so far. Grant is capable of anything you need out of your safety in today’s NFL.” - Chris Trapasso, CBS Sports
Robinson: “We think he’s a great fit, obviously, because we traded up, hello, stating the obvious. Captain Obvious. We think he’s a great fit for our defense and our back end.” - Dave Gettleman, Giants general manager
Harris: “I’m open to playing and being used wherever I’m needed and that’s just kind of my mindset going into this – wherever I’m needed to play, whether that’s receiver, tight end, I’m open to doing that and diving in.” - Jacob Harris on being drafted by the Rams
Gowan: “He’s got great athleticism as well and he’s a really good press corner, so he fits what we do schematically.“ - Steve Keim, Cardinals general manager
Nixon: "Wow!! What an honor. Can’t wait to get up there and get to work. God is great.” - Nixon, on twitter, after being hand-picked by outgoing Patriots scout Ernie Adams.
WATCH: ▶️ Adams selects Tre Nixon in the 7th round, his last draft pick after four decades with the Patriots
Ernie Adams Makes Final Draft Pick of His Career with the Patriots (New England Patriots)
In the last few years, UCF has started to close the gap with the state’s “big boys” in terms of developing NFL talent. UCF was tied for the sixth-most players from any program selected in this year’s draft. That was more than Miami, Florida State, Auburn, South Carolina, Texas A&M and others. Since 2017, they’ve started to make their mark in sending talent to the pros…
UCF has had more Top 100 Picks in the NFL Draft since 2017 than
71% of ACC teams
71% of Big Ten teams
70% of Big 12 teams
58% of Pac 12 teams
43% of SEC teams
Headed to Houston: Wide receiver Marlon Williams wasn’t drafted, but he did get scooped up by the Houston Texans as a free agent. Hey, Jordan Akins, you’ve got company.
Give me a Knugget 🐴: Richie Grant was the highest-graded safety in run-defense last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Deeper Dive 🤿: UCF sets school record with 5 players taken in 2021 NFL Draft (via Orlando Sentinel)
Throw it back:
🗓️ Dates set for the 2021 ChargeOn Tour
Gus Malzahn during his UCF introduction (via AP Images)
Time to open up that iCal or Google Calendar and jot down these dates for the 2021 ChargeOn Tour. The in-person and intimate get-together features new UCF athletic director Terry Mohajir and football coach Gus Malzahn and they’ll be joined by a few other Knights coaches and administrators on the trips.
Each ChargeOn Tour stop will be held from 6-8 p.m. with a social hour and autograph session from 6-7 p.m. The formal portion of the program at each event will be scheduled to begin around 7 p.m.
The purpose is to get fans hyped up for the 2021 athletics season, but there will be less stops than in previous years due to COVID-19 restrictions. They begin later this month and you must register to attend.
May 12: Ft. Lauderdale (Oakland Park)
Location: Funky Buddha Brewery (1201 NE 38th St, Oakland Park, FL 33334)
Capacity is limited. Food and drink specials available.
Parties must register entire party together in order to sit together.
May 19 – Space Coast (Port Canaveral)
Location: Gator’s Dockside Port Canaveral (683 Dave Nisbet Dr., Port Canaveral, FL 32920)
Food and Drink specials available.
May 27 – Oviedo
Location: Oviedo on the Park (299 Center Lake Ln, Oviedo, FL 32765)
Join us at Oviedo on the Park for Food Truck Thursday. Bring a blanket or lawn chairs. The program will take place at the outdoor Oviedo Amphitheater and Cultural Center.
August TBD - Downtown Orlando
More info to come later in the summer for the Downtown Kickoff event.
🍔 The new Kingdom in town: White Castle
World's largest White Castle location officially opens in Orlando
How long are you willing to wait in line for a hamburger? Apparently hours, if it’s the world’s largest White Castle. No, seriously. People apparently waited in miles-long traffic for hours to get their hands on the burger delicacy.
“Our grand opening exceeded our wildest expectations and beat the previous record by over 15%,” Richardson said in an emailed statement. - Jamie Richardson, White Castle Vice President, to the Orlando Sentinel.
The White Castle chain left the state in 1968 and didn’t return until Monday, when the 4,567-square-foot restaurant opened shortly after 8 a.m. just off I-4 near Disney World.
It employs 140 people, including managers, with wages starting at $13 per hour and increasing after 30 days to $13.50 and then $14 after 90 days, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
The newspaper also reports they set a single-day sales record for the burger chain (they didn’t provide the dollar figure). It topped the previous high of Scottsdale, Arizona’s chain in 2019.
And apparently, people showed up, with lines longer than Space Mountain…
UPDATE: The line for @WhiteCastle Orlando is over a mile long and the wait is over 4 hours #whitecastleorlando https://t.co/QAPgq4iLhb
Knights of the Roundup 🏀⚽🎾
STAYING IN ORLANDO!
We've earned a national seed in the #NCAATennis Tournament for the first time in program history! ⚔ #ChargeOn https://t.co/d9hzR0gYjh
Men’s Tennis 🎾: They’re nationally recognized and has earned a national seed for the first time ever.
Women’s Tennis 🎾: The ladies are also in the midst of a first, sending two of their own to the NCAA Singles Championship in the same year.
Football 🏈: Want to meet Gabe Davis? The Buffalo Bills wide receiver will be hanging at the Harry Buffalo in Downtown Orlando on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. He’s also taking donations for his charity.
Track and Field 👟: ChargeOn to Tokyo? Freshman sprinter Rayniah Jones, who broke the school record in the 100-meter hurdles, has qualified to compete in this year’s Olympic trials.
Hope you enjoyed today’s newsletter. See you tomorrow, fam ✌️ - 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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