UCF will prepare not only for this season'sfinal non-conference football game but also an important recruiting weekend in its first Saturday home date.
Interior offensive lineman Johnathan Cline is the lone official visitor on the docket for the Knights' matchup with Georgia Tech, but plenty of major targets are expected to spend the afternoon inside the Bounce House.
Cline (6-foot-4, 295 pounds) is one of UCF's 10 verbal commits, a class that currently ranks 59th in Division I per 247Sports. The Knights have a single-year record four, four-star recruits currently committed— all from within an hour's drive of the East Orlando campus.
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With just about three months until the early signing period begins, let's take a quick look the latest recruiting developments for UCF.
Searching for DBs
Several notable defensive backs are expected on campus this weekend.
UCF missed on Auburn (Ala.) Loachapoka three-star cornerback JC Hart, who instead chose his hometown Tigers. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound senior remainsa primary target, though, and he will check out the Bounce House after watching Auburn's home game last weekend— a loss to Penn State.
He will be joined by a pair of prospects committed to Big Ten programs— Estero's Jason Duclona (Rutgers) and Lake Minneola's Ethon Cole (Purdue).
Perhaps the Knights' biggest target, however, is currently locked in with a Sun Belt school.
Mableton (Ga.) Pebblebrook's Tyler Scott, an Arkansas State commit, is rising steadily up recruiting boards. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound athlete has ideal boundary cornerback length and is viewed as a top priority for UCF.
He told The News-Journal he will not be in attendance Saturday, but plans to visit in the near future.
"Great program," Scott added. "Love it, and the coaches."
Georgia Tech has held longstanding interest in Scott, and UCF is among a handful of Power Five schools to make a verbal offer since mid-August— along with Auburn, Mississippi State, Missouri and Vanderbilt.
Decisions loomfor receiving targets
In addition to the ongoing actionat the Bounce House, UCF fans might want to keep an eye on social media Saturday as Lakeland's Daidren Zipperer plans to announce his college decision.
Zipperer listed the Knights among his top-six in a first-person piece for The Ledger earlier in the summer. He took an official visit to UCF on July 10, and has made similar trips to Pittsburgh and, most recently, South Florida.
Exclusive:Daidren Zipperer, rising receiver recruit at Lakeland High, releases top-6 list
The 6-foot-1, 170-pound wide receiver has played a part in the Dreadnaughts' 3-0 start, hauling in eight receptions for 152 yards and one touchdown.
Malzahn's staff built inroads at Lakeland, landing defensive end Keahnist Thompson in the 2022 cycle and adding offensive lineman Miguel Maldonado as a late walk-on. Additionally, former five-star running back recruit Demarkcus Bowman transferred to UCF, though he likely will not see the field until 2023 after making a previous switch to Florida from Clemson.
UCF's lone official visitor, to date, since the season started is Kennesaw Mountain (Ga.) wide receiver Cayden Lee. Leeattended the Louisville game, though 247Sports director of recruiting Steve Wiltfong predicted in late Julythe 5-foot-11, 175-pounder will instead choose Ole Miss.
Finally, at tight end, UCF remains firmly in the mix for Mosley's Randy Pittman— a former Florida State verbal commit. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Pittman profiles as an uber-athletic H-back; he's rushed 14 times for 37 yards and three touchdowns this season while leading Mosley with 11 receptions and 184 receiving yards, adding another two scores.
Pittman, who will announce his commitment on Oct. 8, said in August that he intended to take visits to Jackson State and Mississippi State. He rolled through UCF on July 17, and de-committed from the Seminoles shortly thereafter.
No concerns about Walkerdespite UF interest
Florida has made an expected push for Osceola defensive lineman John Walker, inviting UCF's highest-rated defensive commit in history to each of its first three home games. The Gators flipped Lakewood four-staredge rusher Isaiah Nixon away from the Knights earlier in the summer, perhaps creating an expectation that Walker could follow suit.
Speaking to four separate UCF sources, there is little internal cause for concern at the moment about the 6-foot-4, 310-pounder's status.
Ranked 13th among all Sunshine State recruits in the 2023 class in the USA TODAY Florida Sports Network's Top 100, Walker has a team-high 27 tackles (15solo) and two sacks in the Kowboys' opening three games— heavyweight tilts with Treasure Coast, Seminole and Lakeland.
Walker is the highest-rated of UCF's four-star commits, per 247Sports and On3 Sports. Lake Mary defensive back Braeden Marshall and Lake Brantley twin linebackers Andrew and Michael Harris round out the group.
"I lived here my whole life. I want to do it for my city," Walker told Jon Santucci shortly after announcing his commitment on July 28.
More:Osceola four-star DL John Walker commits to UCF
Knights head coach Gus Malzahn and defensive tackles coach Kenny Ingram, Walker's primary recruiter, watched the Osceola-Seminole clash in person on Sept. 2.
It's also worth remembering that Walker attended each of UCF's first two home games, which took place on Thursday and Friday nights, respectively. Florida has exclusively played on Saturdays to this point.
Defensive targets travelto Boca Raton
Two of UCF's top-choice defenders still on the board followed the team down to Boca Raton this past weekend— Lakeland interior defensive lineman Guerlens Milfort and Pahokee edge rusher/outside linebacker DeeJay Holmes.
Holmes, who lives in the northwest corner of Palm Beach County, topped The Post's Super 11 last month. He's also the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and well on his way to defending that title with 19 tackles, 9½ TFLs, eight sacks and 15 QB hurries through the Blue Devils' first three contests.
He also returned an interception for a touchdown in Pahokee's signature win of the season, a 34-14 upset of Palm Beach Central last Friday.
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In addition to UCF, Holmes picked up official offers from FAU, Louisville and Ole Miss in August. He visited the Knights on June 10, a week after checking out Pittsburgh.
Milfort (6-2, 275) has the Knights in his top-four along with a trio of ascending programs— N.C. State, surprisingly undefeated Kansas and Appalachian State, which sprung an upset on Texas A&M, hosted College GameDay and toppled Troy on a buzzer-beating Hail Mary in the space of a week.
Like Holmes, Milfort took an official visit to UCF the weekend of June 10.
All-American 2024 O-lineman will be on hand
Quickly glancing ahead to the 2024 graduating class, one of the nation's top interior offensive lineman will make a return to UCF to get a taste of the gameday environment.
Loganville (Ga.) Grayson's Waltclaire Flynn Jr. said Wednesday afternoon he will attend the Georgia Tech game. Flynn (6-1, 304) is the No. 118 overall recruit according to 247's composite rankings.
Flynn raved about UCF in a mid-Juneinterview with Rivals' Adam Gorney, listing the Knights as one of his preferred schools. Georgia, Auburn, Florida State and others are reportedly in the mix.
"UCF really surprised me," Flynn said. "It was the feel and the atmosphere. The coaches pretty much rolled out the red carpet for me and everything."
