Forrest feels the love, commits to UCF
It's been a joyous weekend for Cornelius Forrest, Jr.
On Saturday, the tight end from Jacksonville (Fla.) Sandalwood fulfilled a lifelong dream by accepting a college scholarship from UCF, doing so during a day-long visit that culminated in his attendance at "Knight Splash."
The excitement carried over into Sunday.
"My family, we're just so filled with joy and so happy," Forrest said Sunday afternoon. "We're still talking about it right now. My uncle wasn't able to come down with us to UCF for the visit, but he was so excited by the news that he drove down all the way from Atlanta this morning so he could congratulate me in person. Nobody knew he was coming. It was all a big surprise."
Forrest is an intriguing prospect, a late-bloomer of sorts who only recently found his football calling.
"My freshman year I was on JV and played defensive line," he said. "I had played d-line my whole life, since I was five. My sophomore year I started on varsity, playing defensive end. I didn't get a lot of playing time. A coach from FSU came to a practice and thought I might be a good offensive lineman, so I moved to left tackle. I started for half the season. Towards the end of my junior season, I asked my coach if I could play tight end. I wanted to play it very badly. So he put me in and on my first play I caught it and ran 30 yards, stiff-armed four people and almost scored. After that he was like, "Yeah, you're a tight end."'
Despite limited film, Forrest's excellent spring garnered quite a bit of interest from colleges. Offers came in from Bowling Green, Colorado State, UConn, ECU, Marshall, Rutgers, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Syracuse, Troy and UAB.
UCF was incredibly interested, but didn't offer right away. They wanted to work with Forrest at one of their camps. He knew he did well and thought an offer might be on the way. His primary recruiters, which included Anthony Tucker and Jon Cooper, encouraged him to return for this visit. He was hoping they'd have the good news then.
"We got down to UCF early on Saturday," Forrest said. "The first thing we did was a photo shoot and tour. We talked to the coaches a little bit. Then they took us to the pool. It was cool. We were all hanging out. People were playing volleyball, throwing the football around. There was a D.J. There were a lot of guys there. I was able to meet the tight end that already committed, Jordan Davis, which was cool because we're the only two tight ends they're bringing in. I met Kendrick Wilson, the defensive end who committed. I met a couple offensive linemen too."
As far as the offer, he got news of that pretty quickly.
"I already got the hint like a month prior," Forrest said. "They were always saying how much they liked me. They were staying in contact a lot. I know when they offered they wanted it to mean something. They didn't want to offer just to offer. We went into (head coach Josh Heupel's) office. I was a little bit nervous. That's when I found out."
The decision was made at that point, but Forrest waited until "Knight Splash" to inform the coaches.
"They were all excited," Forrest said. "I got hugs from all the coaches. They all congratulated me. It was dope."
What stood out to him about UCF?
"The coaching staff," Forrest said. "They're really loving. They kept it real with me ever since the beginning. They explained how they weren't going to offer me right away. They were 100 percent with me. I like the campus. It's beautiful. It's real close to home. My family loved it. They love the staff. Plus the other kids that committed are cool also. It's a winning program. I want to be a part of that."
Forrest already has an impressive build at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds.
"The coaches like that I'm very aggressive," he said. "They said they can incorporate me in the run game or flex me out. Even play with two tight ends, they love doing that. Maybe even some H-back."
Besides UCF, Forrest says he was also strongly considering ECU, Syracuse, Rutgers and Troy.
He also mentioned that he's excited to play again with his good friend Nate Brady, who just joined the UCF team this summer as a freshman walk-on. Forrest hasn't made a final decision, but he has the option to graduate high school early and enroll next January. He's interested in studying either business or sports medicine.
