Blake Bortles and Latavius Murray have been busy.
The two former UCF football greats both have carved out long NFL careers since they spent three years (2010-12) as teammates with the Knights.
They are both still playing in the National Football League—Bortles currently in Green Bay after previous stops in Los Angeles (Rams), Denver and Jacksonville and Murray now heading into his third season in New Orleans after earlier stints with Minnesota and Oakland.
But don't think either player has forgotten his UCF connection.
Bortles comes from Orlando "suburb" Oviedo, while Murray (growing up in both Syracuse, New York, and Titusville, Florida) has lived in the Orlando area for some number of years.
The pair has spent falls elsewhere, but offseasons have included time in the Orlando area. At times, that has meant utilizing UCF Athletics training and medical facilities. Part of that has been due to their longtime connection with UCF director of sports medicine Mary Vander Heiden. That led Bortles and Murray to collaborate on a recent $500,000 commitment that will benefit the Knights' sports medicine facility in the Wayne Densch Sports Center. Their names already are on display there reflecting their commitment to UCF sports medicine—touting the Bortles and Murray Athletics Training Room.
Bortles and Murray represent the first NFL players to make major financial commitments to UCF Athletics.
As coaching staffs evolve—with both Bortles and Murray playing for former head coach George O'Leary and with the Scott Frost, Josh Heupel and Gus Malzahn eras following—it's not always easy for former players to stay personally engaged. That's where Carlos McCants, the Knights' associate athletics director for Varsity Knights and the ChargeOn Fund, comes in.
McCants handled relationships with former letter-winners at Arkansas State under current UCF vice president and director of athletics Terry Mohajir. Now McCants seeks to grow the Varsity Knights, the former UCF athletes group, by expanding the reconnection of former Knights with the current athletics department and sports programs.
"Blake and Latavius are two of the most visible former UCF student-athletes here who are always coming back," says McCants. "They are always around the (football) program."
McCants connected with Murray in part through Demario Davis, a former McCants teammate at Arkansas State who now plays linebacker for the Saints.
"Blake and Latavius wanted to do something that would go beyond just football," says McCants. "They wanted something that would impact the entire athletic department."
Bortles and Murray were in town the weekend of UCF's spring football game in April and spent individual time with both Malzahn and Mohajir.
"They told us how excited they were about the program and that they wanted to do something very soon," McCants says.
Murray was back on campus in June and spoke to the current UCF team a day after the gift was announced.
"That's the beauty of UCF," McCants adds. "Our former athletes come back and they want to be involved."
Bortles played quarterback for the Knights in 2010-13 and was the American Athletic Conference offensive player of the year as a senior in 2013 when he led UCF to the AAC championship and a 52-42 win over fifth-rated Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl. He threw for 3,059 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2012 and 3,581 yards and 25 more TDs as a senior in 2013.
Bortles was the third overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Jaguars. He played for the Jaguars from 2014-18, with the Rams in 2019, the Rams and Broncos in 2020 and currently is with the Packers. He has thrown for 17,649 yards and 103 TDs in his pro career with 73 career starts. His top season came in 2015 for Jacksonville—4,428 passing yards and 35 passing TDs.
Murray played running back at UCF from 2008-12, rushing for 637 yards and a team-leading 11 TDs in 2010, 549 and eight TDs in 2011 and a team-high 1,106 yards and 15 TDs as a senior in 2012. He was a first-team all-Conference USA pick as a senior, leading the Knights in both scoring and all-purpose yardage in both 20-11 and 2012.
A sixth-round draft pick of the Raiders in 2013, Murray played for the Raiders from 2013-16, the Vikings in 2017-18 and has been with the Saints since 2019. An NFL Pro Bowl selection in 2015, Murray has rushed for 4,991 yards and 43 scores in his professional career. A starter in 63 games in his seven NFL seasons, Murray rushed for 1,066 yards in his second professional campaign with Oakland in 2015.
