Watching Darius Johnson hoist shockingly accurate moonballs without remorse brought the home crowd to their feet for the final time this season on Wednesday night. The thrill swirling throughout Addition Financial Arena proved to be a brief, but needed, elixir in what has been a forehead-slapping season that came to an end this weekend in another dreadful loss to West Virginia. But the reality of the future will continue to lurk around the corner until the final buzzer sounds sometime in the upcoming Big 12 Conference Tournament, where the Knights will be the 14th seed and face Utah on Tuesday night.

As we sit here today, it is impossible to think about the future of UCF Basketball without discussing the fate of current head coach Johnny Dawkins. Closing out his ninth year at UCF, Dawkins has compiled a 164-118 record, which includes only one NCAA tournament berth, and no conference titles. This is juxtaposed with Johnny Dawkins the person, who has been lauded by his players as a great coach, anointed by his peers as a basketball legend, and respected by the basketball community as somebody who does things the right way. Unfortunately for Dawkins, the ledger doesn’t include a nice guy column to go along with wins and losses, and because of that, UCF administration has a decision on its hands.

Before we examine the future of Johnny Dawkins, or any potential replacement coach, we cannot ignore the infrastructure of UCF basketball. Although tough to fully validate exact figures, it has been mentioned by many that UCF is on the lower end of the Big 12 schools in NIL budget. Social media will also show you that the Knights team will sometimes travel via commercial airlines to games, and while in and of itself not a horrible thing, it appears to be an exception amongst the majority of Big 12 schools. All of this is to say, the bank accounts are not equal, and whether you think that is a factor in results or not, it can’t be ignored in this equation.  

Moving forward, it would seem that UCF Athletics Director Terry Mohajir will have a choice to make, and if I’ve learned anything over the past few weeks, it’s that none of us knows exactly what is going on in his mind. But, I think there are a few different scenarios that can be selected as the future path:

Option 1 – Keep things as-is

Essentially this is the “run it back” option. Johnny Dawkins remains as head coach under his current contract and will build out a roster in 2025-26 in the similar way he has done the last two seasons. This probably means that NIL will continue to put UCF on the lower end of the Big 12, but the addition of the rev-share model creates some unknowns. As with every school, UCF will have to determine how much to fund for each sport, assuming they have a full boat of money to dole out. Either way, this option assumes that UCF will stay at or near its current funding level, thus leveraging the same blueprint from the past few seasons.

Option 2 – Up the investment, not the coach

With homage to one of my wife’s favorite TV shows, I’ll call this the “No Demo Reno” approach. This would have Terry Mohajir keeping Johnny Dawkins under his current contract, but deciding to make some additional investments in the overall program. Those investments could be any combination of NIL, rev-share, coaching staff, support staff, etc. This option would signal that UCF feels that Dawkins is the right coach at this time, but come to the realization that they need to react to the current landscape. Something to keep in mind, the Orlando Sentinel has reported that the buyout for terminating Johnny Dawkins before the end of his contract decreases with each year, including to zero after the 2025-26 season. This option could serve as a final litmus test for the Dawkins/UCF marriage.

Option 3 – New coach, same concept

I’ll call this the lightning in a bottle option. In this scenario, Johnny Dawkins would exit UCF, and Terry Mohajir would hire a new coach to lead the Knights. However, based on the constraints and complexities I shared earlier, UCF would not make any significant changes to the overall program investment. In essence, this would be Mohajir saying that he wants a new voice leading UCF, and/or, a new philosophy in roster management and player development. One concern with this option would be the attractiveness of this job for coaches if there is no guarantee for an investment commitment. This might force UCF to set their sights on a younger or unproven coach and hope they find a diamond in the rough (an example of this would be FAU hiring Dusty May). This approach could garner some short-term success if the right coach is hired, but it will also likely make that same coach extremely poachable by the bigger name schools.

Option 4 – Blow it all up

I’ll call this the “new phone who dis option”, because everything changes. UCF will decide to go in a new direction at head coach, and to attract the best, will guarantee improvements throughout the infrastructure of the program. To make this work, UCF will need to have some generous donations or booster backing, and a commitment to support through rev-share and whatever remains of NIL. There are those on the internet who have already begun to connect the dots between known UCF supporter Mike Repole and some folks with St. Johns University ties (Repole’s alma mater and another school he supports). Whatever the connections, if this is the path it will represent that UCF has chosen to try to be more competitive in the world of Big 12 basketball.

