Here’s a look at who UCF, USF and FAU got on college football’s early signing day
The UCF Knights signed 15 players to its early signing day class, turning to a football pedigree and staying local.
Before he was WWE superstar Titus O’Neil, Thaddeus Bullard played college football at the University of Florida. Now his son has secured his college football future when he signed with UCF on Wednesday.
TJ Bullard, a 247 Sports’ consensus three-star linebacker, led Tampa Berkeley Prep’s defense to the Class 3A state title game, where they lost to Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna. Bullard had 12 tackles in the game, the most of any player.
Bullard’s teammate at Berkeley Prep, wide receiver Xavier Townsend, also signed with the Knights.
The highest-rated player, according to the 247 Sports’ composite rankings, to sign with UCF on Wednesday was Apopka High’s Nikai Martinez, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound four-star cornerback. Apopka plays in the Class 8A state championship in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Knights’ rival in the “War on I-4” annual game, USF, signed 24 players Wednesday, and Florida Atlantic University signed 13, including Palmetto High linebacker Jaylen Wester. Wester’s career with the Tigers saw back-to-back state semifinal appearances, where Palmetto fell to South Florida schools in 2019 and 2020.
UCF’s program was in a state of flux this season.. The Knights received a formal offer to join a Power 5 Conference when the Big 12 came calling in September. Though the move won’t happen immediately, this recruiting cycle is the first for the Knights under the transition umbrella.
Another change for UCF was seeing quarterback Dillon Gabriel announce his plans to enter the transfer portal. The Los Angeles Daily News reported Saturday that Gabriel was spotted at a UCLA practice. Gabriel fractured his clavicle against Louisville in September and hasn’t played since.
His replacement, Mikey Keene, threw 16 touchdowns with a 63.6 completion percentage in 10 games this season. Whether Keene remains the quarterback past this season — head coach Gus Malzahn’s former quarterback at Auburn, Bo Nix, entered the transfer portal — is uncertain.
Malzahn’s early signing period class includes a quarterback: Ware County (Waycross, Georgia) High’s Thomas Castellanos. He threw for more than 2,600 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior, finishing his Ware County career as a four-year starter with 7,710 career passing yards and 3,681 career rushing yards.
Both Gabriel and McKenzie Milton, who transferred to Florida State after his comeback from a horrific leg injury, were dual-threat quarterbacks.
UCF also secured commitments locally with three players from Sanford Seminole High, including twin defensive backs Demari and Ja’Cari Henderson.
The last time the Knights had twins, it was Shaquem and Shaquill Griffin, who both later made it to the NFL and were part of the UCF team that went undefeated with a Fiesta Bowl victory over Auburn, who was coached by Malzahn at the time.
Malzahn’s recruiting class includes 10 Florida high school players.
USF, has been stuck in medicority for several seasons. Head coach Jeff Scott, a former assistant under Dabo Swinney at Clemson, was hired in December 2019. The Bulls won four games over the last two years.
Filling out a strong recruiting class to change the program’s trajectory is a priority, and Scott got commitments from high school players and transfers.
Winter Garden West Orange defensive lineman Eddie Kelly and Coffeyville (Kansas) Community College linebacker Jhalyn Shuler are the top-rated recruits of the class, according to the 247 Sports’ composite rankings. They are both consensus three-star recruits. Kelly was one of four defensive lineman that Scott signed Wednesday.
USF ranked near the bottom of the country for rushing yards allowed among FBS programs this season.
And at FAU, head coach Willie Taggart tapped the transfer portal to go with recruiting high school players. That includes a pair of former Florida State players, who Taggart’s staff recruited while he was still coaching in Tallahassee. They are linebacker Jaleel McRae and tight end Carter Boatwright.
Florida A&M also got involved on signing day by adding Copiah-Lincoln Community College transfer Jalen Armstrong, Cisco College transfer Dariyon Weeden and Independence Community College transfer Isaiah Major. Armstrong and Weeden are offensive lineman, while Major plays linebacker. Bethune-Cookman did not have any reported signings Wednesday.
Here’s a full list by school:
UCF
TJ Bullard, LB, Tampa Berkeley Prep; Thomas Castellanos, QB, Ware County (Waycross, Georgia); Tylan Grable, OL, Jacksonville State; Tyler Griffin, WR, New Southeast Bulloch (Brooklet, Georgia); Demari Henderson, S, Sanford Seminole; Ja’Cari Henderson, CB, Sanford Seminole; Jamaal Johnson, DE, Chaminade-Madonna; Caden Kitler, OL, John Paul II (Plano, Texas); Quan Lee, WR, Gainesville Buchholz; Jordan McDonald, RB, Milton (Alpharetta, Georgia); Nikai Martinez, CB, Apopka; Kam Moore, LB, Sanford Seminole; Grant Stevens, TE, Ponte Vedra Beach Nease; Keahnist “KT” Thompson, DE, Lakeland; Xavier Townsend, WR, Tampa Berkeley Prep.
USF
Jhalin Hobbs, DL, Ruskin Lennard; DeAunte Hunter, LB, Valdosta (Georgia) Lowndes; Eddie Kelly, DL, Winter Garden West Orange; Jhalyn Shuler, LB, Coffeyville CC; Tavin Ward, DB, Palmetto Prep; Jacquez Williams, DL, Savannah (Georgia) Jenkins; Jason Albritton, RB, Lithia Newsome; Byrum Brown, QB, Raleigh (North Carolina) Rolesville; Jayson Littlejohn, TE, College of the Sequoias; Jackson Long, TE, Hendersonville (Tennessee) Beech; Cade Roberts, WR, South Walton; Gunnar Smith, QB, Lake Mary; Javohn Thomas, WR, Tampa Sickles; James Ash, DL, Wake Forest; Nick Bags, DL, Temple; Aamaris Brown, DB, Kansas State; DJ Gordon IV, LB, Minnesota; Clyde Pinder Jr., DL, North Carolina; Ray Thornton III, S, Clemson; Ajou Ajou, WR, Clemson; Derrell Bailey Jr., OL, Virginia Tech; Khafre Brown, WR, North Carolina; Michel Dukes, RB, Clemson; Mike Lofton, OL, UCF.
FAU
Carter Boatwright, TE, Florida State; Justin Goodwin, DL, Birmingham (Alabama) Huffman; Jymetre Hester, WR, Mississippi Gulf Coast CC; Jahbari Hill, CB, Boynton Beach Atlantic Community; Morven Joseph, OLB, Tennessee; Okino King, OL, Miami Northwestern; Jaleel McRae, ILB, Florida State; Xavier Peters, OLB, Garden City CC; Jamie Pettway, ILB, Missouri; Brandon Schabert, WR, Delray American Heritage; Marvin Scott III, RB, Nebraska; Wyatt Sullivan, WR, Quincy Robert F. Munroe Day; Jaylen Wester, OLB, Palmetto.
FAMU
Jalen Armstrong, OL, Copiah-Lincoln Community College; Dariyon Weeden, OL, Cisco College; Isaiah Major, LB, Independence Community College.
