Cottman excited to join UCF family

Raymond Cottman had never even visited Florida before, but that didn't stop the linebacker from Glendale (Ariz.) Community College from committing to UCF as soon as he was offered in November. He admits some people questioned that decision, but his recent official visit down to Orlando only reinforced his feelings that UCF was the perfect school for him.

"Knowing that I committed early, sight unseen of the university, I guess some people wondered if I'd like it or not," Cottman said. "UCF definitely exceeded my expectations. I had a great time there. I loved everything about the university. The coaches are great. I had a great experience. The best part I got out of it was such a homey feel from the coaches. That was a big plus in my book because that was something I was looking for."

Cottman visited UCF by himself, but says his mother will likely accompany him when he moves in Jan. 5.

"I flew in on that Friday around 3," Cottman said. Coach (John) Skladany picked me up and another recruit from the airport and we ended up grabbing a snack before dinner. Coach Skladany showed us around the university real quick, then we went straight to Coach (George) O'Leary's office. We got a personal meeting. That was something I really liked. Coach O'Leary is an honest man and a great coach. I was excited to meet him in person finally. I had a great meeting with him. I met him a couple times throughout the visit. The first time he explained how the visit was going to be. He was excited about us being there.

"After that, Coach Skladany took us to the hotel (Radisson UCF) and we relaxed a little bit. It's a real nice hotel, obviously. That's where they stay before games. It's a really nice hotel. Then we went down for dinner and met all the coaches, met all the recruits and our hosts. That was really neat because my host was Barry Snider. He's from Arizona and played at Scottsdale Community College, which is like 20 minutes from Glendale. That was really neat, hanging out with the football guys. We got to know each other."

"Barry was really neat. I thought I might be the only southwest boy on the team because there are a lot of Florida boys and some Georgia guys, but I was excited when I did find out they have an Arizona guy. He actually played against me my freshman year at GCC. That was neat. He was a cool host. He explained to me everything about the program and answered anything I had questions about. He's a good guy. I'm sure we'll be hanging out a lot, especially with us both being Arizona boys I guess you could say.

"We hung out with Reggie Weams and I think it was A.J. Bouye. Barry and I actually went to Bruce Miller's house to hang out with him a couple times. There were a good majority of guys around. That was real cool."

Saturday was the busiest day.

"In Coach O'Leary's words, it was a 'business day.' It definitely was," Cottman said. "We took care of academics and talked about what we want to be doing in our future. We woke up bright and early. I think jet lag killed me a little bit because wake up call was at 7:30 and it's 5:30 here. That's a big change. I coped with it. We went and did the academic thing and checked out all the facilities. We saw the bookstore and the campus a little bit, where the library is, the president's office where it overlooks the big water area. That was really neat.

"Seeing the football facilities was by far the neatest thing. I like how everything is close to each other. How the towers where the football guys live is so close to the football offices, practice fields, indoor facility, weight room and the stadium."

Skladany and defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable talked to Cottman about his future position, which right now is slated to be weakside linebacker where senior Lawrence Young has been starting the past few years.

"They have high expectations they told me and they expect a lot from me," Cottman said. "They know if I come in and do work that I could play as soon as possible. Coach Skladany wants me to play willie backer, which is inside next to the mike. The sam is opposite. We went over the defense. It's pretty similar to what I run here at Glendale. We're mainly in the box and by Coach Skladany's terms 85 percent of the time. I can vacate and cover some slot backs if I need to. That's what I did at Glendale. I like that a lot. The other thing is he expects that willy backer to make a lot of calls. I'm okay with that. I think I have the knowledge to know what's going on. Knowing the situation is like second nature.

"I think I was the only willy backer that was there. They talked to Kentorius Jackson about playing sam or nickel back and Tommy Sanders about sam as well. They said the depth chart isn't really strong there, so they're excited about me to step up and be making plays."

Favorite part about the visit?

"There's a couple favorite things," Cottman said. "The camaraderie is really emphasized. The guys are extremely close. It's like a close knit family. The coaches are extremely cool. They seem like great men off the field and they treat you well. They treat you like a young man off the field and I'm sure when it comes on the field it's game time and like a business. I like the aspect of playing football for great coaches like that.

"Coach O'Leary, the head coach, seems amazing. His background is just great. He's a great coach and a great man. It was great meeting him face to face.

"Another great thing I liked, which is actually kind of weird knowing Orlando is a big city and me being from Phoenix, a big city, but I noticed that UCF doesn't have that big city feel. To be honest, it's on the outskirts and there's a small community around it. That was really neat to me. I was expecting a big city built around this university, even knowing it was on the outskirts. I wouldn't have minded that, but I like the close community feel.

"Another thing I really liked was 'The Moat Sports Grille.' That was really neat, seeing so much Knights stuff on the walls. It was delicious. They had really good food. They had a lot of TVs, that's for sure. They said when they have away games that a lot of fans go there to watch the game. We actually watched the replay of the Conference USA Championship Game against SMU as we were eating lunch on Saturday. The owner really loves supporting the university and football program, so that's really great to see."

Finding UCF gear in Phoenix might be a little difficult, so Cottman stocked up before heading home.

"I shopped at the bookstore and bought a few things," he said. "Before I left, Coach Skladany took me to Sports Authority right off campus and I bought some things for my parents and friends. I got some good quality clothes. I like the gear they have. I'm stoked on the Black & Gold, that's for sure."

With two years of eligibility remaining, Cottman already has a pretty good idea of what he'd like to accomplish.

"The first key is getting my education," Cottman said. "That's the main thing. Coach O'Leary obviously emphasizes that he wants his players to graduate. I want to get into business and possibly minor in communications. Once I get that situated, I want to step up as soon as possible which for me will be spring ball. I want to start working out hard and getting to know the team. I want to get in the camaraderie they have and become a close-knit family with them, but also when we get on the field I want to show them that an Arizona boy can play. I want to step in and make plays right off the bat. I have to prove myself, that's for sure."

You can expect Cottman to be glued to the television next Friday when UCF takes on the University of Georgia in the Liberty Bowl.

"I'll be watching that with my family in Arizona," Cottman said. "I'll be excited to watch that. I'll be glad to see them win. I'm more than positive they're going to beat Georgia."