NFL Knights as recruits - a look back
Recruiting rankings can be a good indicator of talent, but players do fall through the cracks.
The trend is especially true at UCF, where many of the program's top players were lightly recruited or may not have been highly ranked coming out of high school.
Advertisement
Coach George O'Leary prides himself on identifying potential in players who might have been overlooked.
"I don't get involved in all these stars, but I do get involved in tape," O'Leary says.
From Brandon Marshall to Bruce Miller, UCFSports.com takes a look back at the Knights who made it to NFL rosters either via the draft or free agency. Of UCF's 15 NFL players since the debut of Rivals.com in 2002, 12 were two-star prospects.
The 16th NFL player will likely be Josh Robinson, who decided after his junior season to enter the 2012 NFL Draft.
NFL Knights as Recruits
Class: 2002
Ranking: 2 stars (No. 76 WR)
Offers: Florida, Connecticut
NFL Draft: Round 4, Pick 119 - Denver Broncos (2006)
Recruiting Summary: Marshall, a high school QB, was coveted by UCF for his tremendous size and athleticism which they felt would translate into becoming a big-time WR. UCF was the first to offer and UConn followed suit. Florida, under new coach Ron Zook, came on strong the weekend before signing day and offered a scholarship, though the Gators envisioned Marshall as a TE or DE in college. He committed to UCF the next day. It should be noted that Rivals.com was more stringent in handing out stars in 2002 than they are today.
K Matt PraterClick Pro Career: Now with the Miami Dolphins, Marshall is one of the top WRs in the NFL. Here to view this Link.
Class: 2002
Ranking: 2 stars
Offers: New Mexico State
NFL Draft: Free Agent - Detroit Lions (2006)
Recruiting Summary: When they realized they'd have room available in the class, UCF offered Prater a scholarship the Monday before National Signing Day. Auburn head coach Gene Chizik, who was then UCF's defensive coordinator, recruited Prater with the hope he could step in and start as a true freshman. He did. New Mexico State also offered a full ride. Ohio State also recruited him, but did not offer.
Pro Career: Now with the Denver Broncos, Prater is one of the NFL's top kickers. Tim Tebow may have received the bulk of attention, but the Broncos would not have been a playoff team in 2011 without Prater's clutch field goals.
WR Mike Sims-WalkerClick Here to view this Link.
Class: 2003
Ranking: 3 stars (No. 28 WR)
Offers: East Carolina, Florida State, Miami, Ole Miss, Tennessee
NFL Draft: Round 3, Pick 79 - Jacksonville Jaguars (2007).
Recruiting Summary: Walker was part of a banner class of local recruits which also included QB Steven Moffett. He actually committed to Ole Miss a week before signing day only to switch his commitment to UCF less than 24 hours later. Under today's rankings guidelines, Walker, who was rated No. 28 nationally at WR, would have been a four-star.
TE Mike MerrittClick Pro Career: Walker led the Jaguars in receptions and receiving yards in 2009. Here to view this Link.
Class: 2003
Ranking: 2 stars
Offers: Missouri, Rutgers, South Florida, Wisconsin
NFL Draft: Round 7, Pick 239 - Kansas City Chiefs (2008)
Recruiting Summary: Merritt, who is from Palm Beach County, had plenty of out-of-state offers, but chose UCF because he didn't want to go too far from home. He was also a top basketball player. Along with Walker, Moffett and others, Merritt was considered to be one of the top signees of the 2003 class. He likely would have been three-stars under today's rankings guidelines.
OL Josh SittonClick Pro Career: Merritt played one season with the Chiefs in 2008.Here to view this Link.
Class: 2004
Ranking: 2 stars
Offers: UAB, Nicholls State
NFL Draft: Round 4, Pick 135 - Green Bay Packers (2008)
Recruiting Summary: Sitton was a member of George O'Leary's inaugural recruiting class at UCF which largely consisted of overlooked players who yielded few major offers. UCF initially thought he might play DT, but he remained on the OL. Auburn was also in contact, but never offered.
DT Leger DouzableClick Pro Career: Sitton started for Green Bay's 2011 NFL Super Bowl Championship team.Here to view this Link.
Class: 2004
Ranking: 2 stars.
Offers: None
NFL Draft: Free Agent - Minnesota Vikings (2008)
Recruiting Summary: Douzable is the definition of a sleeper. He had great size out of Tampa's Alonso High School (6-5, 270), but for some reason no other school wanted to take a gamble on him despite his outstanding academics. Florida A&M and Gannon, a Division II school in Pennsylvania, were the only others who were in contact at the time of his commitment to UCF, which took place shortly before signing day.
DB Sha'reff RashadClick Pro Career: Douzable has played for several teams and has found the most success with Jacksonville, where he's been since 2010. He started six games this past season.Here to view this Link.
Class: 2004
Ranking: 2 stars
Offers: Air Force, Appalachian State, William & Mary
NFL Draft: Free Agent - New York Giants (2008)
Recruiting Summary: Rashad was being recruited as a WR, but UCF liked him for defense. He visited Air Force and William & Mary in January prior to his UCF trip. He played at a smaller school (Jacksonville Episcopal) and was a year younger than most players in his class (he turned 17 October of his senior year) so perhaps those factors worked against him in being recruited by more schools.
Pro Career: Rashad spent 2009-10 with the New York Giants and Washington Redskins, first as a practice squad player and then making the 53-man roster with the Redskins late in 2010.
RB Kevin SmithClick Here to view this Link.
