Jan. 20, 2012
="" alt="Knight Head" border="0" class="imported"> Read John Denton's Knights Insider | ="" alt="Twitter Logo" border="0" class="imported">Twitter | ="" alt="Facebook Logo" border="0" class="imported">Facebook
By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Closing one's eyes and dreaming of the 2012 UCF football season brings electrifying images of all the talented Knights returning next year. One important step to building the roster even further will take place on Signing Day Wednesday, Feb. 1, and Black and Gold fans are invited to attend the annual UCF Football Signing Day Show that evening for free held at the UCF Arena from 6-8 p.m.
Hosted by Marc Daniels, the "Voice of the Knights" and head coach George O'Leary will dissect this year's signing class and provide fans with everything they need to know about the Knights' newest football signees.
UCF Football Signing Day Show Details
-Scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 1, at the UCF Arena from 6-8 p.m.
-The program will commence from the Arena floor at 6 p.m.
-Following the show, a reception will immediately follow on the concourse level
-The reception will be highlighted by a silent auction which will have items such as signed memorabilia, exclusive UCF Athletics experiences and trips to various destinations
-Both the show and reception are free and open to the public
-Complimentary parking will be available in Garage F located between the arena and the baseball complex
Beginning at 7 a.m. Feb. 1, keep UCFAthletics.com open in your browser all day long as Signing Day Central and Signing Day TV will return along with John Denton's live blog officially announcing each player's signing. Also follow the @UCF_FootballSID Twitter account to be the first to learn all of the big news instantly as National Letters of Intent are received.
UCF's 2012 signing class will join an impressive group of Knights eager to get next season underway. On the offensive side of the ball, key linemen Theo Goins, Jordan and Justin McCray and Torrian Wilson will help protect quarterback Blake Bortles, who completed 68.2 percent of his passes as a freshman. Top targets for Bortles are set to include Quincy McDuffie (43 receptions, 482 yards), J.J. Worton (set a UCF freshman record with 41 receptions) and Josh Reese (30 receptions, 461 yards). And on the ground, Brynn Harvey led the Knights with 574 rushing yards on 126 carries, while team MVP Latavius Murray posted a 5.6 average per carry thanks to 549 yards on 98 attempts.
Bortles, Wilson and Worton all were voted onto the Conference USA All-Freshman Team in 2011, and Goins and Rae both received All-C-USA Honorable Mention status.
Guiding a defense which ranked in the FBS top-10 in scoring, total and passing efficiency a year ago, safeties Kemal Ishmael (81) and Clayton Geathers (67) combined for 148 tackles and nine break-ups, and cornerback A.J. Bouye has been working tirelessly to return following a year-ending injury in game seven at UAB. Filling in for Bouye was freshman Brandon Alexander, who quickly impressed by collecting five break-ups and 43 tackles while starting the final five contests.
Also on defense, linebacker Jonathan Davis had a team-high 10.5 tackles for loss after switching from running back to begin 2012. Fellow linebacker Troy Gray shined as a true freshman en route to C-USA All-Freshman status, and up front Victor Gray (All-C-USA Honorable Mention), Troy Davis (5.0 sacks), E.J. Dunston (three starts) and Jose Jose (five starts) all return with a mission to keep UCF among the top defenses in the country.
And on special teams, kick returner Rannell Hall was the only freshman from any C-USA school to earn a spot on either the first or second team. He was the third Knight in the past four seasons to serve as the All-C-USA First Team kick returner and was the first freshman KR since Louisville's Broderick Clark in 2002 to be voted onto the First Team. Hall's 31.0 averaged helped UCF rank third in the nation in kick returns.
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 for UCF's new online apparel store.