Jordan McDonald commits to UCF

Gus Malzahn has landed his top running back target.

Jordan McDonald, a bruising back from Milton High School in Alpharetta, Ga., announced his commitment to UCF on Saturday afternoon. He is the first high school running back to commit to UCF under Malzahn.

His other finalist was South Carolina and he officially visited Tennessee during the summer. He also had offers from Florida State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kentucky, LSU, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Pittsburgh, South Florida, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wake Forest, Washington State and Wisconsin, among many others.

McDonald visited UCF twice during the summer and returned recently to attend the ECU home game.

"They told me I'd be able to fit in their system being a hard, smash mouth runner," McDonald said in an earlier interview. "They have some deadly receivers at UCF that can really kill anyone on the edge. They said once they get their receivers rolling and the defense has to spread the box to cover the passing game, a running back like me can come in and destroy the inside, destroy those weak boxes when they're spread out and the inside linebacker is covering an extra slot receiver. Those little inside zones that I love to run through so much, I can come in and smash through different holes and bring an explosiveness to the offense. Like a 1-2 punch combo. You can't stop the running game and you can't stop the receiving game either. That's how he said I'd fit into their plan."

McDonald also said he was excited about the upcoming Big 12 move.

"I think it's a good move for UCF," McDonald said. "I think it will be very competitive in the Big 12. Definitely will put us in position for the playoffs each year."

McDonald scored four touchdowns (three rushing, one receiving) on Friday in Milton's 44-34 win against Roswell. His final rushing tally was 129 yards on 11 carries.

UCF now has 13 total commitments in the Class of 2022, eight of whom are on offense. The Knights' current Rivals.com team recruiting class ranking is No. 44 nationally.

Join the UCFSports.com Community!

Visit the Dungeon for more news and discussion with other UCF fans.