Class: 2005
Ranking: 2 stars
Offers: Akron, Eastern Michigan
NFL Draft: Round 3, Pick 64 - Detroit Lions (2008)
Recruiting Summary: Smith got zero media coverage during his senior season, recruiting or otherwise, playing mostly defensive back as a senior for a new coaching staff at Miami-Southridge. Despite the dozens of major schools who recruit Miami each year, nearly all passed on Smith because he was an average defensive back. UCF though had game film of his junior year when he played running back - he was a star at that position - and were astounded the new coaches didn't continue playing him there. That decision kept other schools unaware of his talent, so it made for a fairly easy grab for UCF who were his only offensive offer (Akron and EMU were offering for DB).
Pro Career: Smith, the greatest running back in UCF history, has been plagued by injuries since leaving for the NFL after his record setting junior season. Without a team for the first half of the 2011 season, Smith returned to the Lions this past November with several good performances which probably ensures he'll have a home somewhere for 2012.
CB Joe BurnettClick Here to view this Link.
Class: 2005
Ranking: 2 stars
Offers: Boston College, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Purdue, USF
NFL Draft: Round 5, Pick 168 - Pittsburgh Steelers (2009)
Recruiting Summary: Burnett, a first-team All-American at UCF, was one of the first recruits to say they grew up a Knights fan. The Eustis native committed while on an unofficial visit to a game in 2004. In addition to the offers listed above, he was very high on Auburn's board. In retrospect, he should have been rated higher than 2-stars because it's not like he didn't receive a lot of recruiting attention.
Class: 2005
Ranking: 2 stars
Offers: TCU, Western Michigan, Western Illinois, Missouri State
NFL Draft: Free Agent - Carolina Panthers (2009)
Recruiting Summary: It was a UCF-TCU battle for Brown, who was from the Chicago area. He was considered a bit of a project at the time because he was considered light for the position and that's why probably why every Big Ten school passed on him. Nonetheless, he made 50 consecutive starts at left tackle beginning with his true freshman season.
Pro Career: Brown finally found a home with the Minnesota Vikings, which was his sixth signing with a NFL team. He made his NFL debut this past season and appeared in all of their 16 games.
DT Torell TroupClick Here to view this Link.
Class: 2006
Ranking: 2 stars
Offers: Maryland, Minnesota, Ole Miss
NFL Draft: Round 2, Pick 41 - Buffalo Bills (2010)
Recruiting Summary: Troup had a final two of UCF and Minnesota, visiting both schools over consecutive weekends in January. Clemson was also very interested, but never offered. He said he committed to UCF because he felt more comfortable with the coaches and players. Troup had size, but wasn't in the best physical shape when he arrived on campus.
Class: 2006
Ranking: 2 stars
Offers: Murray State, Valdosta State, West Georgia
NFL Draft: Round 7, Pick 211 - San Francisco 49ers (2011)
Recruiting Summary: UCF's best defensive end of all-time was essentially a I-AA recruit who yielded no offers from any other FBS program. The Knights began recruiting him when former defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable noticed Miller on film while evaluating a player at another school whose team was facing Miller. After identifying the film star who was playing LB, Huxtable came to be impressed with Miller's motor and potential to transition to DE.
Pro Career: Miller made another transition from the college to pro level. Considered undersized to play NFL DE, the 49ers thought he would make an outstanding fullback. They were right. He started this past season at that position where he helped San Francisco reach the NFC Championship Game.
OL Jah ReidClick Here to view this Link.
Class: 2006
Ranking: 2 stars
Offers: None
NFL Draft: Round 3, Pick 85 - Baltimore Ravens (2011)
Recruiting Summary: Reid had the height, but that was about it coming out of Haines City High School. Simply put, he was raw and out-of-shape, but UCF thought he could have potential after a couple years in the weight room. No other school was even recruiting him.
WR Kamar AikenClick Pro Career: Reid was a reserve tackle for the Ravens this past season, seeing action in 16 games.Here to view this Link.
Class: 2007
Ranking: 3 stars
Offers: Minnesota, South Carolina, North Carolina, NC State
NFL Draft: Free Agent - Buffalo Bills (2011)
Recruiting Summary: Many schools recruited Aiken to play safety, but he preferred WR. He committed to UCF shortly after taking his official visit the first weekend of January. He had previously visited Minnesota in December. Florida State was also heavily recruiting him, but didn't offer.
QB/DB Michael GrecoClick Pro Career: Aiken spent the beginning of this past season on the Buffalo Bills' practice squad, then was called up late in the year. Appearing in two games, he made one tackle on special teams.Here to view this Link.
Class: 2007
Ranking: 3 stars
Offers: USF, Mississippi State, Southern Miss, Troy, Louisiana Tech
NFL Draft: Free Agent - New York Giants (2010)
Recruiting Summary: A high school signee to NC State, Greco generated considerable buzz after his junior season when he ran a 4.37 forty-yard dash at a NIKE camp. Unhappy in Raleigh, Greco left the Wolfpack after one year and transferred to a junior college in order to be recruited again. With three years of eligibility remaining, Greco was recruited to battle with Kyle Israel for the starting job in 2007 with hopes of taking over full-time in 2008. (After failing to win the starting quarterback job, Greco moved to safety for 2009).
Pro Career: Greco has spent time on the practice squads of the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers.
CB Josh RobinsonClick Here to view this Link.
Class: 2009
Ranking: 4 stars, No. 18 CB
Offers: Michigan, USF, South Carolina, FIU, others
NFL Draft: TBD (2012)
Recruiting Summary: Robinson always was high on UCF ever since an unofficial visit the summer before his senior season. He officially visited UCF in early November of that year, a week after seeing Michigan. With a final four of UCF, Michigan, USF and FIU, a few weeks later Robinson announced his decision at his church by taking off multiple t-shirts with the final remaining shirt being UCF.
Pro Career: TBD. Robinson is entering the NFL Draft after his junior season at UCF. He will participate in the upcoming NFL Combine and is looking to improve his stock after an early projection of rounds 4-7.
