After four years on the hardwood, Deebo Coleman is ready for a fresh start on the football field.

The former top-100 basketball recruit and recent UCF starter has joined the Knights football team for his final year of NCAA eligibility, aiming to rekindle a passion that began long before his basketball career took off.

Coleman, who started 30 games for Johnny Dawkins' UCF basketball squad in 2024-25, began summer workouts last week with UCF Football, where he'll play tight end under the direction of head coach Scott Frost and offensive coordinator Steve Cooper.

Thanks to NCAA rules, Coleman is eligible to play an additional season in a non-basketball sport within his five-year eligibility window.

"He started football at four years old," said Ran Coleman, Deebo's father and former high school basketball coach at West Nassau High School near Jacksonville. "He was dual-sport all the way up until his sophomore year of high school. But once his basketball recruiting exploded, he was top 25 in ESPN at one point, he made a business decision and focused fully on basketball."

As a sophomore at West Nassau, Coleman played quarterback and safety, rushing for 147 yards, throwing for 154, and standing out in the secondary with five interceptions and 11 pass breakups.

"He always tells me Deebo would have been a four-star football player if he stuck with it," Ran said of Deebo's high school football coach. "But the basketball recruitment just picked up earlier, so it made sense to focus on that."

Coleman starred at West Nassau, earning Florida's Mr. Basketball and 4A Player of the Year honors as a senior. After three seasons at Georgia Tech, he transferred to UCF for his final college basketball season. With the Knights, he averaged 5.3 points and 4.2 rebounds, helping lead UCF to the championship game of the inaugural College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas.

But football never completely left his mind.

"Even though he stopped playing, he still watched the games, stood on the sidelines and stayed close with his high school team," Ran said. "He loved football. He's excited about having the opportunity to play it again. He always felt like he was kind of forced out because of the path basketball took. Now he won't have to wonder, 'what if?'"