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Re-Evaluating UCF’s 2010 Recruiting Class

George O’Leary and David Kelly pulled in probably the greatest class in school history in 2010.

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl - Central Florida v Baylor
Blake Bortles was a 3-star recruit coming out of Oviedo High School in 2010.
Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images

As you know by now, with every year, I like to look back at old recruiting classes to see how each player panned out, because I personally believe you cannot evaluate a recruiting class until they have all finished their time as UCF Knights, one way or another.

I’m updating our database as we speak, but with the early signing period taking place, I wanted to go deeper into the archives to catch up on some old classes, and this time I looked at 2010, which was regarded at the time as one of UCF’s best classes yet.

As a reminder, here’s our 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 UCF Football Recruiting Class of 2010:

UCF Football 2010 Recruiting Class

Player Pos. Class Hometown (Last School) Rivals.com Ranking Final Grade Notes
Player Pos. Class Hometown (Last School) Rivals.com Ranking Final Grade Notes
Jordan Akins WR 2010 McDonough, GA (Union Grove) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Played MiLB w/Rangers org. until '13. Joined UCF in '14 as WR. Moved to TE after ACL injury in '15. 82 career catches. Drafted 2018 (3rd-#98) by HOU.
Blake Bortles QB 2010 Oviedo, FL (Oviedo) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Starting QB from '11. 22-5 two bowl Ws in '12 & '13, '13 AAC Title. Drafted #3 overall by Jags. Is the BOAT.
Clayton Geathers S 2010 Hemingway, SC (Carvers Bay) ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 2x All-AAC (1st team 2014), 382 career tackles at UCF. Drafted by IND 4th round in '15. Still in NFL.
Joshua Reese WR 2010 Miami, FL (Miami Central) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Team Captain '14, Graduated '15. 60 career catches, 39 in '14. Currently playing Arena Football with Washington Valor.
Torrian Wilson G/C 2010 Miami, FL (Northwestern) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Anchor at LT through 2014. All-Freshman, 2x All-conference selection. Went undrafted, had cup of coffee with DET '15 and worked out for NWE '16.
Jordan McCray OG 2010 Miami, FL (Southridge) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Settled in at LG, 1st Team All-AAC as Sr. in '13. Didn't latch on with NFL. On AAF Orlando Apollos roster for '18.
Justin McCray OG 2010 Miami, FL (Southridge) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Settled at RG, played some RT. 1st Team All-AAC as Sr. in '13. Landed with Packers in '17, starting guard.
Woodley Cadet S 2010 Loxahatchee, FL (Seminole Ridge) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Saw limited action as RS Junior in '13. Graduated UCF in 2014.
Jeffrey Godfrey QB 2010 Miami, FL (Miami Central) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 2010 CUSA Frosh of Year, led UCF to 1st bowl win. Left briefly after Bortles replaced him in '11, returned '12 as WR. Caught GW TD at Louisville in '13. '18 in AAF (Orlando).
Jordan Ozerities CB 2010 Mount Dora, FL (Mount Dora) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Started at CB last two years. Graduated '14. Never latched on in NFL.
Cody Ralston LB 2010 Calhoun, GA (Calhoun) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Scout teamer through Jr. season ('13). One career appearance. Graduated 2014.
Justin Tukes TE 2010 Sylvester, GA (Worth County) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Played four years, graduated 2015. 30 career catches. One preseason with PHI.
E. J. Dunston DT 2010 Orlando, FL (Edgewater) ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Serviceable DL played 4 years ('10-'13), 5 career sacks. Graduated 2014.
Jamar McClain CB 2010 Miami, FL (Miami Central) ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Played one game in 2011. Scout teamer in '12 and '13.
Andrew Rice DT 2010 Lake Mary, FL (Lake Mary) ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Scout teamer saw sparing game action through '13. Graduated 2014. Currently a police officer in Mt. Dora.
Quenton Brown TE/DL 2010 Tucker, GA (Tucker) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ Left UCF, transferred to Eastern AZ JC, Played two games for North Texas in '13.
Tony Jacob OT 2010 Atlanta, GA (Westlake) ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ Enormous player (6-8, 343) played 3 games in 2011. Not listed on '12 roster.
LaBranden Richardson DT 2010 Miami, FL (Miami Central) ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ Left UCF after '11 (9 gms), transferred to Bethune-Cookman. Three-time All-MEAC performer. 21 career sacks at BCU.
Jose Jose G 2010 Miami, FL (Miami Central) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ Released from scholarship, went to Eastern AZ JC '10, recommitted and played 9 games in '11. Kicked off team for rules violation (got into an argument with O'Leary) in March 2012.
Perry Mieklejohn OL/DL 2010 Miami, FL (Westminster Christian) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ Left UCF in '11 for El Camino (CA) CC, landed at South Alabama in '12. Not listed on '13 roster.
Cornelius Whitehead WR/S 2010 Mount Dora, FL (Mount Dora) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ Not listed on any roster beyond '10. No bio on UCF's page.
Davious Chestnut CB 2010 Hemingway, SC (Carvers Bay) ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ Not listed on 2010 roster.
Zach Soto OT 2010 Miami, FL (Monsignor Pace) ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ Never listed on a roster.
Data: Rivals.com, UCF Athletics

Some notes:

  • Blake Bortles. Clayton Geathers. Jordan Akins. Josh Reese. Torrian Wilson. Jordan McCray. Justin McCray. Jeffrey Godfrey. Jordan Ozerities. Justin Tukes. E.J. Dunston. These guys weren’t just good - they were hits.
  • Let’s take a moment to appreciate Jeff Godfrey, who started about as great as any recruit could (C-USA Freshman of the Year), and finished the consummate team player.
  • Clayton Geathers was a two-star, and he’s still in the NFL. Let that sink in.
  • Seems hard to believe now but Jordan Akins was in this class. He finished his UCF career after last season, despite still having one more year of eligibility remaining.
  • LaBranden Richardson is an interesting case. After leaving UCF following 2011, he went to Bethune-Cookman and developed into one of their best defensive players in recent years.
  • Note the ten guys David Kelly pulled in from Miami, including five from Miami Central High School. This was Kelly’s coup de grace before being unceremoniously dispensed with in the Keith Tribble/Ken Caldwell scandal.

No joke, this is one of the best classes in terms of on-field results we’ve ever seen at UCF. Four of them are still playing in the NFL, and we might see a few more in the AAF this spring.