How Joe Burrow was #BuiltByUCF, the power of the portal and tennis takeover 🎾
What birthed Joe Burrow's incredible three-year run of football? It can be traced back to that viral hit he took in the Fiesta Bowl against UCF in 2018.
Nothing makes me happier than to see Gator fans getting all hot and bothered by UCF’s incredible marketing. Get used to seeing these billboards in your town. There’s no slowing down for the state champs.
Today’s read is 3 minutes ⏲️
Trending in the Kingdom: The hit that birthed Burrow 🚬
He’s got the swagger of a saavy veteran, yet the mentality of an assassin. Fresh off leading the Cincinnati Bengals to their first Super Bowl appearance in three decades, Joe Burrow continues to make history in his first full season as a starter.
Joey B just became the first quarterback to reach a Super Bowl as a No. 1 overall pick in his first two years in the league. He’s been on a tear over the last three years, and much of that cigar-smoking, irrational confidence can be traced back to one moment in 2018, against UCF.
Here’s the scoop: Burrow is on the doorstep of winning a Heisman Trophy, National Championship and a Super Bowl, something no quarterback has ever done. He can check that off the list in a three-year span. His greatness was unearthed in UCF’s loss to LSU in the 2018 Fiesta Bowl. It was Joey Connors’ hit on Burrow’s 93-yard pick-six that altered his trajectory, and the sport.
The Nate Evans chirp added some salt to the Connors side-swipe. Then Burrow got up, dusted himself off and unloaded.
His led LSU on three consecutive touchdown drives, throwing for 394 yards and four touchdowns. The Tigers also scored on four of their final five possessions in the second half.
''It hurt for a second,” Burrow said after the hit. “I got right up and went on to the next play.''
In his 12 starts before that Fiesta Bowl against UCF, Burrow threw for just 12 total touchdown passes.
He threw 60 touchdown passes in his next 15 games, won a National Championship and the Heisman Trophy, all while quarterbacking arguably the most prolific offense in the sport’s history. Burrow then went first overall in the NFL Draft and will now start in a Super Bowl.
🤔 Don’t tempt me with a good time, Alex. Look, I won’t go that far, but how about we let Burrow’s old college coach do the talking?
“Here’s where I think the turnaround happened,” Orgeron said of Burrow during a recent appearance on NFL Live. “We were playing in the Fiesta Bowl, New Year’s Day bowl, big bowl for LSU and we’re playing UCF. They had won a bunch of games in a row. Joe Burrow gets hit. It’s a blindside hit…and I said hey get the second-string quarterback Myles Brennan ready. Joe gets up and he used a couple of words that I’m not going to say on TV. He said that ain’t happening.
“We went down to score on the next three series. That became his football team. That gave his team confidence in his toughness and ability to lead the team.”
That loss ended UCF’s historic 25-game win streak and provided the momentum for Burrow’s career renaissance. Losing a one-score game - with your back-up quarterback - to a LSU team that featured future NFLers Burrow, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson Patrick Queen and Devin White is nothing to be scoffed at.
So Joe Burrow, you’re welcome. Maybe Joey Connors can get a ring if you end up winning the ‘ship. Or at least a box of stogies.
I’m only kind-of joking.
The power of the portal 💥
The one-time transfer rule change in college football and the addition of the portal has truly altered the recruiting landscape in the sport. Thankfully, UCF has a progressive-thinking coaching staff that’s taking advantage of the flurry of names looking for new homes.
Tell me more: The Knights current roster looks vastly different than the one that beat the Florida Gators in the Gasparilla Bowl just over a month ago. Gus Malzahn and his staff retooled and reloaded, adding talent at positions that lacked depth and experience.
Malzahn and company have added nine players over the last few months through the portal, including a former five-star linebacker, a two-sport star, four other ex-SEC studs and a pair of talented offensive lineman.
Here’s a running list of who has come and gone, courtesy of our friends at Black and Gold Banneret.
They’ve also seen some pretty big-name defections via the portal, including Dillon Gabriel and Tatum Bethune.
When did all of this change? The NCAA adopted a new rule in April of 2020, allowing undergraduate athletes in all sports to switch schools one time without having to sit out. Here’s the official NCAA announcement.
That changed the recruiting game for good, allowing those athletes to be immediately eligible at their new school.
There are requirements that need to be met, including transferring from a four-year institution to a Division I school, making sure they’re academically eligible when leaving their old school, not having previously transferred from a four-year school already, and certifying in writing that there was no tampering from their new school.
There have been 65 players who have entered the portal in just the last week, according to On3 Sports’ tracker.
UCF is ranked 16th in the nation in the latest 247Sports transfer portal rankings, the highest of any non-Power 5 school. They’ve added nine players through the portal this cycle, which is among the most for any FBS or FCS school. If you include the overall 2022 recruiting rankings, which includes the traditional high school signing class, UCF is ranked 33rd, best of any Group of 5 school.
Early-season 🏆 in tennis?
UCF’s men’s and women’s tennis teams are both ranked among the Top 25 and the fellas have a shot to win an early-season tournament title.
Fill me in: On the men’s side, the No. 20 Knights will face No. 14 Stanford in the ITA Kickoff Championship Tuesday. UCF beat Louisville to advance to the final round.
Trey Hilderbrand came back after dropping the first set to clinch the match for the Knights, earning them a spot in the final.
"It feels really good to get the clincher for the team," Trey Hilderbrand said in a press release. "He was playing really well on my court, and I think everybody had tough matches on their courts. I am happy I was able to play through it and play good tennis in the end."
UCF lost to No. 3 Florida just over a week ago as they look to build off last season’s momentum, when they earned their first American Athletic Conference crown.
As for the women, they’re ranked 10th, but fell to No. 25 Auburn in their ITA Kickoff title game last week. They’re heading out on the road next to face Virginia on Friday.