As hype over a revitalized University of Central Florida football program slowly comes to a standstill, news from the Yellowhammer State just might reinvigorate that hype a little more.
According to Matt Zenitz of AL.com, University of Alabama defensive back Shawn Burgess-Becker is “98 percent” sure he is transferring to UCF. Per the report, Burgess-Becker is deciding between the University of Illinois and UCF. Furthermore, according to AL.com’s source, the one remaining factor that could persuade Burgess-Becker away from UCF is a scholarship offer from the University of Miami.
Burgess-Becker started on special teams in 13 games as a true freshman last season. The Coconut Creek, Florida native also received interest from Oregon, Oregon State and Wisconsin following his transfer announcement.
The former four-star recruit was ranked by 247Sports.com as the 77th-best player in the country, seventh-best athlete and 16th-best prospect from Florida in the 2015 recruiting class.
In the 2015 season, the Knights ranked 110th in passing defense, allowing 264.9 yards per game. They also allowed 37.7 points per game, which was good enough for 118th best in the country.
The following is a list of UCF defensive backs, per the official UCF Athletics website, as of the conclusion of the 2016 spring football session.
| No. | Name | Height | Weight | Class | Hometown/Previous School |
| 10 | Shaquill Griffin | 6-1 | 192 | Sr. | St. Petersburg, Fla./Lakewood |
| 12 | Blake Tiralosi | 5-11 | 194 | RS Sr. | Orlando, Fla./Bishop Moore |
| 21 | Drico Johnson | 6-1 | 207 | RS Sr. | Orlando Fla./Agape Christian |
| 22 | T.J. Mutcherson | 5-11 | 191 | GS | Tampa, Fla./Iowa State |
| 24 | D.J. Killings | 6-0 | 186 | Sr. | Jacksonville, Fla./First Coast |
| 25 | Kyle Gibson | 5-11 | 186 | RS So. | Tampa, Fla./Armwood |
| 26 | Brandon Scott | 6-0 | 180 | RS Fr. | New Sarpy, La./Destrehan |
| 28 | Shawn Willis-Cruz | 5-10 | 190 | RS Sr. | Deltona, Fla./DeLand |
| 30 | Rashard Causey | 6-0 | 188 | Soph. | Miami, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas |
| 33 | Tre Neal | 6-1 | 200 | RS So. | Buford, Ga./Buford |
| 35 | Chris Johnson | 5-10 | 182 | RS Jr. | Jacksonville, Fla./First Coast |
| 38 | Nevelle Clarke | 6-1 | 175 | RS Fr. | Coral Springs, Fla/Taravella |
UCF begins its 2016 campaign on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. ET against the South Carolina State Bulldogs at Bright House Networks Stadium.
