Category: UCF Knights

Former Memphis commit Mikey Williams reportedly headed to UCF

Former Memphis commit and social media sensation Mikey Williams will join the Central Florida Knights after entering the NCAA transfer portal earlier this week.

Mikey Williams, a social media sensation and four-star point guard in the 2023 recruiting class, has reportedly committed to the Central Florida Knights just a few days after entering the transfer portal out of Memphis.

Williams committed to join Penny Hardaway and the Tigers back in November of 2022, but before his freshman season began he was charged with nine felony counts after a shooting near his California home.

No one was injured, and Williams ultimately plead guilty to one count of criminal threatening on Nov. 30, which could be reduced to a misdemeanor if he completes 80 hours of community service.

Williams had enrolled at Memphis and was taking online classes, but had not practiced with the team while his legal issues played out. Earlier this week Memphis confirmed he had entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal.

Williams is an exciting addition for a Knights team that is 23rd in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency at KenPom, but who have struggled offensively at times.

The 6’3 guard gained notoriety on Instagram early in his high school career for his explosive mixtapes, garnering over 3.5 million followers and initially having five-star status. Now he’ll look for a fresh start in Orlando with the Knights, who are coming off their first Big 12 win over the No. 3 ranked Kansas Jayhawks on Wednesday evening.

Former Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson announces his new school

The three-year Arkansas starter had 9,799 yards of total offense, 88 total touchdowns, and 18 career interceptions across his Razorbacks career.

Former Arkansas quarterback K.J. Jefferson committed to UCF for the 2024 season, he announced through social media on Monday.

Jefferson spent the past five seasons with the Razorbacks, starting for each of the last three. He currently has 7,923 career passing yards, 1,876 career rushing yards, 88 total touchdowns (67 passing, 21 rushing), and 18 career interceptions.

Jefferson’s ball security has been a star point on his resume throughout his time with the Razorbacks. Across his three seasons as the Arkansas starter, he threw just 17 interceptions on 890 pass attempts.

The Mississippi native’s best season came in 2022. He gained almost 3,300 yards of total offense, with 2,648 passing yards and 640 rushing yards. He threw 24 touchdowns and ran for nine more, both single-season career-highs, and he only threw five interceptions.

The 2023 season was a struggle for Arkansas, with the team losing eight of its final 10 games including five one-score losses. Jefferson threw eight interceptions, the most he’s tossed in a single season, and averaged just 7.1 yards per attempt, his lowest mark as a starter. Even despite the inconsistencies, he generated 2,554 yards of offense and 21 total touchdowns.

Jefferson joins a UCF team in its second year as a member of the Big 12. The Knights went 6-7 this season after finishing 3-6 in conference play.

College Sports Roundup: UCF offensive lineman donates NIL money to Hawaii’s wildfires

UCF’s Lokahi Pauole is donating a portion of his NIL money to the Hawaii’s wildfire relief, 12 players who will impact the CFP, and more from the College Sports Wires.

Sometimes, it’s easy to get caught up in sports and lose some of the reality of what is important in life. It also sometimes takes tragedies like the wildfires affecting Maui, Hawaii, to get us back to reality and remember what is important.

On Tuesday, during a UCF post-practice availability, UCF offensive lineman Lokahi Pauole, a native of Kapolei, noted that has donated a portion of NIL money to the wildfire relief.

“My initial thoughts when I first saw the whole thing going around, it’s just a really sad day for the Hawaiian Island, a sad day for the country. It’s a tourist destination, a spot where everyone loves to visit,” he said during the post-practice media availability. “I donated back to help out Maui’s community. I took some of my NIL money and donated it back to them. I just feel like in Hawaii, we’re all a family. Ohana is a real thing. Even though I’m from O’ahu, I don’t have any immediate family over there in Maui, you’re connected somehow. Prayers out to them. Praying for them every day.”

Pauole is one of two players on UCF’s roster who calls Hawaii home. Fellow offensive lineman Bula Schmidt is a native of Wahiawa, Hawaii, which is located on the island of Oahu.

The wildfires on Maui have caused an indescribable catastrophe, which has now included 106 losses of life, a number that is expected to continue to rise in the upcoming days, with many unaccounted for. The entire historic town of Lahaina was also completely destroyed in the process. Notably, when it comes to college athletics, Lahaina is the home of the Maui Invitational college basketball tournament. The wildfire is also now the deadliest natural disaster in modern Hawaiian history and forever changed the island of Maui.

On the gridiron, Pauole will be an integral part of UCF’s offensive line this upcoming season. Over the last three years, the 6-foot-4, 305-pound Hawaiin has played in all 37 games for the Knights, including making 35 starts. Last season, he was an All-AAC selection by the league coaches while earning All-AAC honors from Phil Steele, Pro Football Focus, and the Pro Football Network. Now, with UCF in the Big 12, he’ll look to prove himself to be a Power Five offensive lineman.

Challenges and expecations for UCF football as the Knights enter the Big 12

Out of the Big 12’s four newcomers, UCF is the program best set up for success in the near term and long term as they look to become potentially the class of the new Big 12.

In the final installment of looking at the Big 12’s four new programs and each program’s challenges and expectations in entering the conference, College Sports Wire looks at the UCF Knights.

The Knights officially joined BYU, Cincinnati, and Houston in entering the Big 12 on July 1. UCF, out of the four programs, is the best setup for success in the immediate and is coming off its fifth season in six years of nine or more wins. Last season, in their second year under head coach Gus Malzahn, the Knights went 9-5, including 6-2 in the American Athletic Conference. 

The program has seen quite a bit of change over the last seven years, going through three different coaching changes, and while it hadn’t reached the highest that it did in 2017 when the Knights went 13-0, the program has remained one of the best in all of the Group of Five. 

Even before reaching new heights over the last several years, the program has been considered a potential sleeping giant in college football. Located in a talent-rich state with a massive student population and an alum association of over 350,000 – there is plenty of resources for the Knights to take advantage of. Now, the Knights are officially a Power Five program, which will only help the program continue to elevate its status on and off the field. 

It’s hard to say what is in store for UCF in the future. The university and program have everything it needs to succeed; it’s now a matter of can the program take advantage of its new surroundings as it joins a conference that will be a wide-open race following the departure of Oklahoma and Texas next offseason. 

What will be the challenges for UCF to potentially become the next alpha program in the Big 12, and what should the future expectations be for the program going forward?

First, we dive into the biggest challenges for the Knights

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Best nonconference matchups of the 2023 college football season

The best 20 nonconference games of the 2023 season.

We are under 100 days to the college football season but who is counting anyway? Well, just about everyone is. Teams are gearing up to make a run at the College Football Playoffs and end Georgia’s run of dominance. The Bulldogs are 29-1 over the last two seasons where they won the title in both.

Can anyone step up and prevent them from joining the Minnesota Golden Gophers in college football immortality? Minnesota won three straight titles in the early to mid-1930s. A feat that has seems impossible to repeat, until now. Almost a century later, we could be witnessing history.

Before we get to the CFP, there is plenty more that needs to be addressed. Teams have fall camps, nonconference games, and the run to their respective conference championship games.

In their 100 storylines to follow, CBS Sports ranked the best 20 nonconference matchups of the 2023 college football season. Plenty of eyes will be on the likes of Alabama, Colorado, Texas, and Texas A&M, but who else should we be paying attention to ahead of conference play?

One notable matchup missing is the opening game of the season in Dublin, Ireland, where Notre Dame and Navy are set to meet on the gridiron. That game was among our must-see games in each week of the 2023 college football season.

Check out the list from CBS Sports: