2023 Lakeland safety Kamaurri McKinley impressed by UCF

Class of 2023 safety Kamaurri McKinley was one of the Lakeland High School stars who visited UCF on Thursday.

"It was great," McKinley said. "We had a tour when we first got there, going around the whole school. We had a photo shoot and then went out to eat at Burger U. I didn't know too much about UCF going into it, especially how big UCF was. They have a lot of players that have made it to the NFL too. It was cool seeing all the uniforms too. I didn't know they had all that."

As a corner, McKinley spent the most time around UCF's secondary coaches David Gibbs and Addison Williams as well as assistant offensive line coach Caleb Pickrell, who previously was on staff at Lakeland.

"They were all keeping it real," McKinley said. "They told us they won't sugar coat anything."

What did he like the most?

"My favorite part was probably the photo shoot," McKinley said. "Also seeing the facilities and the campus. I didn't know it was that big."

McKinley was injured for the bulk of his sophomore season, but he was fully healthy by the time spring rolled around. He's anxious to show college coaches what he can do, which is one reason why he's coming back to attend the UCF Prospect Camp on June 15.

What does he think makes him a good safety?

"I'm a smart player," McKinley said. "I break on the ball fast. I'm physical too. I'm not scared to tackle. But I think my best trait is I always know what's going on."

Up next for McKinley is a visit to Florida State on Sunday and the following day he'll be at Florida. FIU also wants him to visit and he was trying to see if he can get down to Miami to check them out.