Former Alabama OL Amari Kight finds familiarity at UCF
When Amari Kight entered the NCAA transfer portal in early December, the former Alabama offensive lineman received a ton of interest from around the country.
“My phone just blew up,” Kight said on Wednesday’s National Signing Day. “People are texting you all of the time. It was hectic.”
Of the many programs that reached out to Kight, UCF was one of the first and that included a sales pitch from Knights wide receiver Javon Baker, a former teammate of Kight’s in the SEC.
Kight shared insight into what Baker told him about why he should transfer here.
“Basically, you could come here and we’re going to have fun but we’re going to work hard at the same time,” Kight said. “Come here and change the program around.”
Baker wasn’t the only person at UCF who had a previous relationship with Kight. Coach Gus Malzahn and offensive line coach Herb Hand recruited Kight while they were at Auburn.
“Coach Malzahn and coach Hand were some of the first people to reach out,” Kight said. “We kept our relationship going and that led to me coming here.”
A 2019 4-star prospect, Kight ranked as the No. 10 offensive tackle in the country, and that made him a top target for most SEC programs.
“Amari is a lineman who I recruited extremely hard at the last school I was at,” Malzahn said. “I know everything about him. [A] very talented young man and we’re very excited about him.”
Although Malzahn missed out on landing Kight out of high school, he gets his chance now.
“For me, it was getting a fresh start and being around people who I had a familiarity with,” Kight said. “I felt like this was a place I could come to grow and they could get the most of me as a player and as a person.”
Kight appeared in 12 games last season as Alabama’s backup left tackle. The 6-foot-7, 317-pound offensive lineman can play at right or left tackle, according to Malzahn, and has two years of eligibility remaining.
Those two seasons will come in handy for UCF, which joins the Big 12 Conference this July. Kight explained what it means to him be part of UCF’s first team in the Power Five league.
“Being able to set the standard for the teams that come after [us] and get that culture of winning around here, it definitely means a lot,” he said.
Kight was one of four offensive linemen that UCF added from the transfer portal, joining Marcellus Marshall (Kent State), Bula Schmidt (Fresno State) and Drake Metcalf (Stanford).
“I’m really good in the run and the pass,” said Kight, who described himself as versatile and athletic. “One of my strengths is that I don’t really get too high or too low so the moment isn’t really too big for me.”
Although UCF isn’t located in a small city like Tuscaloosa — which has a population of just more than 100,000 — Kight feels confident about what he can help accomplish in Orlando.
“It’s definitely a different feel because it’s not a traditional college town, but it’s a place where we can come and win and compete at a high level.”
Email Jason Beede at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @therealBeede.
