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As you know, I like going back through old recruiting classes from five years before and seeing how they actually panned out. Last year I reviewed UCF's 2013 football class, and it was pretty good.
Toward the bottom, as more or less of a footnote, I included the previous year's class, which was less than good.
Just to emphasize how rough that year was, I'm giving it its own post right here.
To review, here’s our post-career evaluation star system:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Star player and bonafide NFL Draft talent. Need not have stayed all four years.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ – All-conference-level or solid starter, possible late-round NFL draftee or UFA pickup.
⭐⭐⭐ – Played and finished career at UCF, graduated (or at least should have). Not NFL talent.
⭐⭐ – Played but didn’t finish at UCF. Transferred, left football, or something like that.
⭐ – Never played, probably on a milk carton somewhere.
And now, the class:
| Player | Pos. | Hometown (School) | 2012 Rivals.com Ranking | 2017 Final Grade | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luke Adams | DE | Pensacola, FL (Catholic) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | ⭐️⭐️ | 51 tackles and 4 sacks in 33 games through '15. Not on roster in '16. |
| Cal Bloom | TE | Osseo, MN (Osseo) | ⭐️⭐️ | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Graduated '16. 5 career catches in 44 games. Caught one 2XP. |
| Chester Brown | OL | Hinesville, GA (Bradwell Institute) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Graduated '16. 41 career games played. |
| Mike Campbell | OL | Pace, FL (Pace) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | ⭐️⭐️ | Played 26 career games through '15. Not on '16 roster. |
| Blake Davis | TE | Delray Beach, FL (American Heritage) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | ⭐️ | Scout teamer through '13. 0 career games played. |
| Jeremy Davis | CB | New Berlin, NY (Milford Academy) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | ⭐️ | Scout teamer through '13. Transferred to Bethune-Cookman '14. Graduated '16. |
| Tyler Gabbert | QB | Ballwin, MO (Missouri) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | ⭐️⭐️ | Transferred from Mizzou. Quit football after '13 season. 3/7 career passing. |
| Jacoby Glenn | DB | Mobile, AL (Vigor) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 2014 AAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year as RS Soph. Left early for NFL, went undrafted. 1 career NFL INT. |
| Troy Green | QB | Skaneateles, NY (Skaneateles Sr.) | ⭐️⭐️ | ⭐️ | Transferred to Syracuse in '13. Moved to WR, quit football in '16. Son of NFL veteran Tim Green. |
| Jared Henry | S | Jacksonville, FL (First Coast) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | ⭐️⭐️ | 13 career games played. Quit football '15. Graduated from UCF. |
| Drico Johnson | WR | Orlando, FL (Agape Christian) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Moved to S. 151 tackles, 2 INT in 51 games. Senior starter graduated '16. |
| Taylor Oldham | WR | Daytona Beach, FL (Warner Christian) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Graduated '16. 45 catches, 1 TD in 42 career games. |
| Dareen Owi | WR | Miami, FL (Norland) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | ⭐️ | Left team before start of '13 season. |
| Kelly Parfitt | OL | Delray Beach, FL (American Heritage) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | ⭐️⭐️ | Saw sparing action in '13. Transferred to FAU in '14, graduated '16. |
| Phil Smith | OL | Tampa, FL (Georgia Tech) | ⭐️⭐️ | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Transferred to UCF after 33 games at GT. Played 14 games and graduated in '12. |
| Stanley Sylverain | LB | Naples, FL (Golden Gate) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | ⭐️⭐️ | One career tackle in 20 games. Left team after '14. Graduated from UCF. |
| Colby Watson | OL | Pensacola, FL (Pine Forest) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | '14 starter at RG, injured. Played 10 games in '15, graduated. |
| Nicco Whigham | DB | Ft. Lauderdale, FL (Cardinal Gibbons) | ⭐️⭐️ | ⭐️⭐️ | Played all 14 games in '12. Transferred to Fort Valley St. and graduated '17. |
A few notes:
Jacoby Glenn could be the best player from this class, but the 2014 AAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year (Remember that?) left at least a year too early and was not drafted. After bouncing between the Chicago Bears' active roster and practice squad for two seasons, he did the same for the Chiefs last year before getting dumped onto IR and eventually released. He's currently a free agent. He has one career NFL pick.
Taylor Oldham had a serviceable career as a wideout, and Drico Johnson was solid after moving to the secondary, but that's pretty much it.
In a sense, this was the class where the loss of David Kelly hurt UCF badly. Most of these guys were expected to come into their prime in time for the 2015 season, and we all know how that worked out.
But props to the guys like Cal Bloom and Chester Brown, who also saw it through to the start of the Scott Frost Era.
I'm hoping to go back a little further in coming months, but for now, this fills in the gap we had in the evaluations.
You can also view our grades for the 2013 and 2011 recruiting classes.