LB Commit: UCF is a dream come true

From the very beginning, the University of Central Florida was at the top of Raymond Cottman's list so when the official offer finally came last week the junior college linebacker didn't hesitate to jump on it.

Cottman, a one-time Minnesota commit, plans to enroll at UCF this January after graduating from Arizona's Glendale Community College.

"I've always been interested in UCF," Cottman said. "I wanted to go somewhere pretty big and UCF was a top school I really wanted to go to out of high school. I got a chance to go to GCC and now UCF. It's definitely a dream come true."

Linebackers coach John Skladany recruited him for the Knights and they've been in constant communication since the summer.

"Coach Skladany was definitely upfront and honest with me, which I appreciate," Cottman said. "He told me I seem like a great young man. He talked to my coach at GCC, Coach (Michael) Bell, and he said Coach Bell said a lot of good things about me. He gave me a good recommendation. Coach Skladany was happy about that and the fact I have good grades. He mentioned he has two seniors leaving and he likes the way I play on film. I could play middle or the outside. He likes my athleticism and my speed."

The offer came together this past week after Skladany had called Cottman in hopes he'd schedule an official visit for Dec. 10.

"I was supposed to go to Utah State on Dec. 10 because I'm offered by them," Cottman said. "I told Coach Skladany I would love to visit UCF, I'm extremely interested, but it's just the fact Utah State had offered me and I didn't have an offer from UCF yet. I'm loyal and am into giving respect. I didn't want to step on anyone's toes. He definitely understood that."

That's when Skladany apparently went to head coach George O'Leary to talk about speeding up the offer process.

"He sat down with Coach O'Leary and they watched my film," Cottman said. "Coach Skladany wanted to make a move now. Then they actually e-mailed me (this past Tuesday) and said, 'Give us a call ASAP. We've got some great news.' When I called they said, 'We're definitely going to offer you. We want you to come here. We want you to visit here on Dec. 10 to see how you would feel about being a Knight and coming to UCF.'

"I was definitely excited. I was studying for a geology test, so it was definitely an upper for my night. My family is excited and extremely proud of me. They back me up 100 percent. It was definitely something I wanted to do to commit on the spot."

He also got on the phone with Coach O'Leary on Tuesday to make his commitment official.

"We chatted a little bit and (O'Leary) had good things to say," Cottman said. "He said he was excited and can't wait to see me on the visit. He said he doesn't really offer guys without seeing them first, but he liked what Coach Skladany said about me. They had five other linebackers they could have picked and they picked me first.

"Coach O'Leary was asking about my family. I have a brother and sister in college. My brother just graduated and my sister is a senior. My parents are extremely supportive and have great jobs. He also asked me about a girl and what I would do since I would have to leave. I told him that's totally fine. It's my dream to play football. I'm excited about coming there and pumped to be coming Dec. 10."

Knowing UCF might be his future college, Cottman says he watched the Knights on television as much as he could.

"I watched them play against Kansas State early in the year on FSN, then I watched their game against Houston which was a good one," Cottman said. "Coach Skladany told me that would be a good one to watch. I like the defensive scheme. I think the main thing that caught my eye was the offense and the freshman quarterback, Jeffrey Godfrey. He looks very talented. If he's going to be there for the rest of my college career while I'm there, I think that can be big time for us. I definitely want to help the program as much as possible."

UCF has a big need for linebackers next season, so Cottman (6-2, 225) is in line to make a major contribution in the middle or one of the outside spots.

"Coach Skladany explained to me they're going to lose two senior linebackers," Cottman said. "He told me that I look like I have really good reading skills. I can read quick. I know what's happening before it happens, I guess you could say. He liked my closing speed. I'm a head hunter. I fill holes pretty well. The thing that my coach from GCC liked about me is the fact I'm so athletic. I can clog the hole up the middle, take on an offensive lineman's block and then you can take me out of the box and I can go cover a slot back in the passing game, make some picks and make some big plays. I've been playing linebacker since I was six years old, so it comes to me like instinct."

Cottman, who recorded 80 tackles and 4.5 sacks this past season at GCC, initially committed to Minnesota after his freshman year but wasn't able to earn enough credits in order to transfer after one year.

His visit to UCF on Dec. 10 will be his first ever trip to Florida and he's hoping that will come after one more big victory.

"We here at Glendale are playing in a bowl game on Dec. 4," Cottman said. "We ended our season at 7-3 in what's probably the hardest conference in junior college football. I actually got nominated for first team All-Western States football and that includes the top programs in JUCO. We're playing in the Valley of the Sun Bowl against Central Lakes from Minnesota. We won the bowl game last year when I was a freshman and that was really cool.

"I really want to get this win, then after that have a great trip to UCF and enjoy myself. I can't wait to see the place I'll be attending the next two years of my life to play football and get an education."

Raymond Cottman 2010 Highlight Video