Early Signing Day ✍️, #TheHero and why you should want Bo Nix at UCF 🙌🏻
UCF is expected to sign the best class in school history in 2022, starting with its next star quarterback, but that doesn't mean they won't add another in the portal.
It felt good to renew my football season tickets today. You doing the same? Remember, the renewal deadline is January 11, and season ticket prices are going up for some. Excited for another season to hang in the Cabana with my crew 🙌🏻.
Today’s read is 6 minutes ⏲️
Trending in the Kingdom: Early Signing Day ✍️
It’s going to be a fun morning for head coach Gus Malzahn and his staff. They’re on the cusp of signing the greatest recruiting class in school history, with the early signing period opening today. It’s expected to be busy, bright and early ☀️.
Here’s the scoop: National Letters of Intent will start rolling in to the football offices just after 7 a.m. EST, with future Knights making their verbal commitments to the program official. As it stands right now, UCF has 15 prospects committed to their 2022 class, with 13 of them expected to sign this morning. Two more could join the fold as well.
The Knights currently have the No. 39 class in the nation, per 247Sports, which would finish as the highest-ranked in program history. UCF has never finished higher than 55th in the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings.
Of the 15 commits, 11 are from Florida and five call the Orlando area home. If you average it out, UCF has signed less than three recruits, per cycle, from the Orlando area over the last two decades, so there’s certainly more of a local focus in 2022.
From 2016-2021, Scott Frost and Josh Heupel signed nine Top 100 Florida recruits, combined. In this class, UCF has six committed from the Top 100.
Here’s who’s signing 📝
We’ll see when the LOI’s officially come in, but here’s who’s expected to sign today, per the Orlando Sentinel.
LB T.J. Bullard, Berkeley Prep (Tampa, FL) - signed
RB Jordan McDonald, Milton Alpharetta, GA) - signed
WR Quan Lee, Buchholz (Gainesville, FL) - signed
CB Ja’Cari Henderson, Sanford Seminole (Sanford, FL) - signed
S Demari Henderson, Sanford Seminole (Sanford, FL) - signed
OL Caden Kitler, John Paul II (Plano, TX) - signed
TE Grant Stevens, Nease (Ponte Vedra Beach, FL) - signed
QB Thomas Castellanos, Ware County (Waycross, GA) - signed
LB Kam Moore, Sanford Seminole (Sanford, FL) - signed
CB Nikai Martinez, Apopka (Apopka, FL) - signed
DE Keahnist Thompson, Lakeland (Lakeland, FL) - signed
ATH Tyler Griffin, New Southeast Bulloch (Brooklet, GA) - signed
DL Jamaal Johnson, Chaminade Madonna (Hollywood, FL) - signed
Here’s who’s waiting 🤔
OL Miguel Maldonado , Lakeland (Lakeland, FL)
OL Leyton Nelson, Boone (Orlando, FL)
The Sentinel recently reported on both Maldonado and Nelson. Apparently, Maldonado was a mutual departure from the class, but hasn’t officially announced it yet. Nelson is waiting to make sure there’s no more coaching changes.
Here’s who to watch 👀
RB Xavier Townsend, Berkley Prep (Tampa, FL) - signed with UCF
There’s an obvious connection here with Bullard, who even tweeted at his high school teammate to join the class after he decommitted from Iowa State. Townsend is the 70th-best prospect in Florida and a four-star running back, per 247Sports, racking up 1,643 yards of total offense and 27 touchdowns, averaging over 12 yards per touch as a senior.
He had an official visit to campus in June with Bullard. I’d expect him to sign with the Knights, giving the running back room a huge boost.
DL Khurtiss Perry, Pike Road (Pike Road, AL)
The race for Perry is proof that Malzahn has given UCF’s recruiting a serious boost. His finalists are Alabama, Auburn, Clemson and UCF. The four-star prospect is set to announce at 1 p.m. on CBS Sports HQ, which you can watch here. This seems like a long-shot, right? Well, not really. There’s some legitimate buzz (subscription) that Perry could stun everyone and pick the Knights, who are absolutely in it, but can they really topple the in-state schools?
If he did go with the Knights, he’d be the highest-rated recruit to sign with UCF in program history. His addition would vault UCF’s class into the Top-30 range and ahead of Cincinnati for the top class in the American Conference.
Just a reminder 😎: The early signing period is a 72-hour window where recruits can sign a Letter of Intent with a program, starting at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 15. It was adopted in 2017. There’s a second signing period, the original National Signing Day, which is the first Wednesday in February. Nearly 80 percent of FBS prospects now sign during the early period, per Sports Illustrated.
Enjoy it while it lasts? 🤨
This early period might not last long, especially with some of the chaos it has caused, specifically with coaching changes occurring now earlier in December, as CBSSports’ Dennis Dodd points out.
“Almost half of the 28 coaching changes in 2021 came during the season (13), a large portion of which were at least a tacit reaction to the early signing period,” Dodd wrote. “Athletic directors wanting to get a head start on recruiting and bound by that artificial mid-December deadline thought nothing of canning coaches in the middle of the season.”
“The early signing period was created to address one complication -- pressure on recruits -- but it has created several more existential ones. While early commitments are likelier to sign and programs pulling offers has become less common, it has laid bare that programs are willing to sacrifice the product on the field to sell hope for the future.”
