Tag: ucf football

Former USC defensive coordinator gets new job

Wisconsin’s defense wasn’t great with Alex Grinch on staff in 2024. Now UCF and Scott Frost are taking a chance on Grinch in Orlando. This will be a wild ride.

A little over a year after getting fired by USC football, Alex Grinch is a defensive coordinator once again.

On Tuesday morning, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Grinch will be the new defensive coordinator at UCF. He will serve under new head coach Scott Frost, who returns to Orlando after leading the Knights to an undefeated season in 2017 before departing for Nebraska.

Grinch was hired by Lincoln Riley as Oklahoma’s defensive coordinator prior to the 2019 season. When Riley left Norman for Los Angeles in November 2021, Grinch was one of the first assistant coaches to follow him.

However, Grinch’s USC tenure was a disaster. His 2023 defensive was the worst statistical unit in school history, with the Trojans allowing 28 or more points in all but two games. Following a 52-42 loss to Washington last season, in which the Huskies racked up 572 yards of total offense, Grinch was fired by USC.

This past season, Grinch served as the safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator at Wisconsin. He returned to the Coliseum with the Badgers on September 28. Against Grinch’s unit, USC quarterback Miller Moss threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-21 Trojans victory.

Now, he is in charge of a defense once again.

Former Alabama WR Agiye Hall no longer joining UCF football program as walk-on

On Monday, Knights247’s Sam Leonard reported that former Alabama wide receiver Agiye Hall will not be suiting up for the UCF Knights for the 2024-2025 season.

A long, winding road is one way to describe Agiye Hall’s college career. The former Alabama wide receiver has had a difficult time navigating the challenges of being a college football player. On Monday, Knights247’s Sam Leonard reported that Hall is no longer joining UCF’s football program as a walk-on. Several months ago, Hall was set to join the Knights as a walk-on.

Hall began his career with the Alabama Crimson Tide. The native of Valrico, Florida spent one season in Tuscaloosa. The former four-star recruit reeled in four receptions for 72 yards for the Crimson Tide. After some off-the-field issues, Hall elected to enter the transfer portal and ultimately wound up committing to the Texas Longhorns.

Hall spent one season with the Longhorns. He hauled in one reception for seven yards. As a member of the Longhorns, Hall was arrested for criminal mischief. Subsequently, he was dismissed from the team by head coach Steve Sarkisian.

In 2023, Hall did not suit up for a college football team. Now, it appears he may not suit up for a college football team in 2024 either.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to provide the latest regarding Hall’s college career as well as the latest news pertaining to the Alabama football program.

BREAKING: Wisconsin class of 2025 commit Rukeem Stroud flips to UCF

BREAKING: Wisconsin loses a member of its class of 2025

Wisconsin football class of 2025 commit cornerback Rukeem Stroud flipped his commitment to the University of Central Florida on Monday afternoon.

Stroud originally committed to Wisconsin on June 1 after an official visit to the program. But he received an official offer from in-state UCF on Saturday and has flipped his commitment.

The four-star recruit is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 441 player in the class of 2025, No. 37 cornerback and No. 60 recruit from the state of Florida. He will play at UCF after receiving offers from top programs, including Wisconsin, USF, Colorado, Duke, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Penn State, Texas A&M and Utah.

The cornerback’s decommitment dropped Wisconsin’s class of 2025 to 20 total commitments. Two two cornerbacks remain in that group: three-star Jahmare Washington and three-star Jaimier Scott.

The Badgers’ class dropped one spot to No. 13 in 247Sports’ national rankings with the news, though it still stands No. 4 in the new Big Ten.

With Stroud’s flipped commitment, Wisconsin lost its sixth-highest-ranked player in the class and highest-ranked cornerback.

In an era defined by player fluctuations and enticing name, image and likeness licensing opportunities, Stroud’s choice to remain close to home is certainly a disappointment to Badger fans.

On the bright side, Luke Fickell and company will look to add to its already-stellar class of 2025 with priority on top-ranked recruits Byron Louis (running back) and Hardy Watts (offensive tackle).

Michigan State football lands Nikai Martinez, a UCF safety transfer

MSU lands high impact safety transfer from UCF

Michigan State is adding via the transfer portal once again, with the Spartans picking up a much needed commitment from UCF safety transfer Nikai Martinez. Martinez will fill the void left by the outgoing transfer of Jaden Mangham.

Martinez is a native of Apopka, Florida, and is a 5-foot-11, 170 pound safety. In two seasons in Orlando, Martinez played in 27 games recording 75 tackles and 3 interceptions. He should slot in to the starting safety role on Michigan State’s depth chart.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.

Former Georgia LB re-enters the transfer portal

Former Georgia Bulldogs linebacker enters the transfer portal again after one season at UCF

Former Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Rian Davis has re-entered the NCAA transfer portal after spending the 2023 college football season at UCF.

Davis recorded 14 tackles for UCF in 2023 and likely has two years of eligibility remaining (only appeared in one game in 2021 and played during the 2020 season, which did not count against eligibility). Davis appeared in seven games for UCF during the Knights’ first season in the Big 12.

Rian Davis played in 14 of 15 games as Georgia won back-to-back national championships in 2022. Davis started in two games and contributed 15 total tackles.

