Knights secure 14 new talents on Signing Day, fueling Scott Frost's vision for a foundational team culture and long-term development.
The black and gold UCF colors decorated the signing tables as recruits put pen to paper and made their official commitment to the Knights on Wednesday for National Signing Day.
Coach Scott Frost's team has 14 new players entering his program: quarterbacks Rocco Marriott and Dante Carr; running backs Arthur Lewis IV and Kaj Baker; offensive linemen Kasiyah Charlton and Amahn Williams; linebackers Matthew Occhipinti and Preston Hall; defensive backs Elijah Keys, Ja'Cari Jackson and Amarion Queen; tight end Brooks Hall; EDGE Alhassan Iddrissu; and defensive lineman Noah Mercer.
Frost spoke to the media on Wednesday since the team's season ended in Provo, Utah, at the hands of No. 11 BYU last Saturday. It centered around National Signing Day, and he highlighted the significance of recruiting high school players.
"Recruiting high school kids is a really important way to build the foundation of your team and get guys in the program that can help now or be developed into guys that you hope you can keep for a long time," Frost said. "It's also not the only way to build and improve a team anymore. So, probably has a little less attention and glamour than it used to, but it's still a very important day."
Developing players and building a culture are two themes Frost commonly spoke about toward the end of the season. He's off to a great start with one four-star and 13 three-star players. Marriott, Brooks Hall and Mercer are recruits who flipped their original commitments to UCF.
Marriott and Brooks Hall are teammates for the Platte County Pirates in Missouri and are gearing up for their state championship game this Friday against the Carthage Tigers. The 6-foot-4, 215lb dual-threat quarterback threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns, paired with 87 yards on the ground and another touchdown in a 64-35 victory over the Kirkwood Pioneers in the semifinals.
Mercer is also 6-foot-4 and relentlessly attacks offensive linemen to generate quarterback pressures. He had five sacks – one that was a strip sack — and a blocked field goal in the Key West Conchs' homecoming victory over the Lehigh Lightning.
It was Frost's first National Signing Day because he arrived at UCF after last year's event passed. He said it was the team's first step in recruiting players at several key positions. The future of Knights football is gleaming as Frost injects the program with young talent he can develop and build a culture around.
"It's going to be a lot easier for us this year to know those guys," Frost said. "Know which ones belong, which ones fit us, which ones are doing things the right way, and which ones we're going to do everything we can to keep here. That's going to mean that we can fill in holes rather than build an entire team. And that's definitely a better position to be approaching this from. So we have a lot of goals and just trying to build the best team we can."