Mainland RB pumped about UCF offer
Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland running back Adrian Killins couldn't contain his excitement when reached by phone Thursday night, shortly after receiving word of a scholarship offer from new UCF coach Scott Frost.
Killins had been hoping for an offer all along, so re-initiated contact after he learned of the Frost hire.
"Coach Ryan Callaghan follows me on Twitter so I sent him a DM and said, 'How you doing? I'm Adrian Killins. I love the coaching change they just did at UCF.' He got back with me and said we're on the same page. 'We like you.' He asked about my grades, my ACT. He told me to hang in there and they'd be in touch. Today, my coaches sent my transcript to UCF, to the academic people.
"From that point on I kind of knew I was going to have an offer. It's such a blessing. I've always dreamed of going to Oregon, now it's like Oregon coming to me. UCF is basically my hometown, just an hour away. That would be real beneficial for me and my family. Coming from that Oregon background, I know he's going to do great things at UCF. That offense is all about speed. I'd fit in perfect. It's such a blessing. I really didn't imagine getting an offer from them. They recruited me before, but never gave me an offer. Big things are about to occur at UCF."
Killins was told to give Frost a call around 8 p.m.
"He was excited to talk to me and I was excited to talk to him," Killins said. "The first words out of his mouth were, 'We're gonna do big things at UCF.' They need a guy like me to get in space and make plays and help win games at UCF. Turn the program around. He asked me if I was excited and I told I am excited. He seems like a great guy. Big things are in store for UCF right now."
They talked about an official visit which Killins says will definitely be scheduled for January.
"I've visited down there before and been there plenty of times," Killins said. "The campus is nice. It's the second-largest college in the country. They have a great fanbase as a whole. The football program had a rocky year, but they just needed a coaching change. It's only going to get better now. Coach Frost is going to turn the program around. The coaching staff has a mindset to win and dominate. UCF is going to do big things."
The Knights may have some competition though from their cross-state rival, South Florida.
"I'm going to USF this weekend for an unofficial visit," Killins said. "I'm going to sit down with the coaches and talk. USF's program is growing. Coach Taggart is a great guy. The program is getting better. They recruit Florida a lot, Orlando, Tampa, Miami. They've got a lot of studs and speed guys that can play ball. We had 7-on-7 there so I've been there a lot. I've got a great relationship there. They had a good season and they're only going to get better."
USF and USF are definitely top considerations. Who else is in the mix?
"UCF is a favorite right now, definitely, after the coaching change," Killins said. "Big things are going to happen there now. In no specific order, UCF, USF, Miami and FAU. They're all favorites."
He now has offers from all four.
"Academics are important to me," Killins said. "What do they have to offer to help me get my degree? I want to better my future. How can I come in and impact as a freshman? How can that program change my life as a whole? And how can it benefit my family as well? Going out of state would be hard on my family. If I stayed in-state, it's just two hours to FAU, three hours to Miami, UCF is like an hour and USF is three hours."
They don't come much faster than Killins, who won the state track championship in the 200 meters as a junior.
"I did pretty good this year," Killins said. "We went to Ohio and played a game out of state. I sprained my ankle and missed four games. I finished the season with 127 carries and 967 rushing yards. All around pretty good season. No one wants to get hurt, but everything happens for a reason. We lost in the third round of the playoffs to Miami-Central. That game hurt us. We've lost to them three years in a row. We wanted to beat them, but things didn't go like we planned. So right now I'm just focused on college now and keeping my grades up."
