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UCF had a short list of veterans to pick from for Big 12 Media Days

UCF will take four players to Big 12 Media Days, and they had a short list of veteran Knights to choose from.
ByEricka Brockish|
Aug 29, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; UCF Knights running back Myles Montgomery (22) scores a touchdown during the second half against the New Hampshire Wildcats at FBC Mortgage Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images
Aug 29, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; UCF Knights running back Myles Montgomery (22) scores a touchdown during the second half against the New Hampshire Wildcats at FBC Mortgage Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Big 12 Media Days are a time for programs to take their head coach and four players with them to do interviews and talk about the season ahead. Since UCF has joined the Big 12, Gus Malzahn represented the Knights, but now heading into year three in the conference, Scott Frost will lead the way for the Knights in Frisco.

The four players that are selected to go from each team are typically the leaders and stars of the squad. Last season, star running back RJ Harvey was leading the way for the players, but this season, the group looks very different.

After Malzahn left the program, and there was a mass exodus in the transfer portal and recruiting due to his leaving and the state that the team was in, UCF has to build from the ground up. It all started with the hiring of Frost, who served as the head coach back in 2016 and 2017. Frost then began to build his roster, and now the Knights are bringing their best and brightest to media days, but they certainly haven't spent the most years at UCF.

The four players that UCF is taking to media days are:

  • LB Keli Lawson
  • DL Nyjalik Kelly
  • RB Myles Montgomery
  • OL Paul Rubelt

Of those four players, only one has spent his entire career at UCF and is now the current longest tenured player with the Knights. Paul Rubelt will now play his sixth season at UCF under his third head coach. After being recruited by Josh Heupel and playing under him in 2020, Rubelt then spent the next four seasons under Malzahn and now will finish his career under Frost.

For the other three players, both Nyjalik Kelly and Myles Montgomery played their first season with UCF last year. Kelly spent two seasons at Miami before that, and Montgomery came from rival Cincinnati. The only player to have not worn the UCF uniform in a regular-season game yet is Keli Lawson, who transferred from Virginia Tech this past offseason.

UCF did not have a lot of veteran players to choose from when it came to media days, as most either were out of eligibility or transferred out of the program. So these four will get to represent the Knights at media days, where the questions will probably all be about what the season will look like after last year's incredibly down season.

What are Big 12 Media Days?

Big 12 Media Days are when every team from the conference comes together with their head coach and four players to give interviews and speak about the upcoming season. This year, Media Days will be held in Frisco, Texas, at The Star, the Dallas Cowboys' global headquarters.

Media days will run from Tuesday, July 8, through Wednesday, July 9. UCF will appear on the first day of interviews, and portions of media days will be broadcast on ESPN2 for the first time ever. The rest will be broadcast on ESPN+ from 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. CT.

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