UCF’s future conference commissioner, Bob Bowlsby, told Sports Illustrated that the college football oversight committee, who he was the chairman of, was debating if they should cut the December signing period, or move it back to January.
“We did not do it to accommodate coaches,” Bowlsby said. “We did it to accommodate the students and their families. That’s going to be another process the Football Oversight (Committee) will have to go back and talk to the kids and the families and see if see if they want it to stay.”
Deeper Dive 🤿:
UCF closing in on best recruiting class in school history (247Sports)
Early Signing Day 2021: What To Expect In The AAC (SB Nation)
Early Signing Day Primer & Schedule (UCFSports - subscription)
Why expedited coaching carousel, stacked transfer portal could lead to end of early signing period (CBS Sports)
#TheHero is ready to roll 🤙🏻
Quarterbacks will always get the notoriety in a signing class and with good reason, since it’s the most scrutinized position. UCF quarterback Mikey Keene was a part of the 2021 class and ended up starting most of the season as a true freshman for the Knights.
Enter, Thomas Castellanos, the next signal caller heading to the quarterback room in Orlando. He’s oozing with confidence. He dubbed himself #TheHero after Dillon Gabriel announced his transfer last month.
Fill me in: I had a chance to catch up with Castellanos on an Instagram Live this week. The multi-sport star, who 247Sports rated as one of their “freak” recruits in this year’s class, is one of the most talented dual-threat QBs in the nation. He’s fast as can be, clocking an eye-popping 4.4-second 40-yard dash.
A lot of other major programs, like FSU, wanted to take advantage of his speed at another position, but UCF and Malzahn offered him at quarterback, which is one of the key reasons he has stuck with his commitment.
You can watch the interview here. Below is a bit of our Q&A. His wifi was spotty for the back end of the interview, just a heads up.
He did hit a jump shot on cue during the chat, which was sweet.
Ryan Bass: How excited are you to be a Knight?
Thomas Castellanos: “Oh, I’m excited. I’m ready to get to work and ready to get down there and start balling with the guys.”
RB: How have you embraced the role of being recruiter as well as one of the lead recruits?
TC: “I feel like I play a big part in that, being the quarterback. I’ve got to get the guys that I want to play with. I’ve been doing a good job of recruiting those guys and trying to get those guys to commit and be a part of this awesome class. They say this is supposed to be the best class in UCF history, so hopefully we can get all the guys that we should be getting…I’ve tried to tweet out, get the fans to show them some love and get those guys here, man.”
RB: What’s it mean to potentially be a part of a historic class at UCF?
TC: “It means a lot that I’m a part of this class and I get to lead those guys and be the quarterback.”
RB: What can Knight Nation expect to see at the Bounce House next season?
TC: “Knight Nation, ya’ll got a great, unbelievable dual-threat quarterback. I can do it all. I can run. I can throw. I an make plays. I can turn a 3rd-and-18 into a 1st-and-10.”
RB: When you look back at your high school career, how proud are you of what you accomplished?
TC: “I overcame a lot of adversity and I competed a lot and gave it my all every play. I feel like I left a footprint out there and left my legacy out there on the field.”
Over his career, Castellanos has thrown for over 7,700 yards and tossed 66 touchdowns to just 26 interceptions. Malzhan loves his legs and he showed how skilled he is as a runner during his career, totaling 3,681 rushing yards and 69 touchdowns. Just watch this clip below and tell me you’re not salivating, too.
Nix as a Knight? A reunion could pay off 💥
It’s no secret that Malzahn wants to add a graduate transfer quarterback from the portal, and it just so happens that his former five-star starter from Auburn is now on the market.
Tell me more: Former Tigers starter Bo Nix, who Malzahn signed in 2019, announced on Instagram that he’s leaving Auburn and looking for a new home. The former SEC Freshman of the Year in 2019 officially entered the transfer portal on Monday. He missed the last two games of the regular season after surgery to repair a broken ankle.
“I’ve made so many decisions for Auburn, and now it’s time to do what’s best for me,” Nix said.” It’s time that I move on to the next chapter in my life. To reach further goals, I’ve decided it’s best to be a grad transfer and find a new start somewhere else.”
So, is a reunion happening? 🧐 All signs, and rumors, point to Nix choosing UCF and a second go-around with Malzahn, which would honestly be a best-case scenario for everyone involved. He apparently already knows his destination.
Yes, it was an up-and-down ride when he was under Gus at Auburn, but Nix’s skillset and leadership qualities are exactly what Malzahn covets right now, and Nix would immediately be the favorite to start, even over Keene.
Nix’s yardage totals were down this season, but he completed 61 percent of his passes, a career-high. He also threw a career-low three interceptions.
He had three different offensive coordinators at Auburn, a poor offensive line and a sub-par supporting staff, but was still able to win games against ranked Alabama, Oregon and LSU, twice. He’s also not too far removed from one of the best road wins of his career just this season.
The “Bo Nix Experience” (seriously, watch this) is fun most of the time, and he’ll have way less pressure to perform for a season at UCF.
Nix posted a heartwarming note about Malzahn after Auburn fired him. Now they’ll both get a chance to make things right in Orlando. This is a no-brainer and it’ll be beneficial for both sides if Nix decides UCF is the right home for him. I expect he will.
Give me a Knugget 🐴: Nix is one of the record 1,000+ players who have entered the transfer portal since the end of the regular season.