Held: '2017 class will help UCF get back to the top'
UCF running backs coach Ryan Held discussed the 2017 recruiting class during a guest appearance Saturday on "EK Sports," the weekly radio show hosted by Erik Kohler.
The Knights' haul was ranked by Rivals.com as the top recruiting class in the American Athletic Conference.
"I think we did a great job identifying kids that fit the culture that we want, the talent level of players that we want that can come in and either contribute right away or will be future guys for us," Held said. "It was a crazy ride, especially in today's recruiting world where we lost some kids and then we gained some kids. But that's just kind of how it's going to be because we're going to be on the right kids. People are going to try to poach guys from us. At the end of the day, we feel like we got the right 22 kids for our program that are going to help us get this thing back up to the top."
UCF put an exclamation point on their class when four-star running back Cordarrian Richardson was added last Thursday, the day after signing day. The Memphis native originally said he would sign with Maryland.
"Cordarrian is a very talented young man," Held said. "It was kind of a crazy venture to get him signed up, but we ended up getting it done. Coach (Sean) Beckton and myself and all the others worked very hard to get him. I think he saw the opportunity at UCF. We've had a lot of great players especially at the running back position over the years. He saw an opportunity. Being a bigger back, that was a point of emphasis for us to get some diversity in the back field and in my room. He brings that to the table. We beat a lot of people. That kid at one point was committed to Clemson. To be able to get a kid like that is a big coup for us. But I tell you, when kids come to our campus and see what we have from A to Z, they fall in love with it. When his mother came on the trip with him I think they really saw from an academic perspective the opportunity and obviously the football perspective and what we have here. The future is very bright."
Top recruiting rankings often do correlate to wins, but there are plenty of exceptions to the rule. One of Kohler's co-hosts mentioned that many of the players who comprised UCF's 2013 Fiesta Bowl Championship team, particularly quarterback Blake Bortles and wide receiver J.J. Worton, were overlooked by most schools. Held added that Nebraska won three national championships in the 1990s without signing what was considered a top recruiting class.
That segued into Held's prediction that the New England Patriots would win the Super Bowl.
"How many great players has Bill Belichick been able to find?," Held said. "Undrafted guys. I have a kid at New England that played for me at Highland Community College that they picked up and he's on all their special teams. They find those guys. It's easy to find the first rounders and the five stars. It's the coaches that can find the diamonds in the rough and maybe the guys that are under recruited. Those are the guys that know how to evaluate talent. Anybody can evaluate some of these other freaks.
"We take a lot of pride in that at UCF. You won't find a harder working outfit than our coaches. The fans are hungry for success. We did a lot of good things this year, but we want to get this thing back. I promise you that every day we come into work there's a commitment to excellence to get this thing back for our fans. We take a lot of pride in it. We feel like we're definitely moving in the right direction for that."
EK Sports airs 11 a.m.-1 p.m. every Saturday on FM 96.9 and 740 The Game.
