UCF football recruiting: Top prospects set to attend Bounce House Weekend

Jason Beede, Orlando Sentinel
·6 min read

The third rendition of UCF football’s most notable recruiting event of the summer — Bounce House Weekend — has arrived.

The Knights are set to host nearly 30 top high school prospects from around the country for official and unofficial visits in hopes of eventually receiving their signatures come December’s early signing period.

Some are already orally committed to UCF, others are pledged elsewhere and the rest remain on the free market.

Regardless, all will be in Orlando this weekend for a visit to Gus Malzahn’s program either official or unofficial. The key difference between the two is that colleges can pay for a recruit’s transportation, food and accommodations for an official visit.

UCF enters the weekend with four recruits verbally committed for the class of 2024 — a group that ranks No. 51 in the country, according to 247Sports.

Here’s who is expected on campus for the main event:

Official Visitors

TE Kylan Fox

  • Vitals: 6-4, 210 pounds

  • School: Grayson (Georgia)

  • Bio: A 4-star recruit, Fox is a top target for the Knights. He has official visits scheduled at Miami (June 9-11), Colorado (June 16-18) and Florida State (June 23-25) and is set to announce his commitment July 4.

OL Waltclaire Flynn Jr.

  • Vitals: 6-2, 305 pounds

  • School: Grayson (Georgia)

  • Bio: A high school teammate of Fox, Flynn Jr. is a 4-star recruit, too. He ranks as the No. 16 interior offensive lineman in the country and has an official visit set to Texas A&M on June 16-18.

DB Brandon Jacob

  • Vitals: 6-2, 170 pounds

  • School: Evans

  • Bio: The 4-star local product will officially visit Texas A&M next weekend and Maryland June 16-18. A breakout season as a junior made him the country’s No. 14 safety and No. 160 recruit.

DB Kensley Faustin

  • Vitals: 5-11, 170 pounds

  • School: Naples

  • Bio: The 4-star prospect also will visit FSU next week and Auburn later in June. He ranks as the No. 36 safety.

LB Qua Birdsong

  • Vitals: 6-2, 195 pounds

  • School: Troup County (Georgia)

  • Bio: Although he committed to Cincinnati in April, the 4-star linebacker has shown interest in the Knights, making a trip to campus this spring. He’ll return to UCF before visiting with the Bearcats (June 9-11) and N.C. State (June 16-18) as well.

WR Joseph Stone Jr.

  • Vitals: 5-11, 180 pounds

  • School: Langston Hughes (Georgia)

  • Bio: Committed to LSU since July, Stone is a 4-star prospect who ranks as No. 38 receiver nationally. He checked out Louisville and Florida in the spring.

LB Xavier Atkins

  • Vitals: 6-0, 205 pounds

  • School: Summer Creek (Texas)

  • Bio: Similar to Stone, Atkins committed to LSU last summer. The 4-star who ranks as the No. 22 linebacker in the country is visiting Utah on June 16-18 and could visit Arkansas, too.

RB Stacy Gage

  • Vitals: 5-11, 200 pounds

  • School: St. Thomas Aquinas

  • Bio: The country’s No. 17 running back, Gage rushed for 704 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior. The 4-star prospect holds nearly 50 offers, including from Alabama, Ohio State and Oklahoma.

OL Eddy Pierre-Louis

  • Vitals: 6-3, 335 pounds

  • School: Tampa Catholic

  • Bio: The 4-star prospect also will visit Oklahoma and Tennessee in June.

DL Artavius Jones

  • Vitals: 6-3, 280 pounds

  • School: Blountstown

  • Bio: The 4-star ranks as the No. 19 defensive lineman nationally and will visit Miami June 23-25.

LB Sam Robinson

  • Vitals: 6-3, 210 pounds

  • School: Tallahassee Lincoln

  • Bio: Since verbally committing to UCF in January, Robinson has earned from offers from Colorado and Arizona. The 3-star prospect totaled 93 tackles as a junior.

WR Kason Stokes

  • Vitals: 6-2, 180 pounds

  • School: Armwood

  • Bio: The 3-star wideout committed to UCF in April and ranks as the No. 80 recruit in Florida.

LB Andrew Brinson

  • Vitals: 6-0, 175 pounds

  • School: Tampa Gaither

  • Bio: 247Sports projects the 3-star linebacker to Oregon State and that’s where he’ll visit June 16-18. He’s also set to visit Purdue the following week.

DE Elias Williams

  • Vitals: 6-4, 240 pounds

  • School: Hudson

  • Bio: The 3-star edge rusher will visit Indiana June 16-18 and Missouri the week after.

OL Kahlil House

  • Vitals: 6-4, 300 pounds

  • School: Houston County (Georgia)

  • Bio: The 3-star is set to visit Cincinatti next week, Ole Miss the week after and Louisville later in June. Those schools, as well as UCF, are in his top 12 along with Georgia Tech, Missouri, West Virginia, Duke, Stanford, Mississippi State, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech.

OL Joseph Ionata

  • Vitals: 6-4, 280 pounds

  • School: Calvary Christian

  • Bio: UCF isn’t the only in-state school vying to land the 3-star prospect who ranks No. 129 in Florida. Ionata will officially visit Miami June 23-25.

DB Christian Peterson

  • Vitals: 5-10, 175 pounds

  • School: Westlake (Georgia)

  • Bio: Peterson called Auburn his leader this spring but the Knights are hoping to change his mind. He ranks as a top-50 safety.

DB Jakob Gude

  • Vitals: 5-11, 180 pounds

  • School: Langston Hughes (Georgia)

  • Bio: Another talented defensive back from the Peach State, Gude holds a number of Power Five offers after winning a state title his junior season.

DE D.J. Allen

  • Vitals: 6-3, 220 pounds

  • School: Germantown (Tennessee)

  • Bio: The 3-star edge rusher will visit Louisville next week and Purdue later in June.

Saturday’s unofficial visitors

DL Sincere Edwards

  • Vitals: 6-2, 240 pounds

  • School: Wekiva

  • Bio: UCF’s first pledge in the 2024 cycle, Edwards will take his official visit to campus next weekend. The Knights appear to have strong competition from the ACC. He’ll visit Pittsburgh from June 22-24.

QB Riley Trujillo

  • Vitals: 6-3, 215 pounds

  • School: Bartram Trail

  • Bio: The 3-star quarterback committed to UCF in March and will take his official visit at a later date.

LB D.J. McCormick

  • Vitals: 6-1, 195 pounds

  • School: Rockledge

  • Bio: McCormick is the nation’s No. 72 linebacker. Similar to Edwards, McCormick will return to UCF for an official visit next weekend. He’ll visit Kansas (June 15-17) and Pittsburgh the week after.

DB Jashad Presley

  • Vitals: 6-2, 220 pounds

  • School: Dr. Phillips

  • Bio: Presley’s top 6 released last week included UCF, Tennessee, Maryland, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and Kentucky. The 3-star local product will visit the Yellow Jackets from June 23-25.

DB E’Zaiah Shine

  • Vitals: 6-1, 180 pounds

  • School: Mainland

  • Bio: The 3-star Daytona Beach native will visit Iowa State next weekend and Maryland from June 23-25.

DB Jalon Thompson

  • Vitals: 6-0, 170 pounds

  • School: Olympia

  • Bio: The Orlando native will visit Pittsburgh from June 22-24. Virginia and Rutgers offered him in May.

Email Jason Beede at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @therealBeede.