Option 5 – Self-selection

To quote the great Kelly Taylor of 90210 fame, I’ll call this the “I choose me” option. In this scenario, Johnny Dawkins decides of his own volition to walk away from UCF. While there hasn’t been any specific information to point in this direction, it’s not hard to see a scenario where Dawkins wants to control his own fate and coach on his terms. We’ve seen several coaches walk away in recent years due to the changing landscape in college sports, and it’s not inconceivable that Dawkins would take a similar path. Let’s not forget that outside of UCF, Johnny Dawkins is a revered name in the game of basketball. He could probably find opportunities in and around the game, be it as an analyst on TV, in an NBA setting, or even as an advisor to other college programs.  

If, and again, it’s still an if, the UCF job opens, and the right support is guaranteed, I do think this could be one of the more attractive jobs available. The Big 12 is arguably the top conference in college basketball, Florida is a talent rich state for basketball prospects, and living in Orlando doesn’t suck. UCF is the lone Big 12 flag in the State of Florida, and if the right strategy can be formed to keep kids playing in the sunshine, the potential for growth could be realized quickly.

However, regardless of whoever is standing on the sideline next season, the question remains: will Knight Nation show up and support this program? There is tangible evidence to suggest that a packed Addition Financial Arena can provide UCF a home-court advantage against even some of the toughest of foes. If the fans are mad enough about basketball to demand change, hopefully this means they are willing to put their butts in seats if they get their wish.

If you missed the recap from the Senior Knight win, check it out:

Don’t get your legal advice from just anyone, get it from somebody that you can trust. For Knight Nation, you can count on Werner, Hoffman, Greig, and Garcia to always give you sound legal advice. Check them out:

Camping Out

Tuesday marks the opening of the 2025 spring football camp, the first official practice of the Scott Frost 2.0 era. There are a plethora of unknowns with this team, and hopefully, we will start to get some clarity over the next four weeks.

Sons of UCF intern reporter Caitlin Russo provided her take on some of the players to watch in this article:

As we approach the first week, here are three key things to watch for:

The QB Battle

This is probably the most obvious question, but there is no denying it is an important one. The offensive staff will have fifteen practices to decide their depth chart amongst Dylan Rizk, Jacurri Brown, Tayven Jackson, and Cam Fancher. While not exactly a who’s-who of QB’s, there is plenty of talent within the group.

Cam Fancher has the most career games and TD passes under his belt, having played four seasons at Marshall and FAU. However, his play has been inconsistent at times, headlined by 25 career INT’s and a career completion percentage that barely sneaks above 60%.

UCF fans have seen every snap of Dylan Rizk’s career as he enters his third season with the Knights. Appearing in seven career games, including four starts in 2024, Rizk has shown some moxy and fieldsmanship to go along with raw talent. Perhaps the biggest knock on Rizk might be style of play, as the Frost offense has typically relied on a dual-threat style QB, for which others in the QB room might fit better.

Jacurri Brown might have the highest level of raw athleticism and skill amongst the group. Through three seasons between Miami and UCF, Brown has racked up 679 rushing yards and six touchdowns. However, the passing game has been his achilles heel, with only a 57% completion percentage, a 5 TD to 8 INT ratio, and a 105.2 QB rating. Will he be able to make himself a consistent enough threat in the passing game to run this offense?

Newcomer Tayven Jackson arrives in Orlando via Indiana and Tennessee. While he has mainly been in a reserve role throughout his career, he was mildly impressive in his lone start for Indiana in 2024, throwing for one touchdown and running for another as the Hooisers got the win. Perhaps the biggest question for the former four star recruit is if he can consistently make plays in the offense and protect the football, improving on his 1 to 1 career TD to INT (6 apiece).

Who are the playmakers

This Knights offense was drained of well-known playmakers through graduation and the transfer portal. Names like RJ Harvey, Kobe Hudson, Jacoby Jones, and Randy Pittman are gone, to be replaced by… who exactly? In the running back room, returner Myles Montgomery is likely to get first crack at toting the rock, but transfer Jaden Nixon and young talent like Stacy Gage and Taevion Swint will get looks as well.

