How about a huge shout-out for UCF’s Quincy McDuffie. The Knights’ senior kick returner/wide receiver was named a first-team All-American by Sports Illustrated.
And talk about an All-American story.
Four years ago, McDuffie did not have a scholarship offer on the week before National Signing Day. He missed his senior year of football with an injury, but he wanted to find an opportunity to play at the next level.
That’s when Orlando Edgewater Coach Bill Gierke picked up the telephone and called UCF Coach George O’Leary.
Trust me when I say McDuffie’s football resume was bleak. He not only was injured, but he also was small, roughly 5'9" and 165 pounds.
But he was fast. Very fast. He was a 46-second quarter-miler on the track, one of the top three high school runners in America in that event.
O’Leary brought McDuffie in on an official visit to the campus. He liked what he saw and offered a grant-in-aid. The rest is history.
His All-American selection came on the heels of being named Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Year, and during the year, he tied an NCAA record for returning two touchdowns in a game. This fall, he averaged 34.2 yards per kickoff return and led the nation in that statistic, while helping the Knights reach the Conference USA championship game and the Beef O’Brady Bowl in St. Petersburg.
McDuffie is one of a handful of Edgewater alumni who have performed well over the years for UCF. Another such Eagle/Knight was receiver Mike Walker, who went on to the NFL until injuries slowed his career. And defensive tackle E.J. Dunston is another Knight starter who played high school ball at Edgewater.