April 17, 2010
By Dana Bakich
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF football fans were excited to kick off the 2010 Fan Fest Saturday morning lining the entry gate early at 9 a.m. Fans were able to experience a full day of activities before and after the Spring Game including exclusive tours of Bright House Networks Stadium, a first-time UCF Football Legends Autograph Session and the postgame UCF Pigskin Barbecue.
A line quickly developed around the stadium in the morning as "NFL Knights" arrived to sign autographs at 10:30 a.m. Amongst the returnees were: Brandon Marshall, Asante Samuel, Joe Burnett, Torell Troup, Jarvis Geathers, Paul Carrington, Elgin Davis, Mike Gruttadauria, Alex Haynes, Paul Miranda, Jimmy Fryzel, Marquette Smith and others.
"I enjoyed my experience at UCF and I'll always be proud to be a Knight. Great organization, great guys, great atmosphere, great crowd and support. I loved it." said Pittsburgh Steeler Joe Burnett, a first-team All-American returner for the Knights in 2008.
"It's great to be back here at the Spring game in 2010. I hold a lot of pride knowing that I was part of the foundation. It's great to see the caliber of talent that UCF has now and what the program has become." said Mike Gruttadauria, who won a Super Bowl XXXIV championship ring with the St. Louis Rams. During the game, 7,288 enthusiastic fans were treated to some good competition on a warm and partly cloudy day. The Gold (offense) team made some great plays, including a nice touchdown pass from Rob Calabrese to A.J. Guyton and a 24-yard touchdown run by Jeffrey Godfrey. The Black (defense) team also was productive led by a pair of sacks by All-America candidate Bruce Miller and three interceptions, one of which Darin Baldwin returned 21 yards for a touchdown.
The fun was not over then though as several thousand fans made their way over to the adjacent practice fields for an autograph session with the entire team and an opportunity to share a postgame meal of Smokey Bones barbecue with the Knights. It was a perfect Saturday afternoon that many will not soon forget and will probably relived next April.
More immediately, the Knights will play a total of six home games during the 2010 season at Bright House Networks Stadium with a chance of seven games for a conference championship. The team is 13-6 all-time at Bright House Networks Stadium, including a 6-1 record in 2009. UCF will play host to South Dakota (Sept. 4), NC State (Sept. 11), UAB (Wed. Oct. 6), Rice (Oct. 23), East Carolina (Oct. 30) and Southern Miss (Nov. 13). For 2010 season ticket information, starting at just $99, logon to UCFAthletics.com or call the UCF Athletic Ticket Office at (407) 823-1000.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.