Rian Davis, who is from Apopka, Florida, is a former four-star recruit. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound linebacker faced stout competition at the inside linebacker position during his time at Georgia.

Georgia does not have as much experienced depth at inside linebacker this year, but the Dawgs do have young talent in sophomore linebackers CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson. Georgia also returns senior Smael Mondon. Georgia inside linebackers coach Glenn Schumann has a close relationship with Rian Davis and could look to target him in the portal if Georgia ends up looking for an experienced transfer linebacker this spring. 247Sports reported that Rian Davis entered the transfer portal.

 

Former Clemson coach lands defensive coordinator position at UCF

A former Clemson defensive analyst has taken a job as the defensive coordinator at UCF.

Another former Clemson coach has landed a new job in college football.

Former Clemson defensive analyst Ted Roof has been named the new defensive coordinator for UCF football. Roof lands with a good program coming off a solid first year in the Big 12.

Roof spent the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator for Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners and Roof parted ways in early January, with UCF taking advantage of the opportunity to land a veteran defensive coach.

Prior to his time at Oklahoma, Roof was on Clemson’s staff in 2021 as a defensive analyst. Former Clemson coaches continue to land jobs across the country.

West Virginia-UCF broadcast didn’t drop an F-bomb over this interception, but it sure sounded like it

Eric Collins was just excited, but he didn’t drop an F-bomb.

You know when you hear something WILD on a sports broadcast and do a double-take, wondering if you heard that exactly right? Well, that’s what happened to a lot of college football fans Saturday during West Virginia’s road game at UCF.

Early in the second quarter with the Knights trailing, 10-7, things got a little rough for them. On first-and-10 from West Virginia’s 37-yard line, UCF quarterback John Rhys Plumlee was picked off by West Virginia cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr. for a 31-yard return.

This wasn’t any average interception. Plumlee threw deep to the right sideline, aiming for receiver Javon Baker around the five-yard line. The ball bounced hard in and out of Baker’s arms, and as it shot back up into the air, Bishop pulled it down.

It was a wild interception, and Fox Sports broadcaster Eric Collins on the play-by-play delivered an awesome call of the moment. As his voice was filled with excitement, he described the play: “What a funky interception that was!”

But it sure sounded like an F-bomb.

The first time you hear it, it sure sounds like a NSFW moment on air. But go back and listen to it again, and it’s clear Collins says “funky.”

That was the reaction of many college football fans the first time they heard it, and some are still convinced Collins dropped an F-bomb instead.

College Football Week 5 Winners and Losers: Ole Miss and Notre Dame bounce back, LSU still haunted by defense

We’re approaching the midway point of the season, and no team has truly separated from the pack.

Nothing good lasts forever, and that includes the college football season, which approaches its midway point this week.

The 2023 season feels particularly puzzling so far. No one has really separated from the pack, and while some top teams struggled during Week 5 on Saturday in USC, Georgia and Notre Dame, all ultimately escaped with wins.

Other top teams like Michigan and Oregon haven’t really faced significant tests, at all.

We’re still trying to make sense of it all, and it feels like we could be heading toward a College Football Playoff race filled with chaos, chalk or anything in between.

For now, here are the winners and losers from Week 5 of the college football season.

Eric Collins’ voice nearly broke as he called this improbable UCF 4th-down conversion

“IT’S CAAAAAUUUUUUGGGHHHHT!”

Veteran broadcaster Eric Collins always knows how to accentuate an exciting moment in a football game, but his call of this absolutely improbable University of Central Florida fourth-down conversion is one of his best.

As UCF faced down 4th-and-five with 1:02 left in its game against Baylor, the Knights trailed by a point and absolutely needed to get the first down.

Quarterback Timmy McClain decided to defy the laws of football physics by scrambling all the way back to his team’s end zone from around the 30-yard line, avoiding the safety and moving up just a few yards to make the mind-blowing throw to running back R.J. Harvey for the conversion.

The way Collins guided viewers through the dramatics of the play was spectacular, and the “What do ya got, McClain?” quote all the way to his voice almost breaking when Harvey hauled in the pass was just special.

UCF wasn’t able to get points out of this wild sequence, but it doesn’t take away from the spectacular throw from McClain and the unforgettable narration from Collins on the “unbelievable” conversion.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1372]

Looking at what will hold each Big 12 title contender back in 2023

We explore each Big 12 contender’s weakness including unpredictability from the Texas offense when off Sarkisian’s script.

There are several Big 12 contenders heading into the 2023 season. We have identified nine teams who could compete for the title.

Texas and Kansas State lead the list of contenders as the safest picks after last year’s performance paired with what each team returns. The Longhorns and Wildcats are two of the more experienced teams in the conference to go with the talent each team presents.

Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Kansas and TCU could probably comprise another tier of challengers. All four had good offense and bad defense last season. We expect the Oklahoma defense to be much improved. The other three have significant defensive question marks across the board.

Central Florida, Baylor and BYU are wild cards who command plenty of mixed reviews heading into the 2023 season. The three teams had up and down moments last year, but all have high upsides.

Let’s look at every Big 12 contender’s primary area of concern.