New OL commit Thomas Lopez: 'I was blown away by UCF'
Calling UCF the perfect combination of academics, athletics and lifestyle, Thomas Lopez said it was an easy to decision to commit to the Knights.
The Middletown, N.J., native and Brooklyn (N.Y.) ASA College offensive lineman visited campus this past weekend on an official visit and gave his pledge at the end of the trip.
"I mainly wanted to find a school that was going to support me academically," Lopez said. "I could have waited a lot longer and waited for other schools, but I didn't need to. I went down to UCF with an open mind. Though I had spoken to my parents about possibly committing, I wanted to go down there to see the facilities, see the academic support they have and meet everyone. I got blown away by everything.
"As soon as I got off the plane, I was like wow! The weather was great. Just that first day I was kind of amazed. My next day, Saturday, I went on the campus tour. Once I took that tour and got to speak with (offensive line) coach (Greg) Austin one-on-one, that really solidified why I wanted to go to UCF.
"I even told the coaches, I don't care about the Recovery Cove (lazy river pool). That's just an extra. There's so much to do here anyway. It's great. I see a lot in this program and they saw something in me.
"With this decision, I feel like a lot of stress was taken off my shoulders. Once I got to meet Coach (Scott) Frost, I really felt like he could be my coach. He made me feel like I was part of the team. Everybody was very supportive. I'm really happy with my decision so is my family."
A high school injury slowed Lopez's recruitment at the prep level, but a strong freshman season at ASA led to offers from UCF, Marshall, Akron and UTSA, while Rutgers, Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh and UConn were among the schools showing strong interest. Some programs hesistate making early JUCO offers while they continue to evaluate their future depth situation.
"I messed up my shoulder in high school pretty good," Lopez said. "I played on it (as a junior) and then had surgery right after our state game. My senior year I was mostly underlooked, so I ended up going to JUCO. After my freshman season, I started getting offers. We have a slew of D1 kids here so I knew I'd get a chance to show my stuff to coaches. UCF was one of them. When I got the offer I was very excited and very intrigued about going there. It looked great on paper. I researched all I could on the internet. I wanted to check it out myself. I talked to my family about it and they thought it was the best opportunity for me."
Wyatt Miller served as Lopez's player host and he also spent considerable time with Aaron Evans among other players.
"The guys were just great, defense and offense, very supporting," Lopez said. "Really wanting me to come there. That was great, just being able to seperate a little bit from the coaches and seeing how the players live their life. I enjoyed it."
Lopez, on track to be an early enrollee next January with two years of eligibility remaining, would appear to be a leading contender to replace Evans at left tackle in 2018.
"I love playing offensive line in general," Lopez said. "Not just one spot. Tackle, guard. The coaches said I could play both. We were watching some film and some of the stuff I'm doing now relates to what they're doing in terms of technique. I feel I won't be falling behind. It's obviously a whole new playbook for me and also an uptempo offense. I can really fit in well with that offense. They said they like to recruit nasty linemen and that's how I play.
"We were on the same page the whole time. Not just football talk. I walked out of that meeting with Coach Austin thinking, 'Wow, I really saw eye-to-eye with him about everything.' It went way beyond football. The relationship and connection was amazing."
Lopez, who plans to major in business, believes UCF will soon return to prominence under Frost and company and he can't wait to be a part of it.
"The first thing is I want to get my degree first and foremost," he said. "Second, I have a goal to come in and earn a starting position. As a team, I want to get back to that top 25 atmosphere that was here when we won the Fiesta Bowl a few years ago. I see how much fun the team had and how happy the players looked. I want to bring that back. I want that to be a consistent standard for UCF. Whatever they need me to do, I'll do. I told Coach Austin that it doesn't matter where I play. I want to bring UCF back and get the Knights back on top again."
