National Signing Day Report Card: UCF shines while UF aims for improvement
UCF lost one of its top commitments on National Signing Day, but the Knights still reeled in an impressive class. Florida State’s day went somewhat as expected and Florida’s ranking among the nation’s top teams in recruiting classes almost spiraled out of the Top 20 as UF lost some commitments Wednesday.
The state grades:
UCF, A+
The Knights put together what many, including coach Gus Malzahn, are considering the best recruiting class in school history. UCF ranked No. 32 by 247 Sports, two spots ahead of College Football Playoff finalist Washington. The highlight of the class for the Knights was signing three 4-star players, a first for UCF: RB Frankie Arthur of Oak Ridge (Conroe, Texas), WR Kyland Fox of Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) and OL Waltclaire Flynn Jr. of Grayson (Loganville, Ga.). UCF also signed five players from central Florida, losing only Melbourne Central Catholic receiver Ric’Darious Farmer to West Virginia.
Miami, A+
Miami coach Mario Cristobal may not know when to have his QB take a knee to run out the clock, but he sure can recruit. Miami turned in the No, 3-rated team in the 247 sports national team rankings. The signing of the day was 5-star recruit DL Justin Scott of Chicago’s St. Ignatius. Miami signed 14 4-star players in the best class the Hurricanes have put together in at least a decade.
Florida State, A
FSU lost a commitment from Buford (Ga.) safety KJ Bolden, but the flip to Georgia did not come as a huge surprise for the Seminoles, who also lost Miami Central edge rusher Armando Bolden to Miami, another expected turn of events. Those were the only players FSU lost of its 23 commitments heading into signing day as 21 players inked paper. The Seminoles did not land any 5-star players but did sign 10 4-stars, led by 6-foot-4, 185-pound quarterback Luke Kromenhoek of Benedictine Military School in Savannah, Ga.
Florida, B
The biggest surprise of the day came when word started trickling out that Daytona Beach Mainland defensive lineman LJ McCray, the No. 1 player in the Sentinel’s 2025 Central Florida Super60, might not sign Wednesday before he eventually joined the Gators. By the time all of the smoke cleared, the Gators lost four players and their No. 4 national recruiting ranking (247 Sports) had dropped to No. 16. With those losses, the Gators went from an A grade to the low B, but Texas quarterback DJ Lagway, and keeping McCray, both 5-stars, saved the day for the Gators.
FAU, B
With the exception of one player, Tom Herman landed 16 3-star players to FAU, a decent crop for the Owls in Herman’s first full recruiting season after being hired last December. Flashy Jacksonville Trinity Christian’s multi-position player Kyle Boylston leads the way for this class of Owls and FAU fans should enjoy watching him run around. Herman also landed Orlando Edgewater running back Kaden Shields-Dutton, who could surprise a lot of people with his hard-nosed running style and his speed at the second level. His running style could even be compared to that of UCF’s RJ Harvey, another former Edgewater star.
USF, B-
The Bulls pulled together a pretty decent class, with the highlight being a 4-star player in IMG Academy Johnathan Echols, who is already enrolled at USF. Echols was committed to Tennessee, where coach Alex Golesh was before he came to USF, and Echols followed him. Of the 21 signees Wednesday, 20 of them are 3-stars, including Ocala Vanguard safety Fred Gaskin, one of the top players in the state.
FIU, D
There isn’t much to say for the FIU recruiting this year except that the Panthers did sign 13 3-star players. But they also signed two players with no ranking from 247 Sports, and one player with a 2-star rating. Second-year coach Mike MacIntyre is finding out how difficult it is the recruiting to the school, which has not fared well very many times on National Signing Day. We won’t give them an F because at least they tried.