The wide receiver position is even more wide open, with essentially a brand new crop of pass catchers looking to make their name. Transfer DJ Black has the most career catches in the group, notching 37 grabs and nine touchdowns in two seasons at Limestone University. Florida transfer Marcus Burke also brings some experience, with 19 catches and two touchdowns over four seasons. The rest of the group boasts a ton of potential, without a lot of in-game experience. Transfer Day Day Farmer has six career catches, and the returning trio of Bredell Richardson, Jordyn Bridgewater, and Kason Stokes did not see any playing time in 2024. From this group, the Knights will need somebody to emerge as a consistent playmaker to support whoever will be under center.

What will this defense look like

Based on the number of returning playing, it would seem as though the defense should be ahead of the offense as camp gets started. However, this will be a new defensive system installed by coordinator Alex Grinch that will likely see the Knights switch to a three-man front. This scheme could allow UCF to take advantage of speed on the outside (Nyjalik Kelly and Malachi Lawrence) and still be stout up the middle (John Walker and Horace Lockett). Speaking of the middle, the linebacking corps has been much maligned over the past two seasons, and new additions Cole Kozlowski and Lewis Carter figure to have an opportunity to lock down significant playing time. On the backend, there will be no shortage of players vying for playing time as the projected roster shows 20 guys listed as a defensive back or safety (the most of any one position group).

The practice season starts Tuesday, March 11th, and is expected to run through April 19th. UCF has announced two practices will be open to the public, April 5th and April 11th. The Sons will have wire to wire team coverage all spring on all of our platforms.

If you missed any of our interviews with the coaching staff, you still have time to get caught up:

Your home for the best UCF merchandise around is Alumni Hall. They are obsessed with curating the best merchandise to suit your fandom. Check them out in-store or online:

Bats and Balls

On February 28th, the UCF Knights baseball team got run-ruled in a lopsided game against the cows in beautiful Temple Terrace. Since that time, the Knights have ripped off 80 runs scored and won 6 straight games, including a mid-week beat down of the Florida Gators and a sweep of Monmouth.

Sons reporter Andrew Greig was on-hand at a packed John Euliano Park as the Knights chomped the Gators:

Florida Football Prep is your one stop shop for all of your team gear needs. Plus, you can also catch their original podcast, The QB Room, where they break down the QB position from the inside.

The best of the rest

The Pegasus Podcast returned this week as Bailey Adams and Christian Simmons discuss how hot the seat is for Johnny Dawkins:

Around The Kingdom featured Eric Lopez and guest host Jeff Allen discussing the beginning of the Frost 2.0 tenure, and the end of the road for Darius Johnson:

Did you miss Episode 4 of To Your Point featuring Jeff Allen, Matt Murschel, Kyle Nash, and Dali Drama? Be sure to check it out now:

This week on Sons LIVE, Eric Lopez and Christian Simmons helmed the ship and spoke to Chris Boyle and Ben Hazel. Watch here

All of the content from the Sons of UCF, including the audio exclusive Around The Kingdom Overtime, is available in audio form on all of the major podcast players. Find yours and be sure to subscribe:

Have you seen the Sons of UCF Merchandise collection available as part of the Knights Fan Shop? Check it out and be sure to buy your favorite stuff now:

Today I learned

This weekend, both UCF Baseball and UCF Softball had some unique situations where some rule clarity was needed.

The run-rule game ending scenarios can be confusing to understand and this week, Knights head coach Rich Wallace provided some clarity on how and when they are applied:

There was also a unique ruling in the UCF Softball game against Arizona on Saturday night. After a flyout to right field by an Arizona batter, the coaching staff appealed to the umpire that UCF had what amounts to an illegal substitution. After a lengthy delay for conversation, the out was taken off of the board and the Arizona batter returned to the plate.

Cow of the week

I will readily admit that I usually do not concern myself with what ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith says on his various platforms. Nothing personal against him, I just don’t enjoy the overly performative delivery and outrage he usually exudes.

This week, however, he crossed into one of my pet peeve areas: when the media or people covering a sport make the story all about them. Case in point, Smith had a verbal run-in with LeBron James over comments Smith has made in the past. Due to a viral video of the situation, Smith felt he “needed” to respond and did so on multiple platforms, as if people were chomping at the bit to hear his side of the story.

I mean, we don’t have anybody who covers UCF who regularly inserts themself into the story… do we??

Thanks, as always for reading this edition of the Sons newsletter. Keep it locked with us all week as we cover the start of spring football camp, the Big 12 basketball tournament, baseball mid-week against Miami, and softball heading the Florida for a mid-week matchup.

Have a great week, and take care of yourselves and each other.