UCF lands top JUCO linebacker

UCF's 2017 defense got a big boost on Wednesday.

Gabriel Luyanda, one of the top junior college linebackers in the country, pledged his verbal commitment to the Knights during a school visit with linebackers coach Jovan Dewitt.

Luyanda, a native of Tampa, helped lead Garden City (Kan.) Community College to an undefeated season and national championship. He finished the season with 55 tackles, two sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss. He will play outside linebacker in UCF's 3-4 scheme.

"He's a tremendous football player," Garden City head coach Jeff Sims said. "He's a great person too. He's a 3.5 student for us. He's a tremendously hard worker. Physically, he's very impressive. He's 6-foot-4 and all of 230 pounds. Huge hands, very athletic. He was a wide receiver in high school. He can do all kinds of things. He played offense for us at times. He's a tremendous athlete."

Luyanda's recruiter was Dewitt, who previously coached with Sims at Florida Atlantic.

"Jovan was my neighbor and we actually lived a block from each other (while coacing at FAU)," Sims said. "He's one of my best friends in the world. We have a great relationship with Coach Dewitt and UCF. We think extremely high of those guys and know he's going to do a great job developing Gabriel. Plus, being from Tampa, Gabriel's family will be able to see every game. I think it's the perfect fit."

Luyanda was an early target of Scott Frost's staff, who offered him last February. He first visited earlier this spring and took his official visit a couple weeks ago for the Tulsa game.

"He was one of the most recruited players in the country," Sims said. "He legitimately could have gone anywhere. Penn State and Louisville offered him. He's a big, athletic guy. It's awesome that he gets to be close to home."

As a December graduate, Luyanda will officially sign next week and enroll at UCF in January. He is UCF's first junior college commit in this recruiting cycle.