Feb. 8—THOMASVILLE — On the eve before National Signing Day when ten of his senior teammates would make their football futures official, Thomas County Central junior Dee Reddick made headlines as he announced his surprising flip. Reddick has de-committed from Auburn and is now committed to UCF.w
For many, the flip was a shock. UCF has recently joined the Big 12, but holds no where near the cachet that Auburn has being an SEC program and having recently hired Hugh Freeze, which puts them on an upward trajectory. However, when you look at UCF’s recent coaching moves, it makes sense.
UCF’s head coach is Gus Malzahn, who has significant ties to Auburn. Malzahn served as Auburn’s head football coach for six years and led the Tigers to an SEC championship and national championship appearance in 2013.
Malzahn recently made a splash in the coaching world, hiring away Auburn’s director of player personnel and excellent recruiter Trovon Reed. It is believed that Reed had a lot to do with Reddick’s flip.
“That’s kind of one of the reasons Gus had hired him was they wanted to bring in some really good top recruiters and I think that was one of the pieces that kind of fell into place,” said Matt Murschel of the Orlando Sentinel.
Malzahn and his staff did take a trip to Thomas County Central to meet with Reddick. Reddick felt a connection with the Knights, later attending a recruiting weekend. He made the flip soon after.
“A connection was made by coach Malzahn and his staff when they came here,” said Central head coach Justin Rogers. “And, obviously, a further and deeper connection when he went on his trip.”
Getting Reddick to flip is a big win for the UCF program. According to Murschel, Malzahn and UCF have put a real emphasis on recruiting, posting their best ever recruiting class in 2024, which ranked in the top 35 in the…
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