UCF Everyday Champions Portfolio

Who are UCF Everyday Champions?

The University of Central Florida strives for committed success, each and everyday. The same goes for its student-athletes, those who persevere through

selfless practice and performance. The UCF student-athlete not only delivers on the field, on the court and in the classroom but also in their personal lives.

This collection of stories covers the humbled path of UCF student-athletes, their

indomitable spirit and will to lead with change.

These are UCF’s Everyday Champions.

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Serving for MoreDavison now making a contribution at UCF.

Nov. 5, 2013

UCF Athletics Social Media Directory

By Joey Nelson

UCFKnights.com

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - Because he grew up in the small town of Washington, Ind., not many people wouldexpect senior offensive lineman Kelly Davison to have viewed the world on a much larger scale compared to many of histeammates. But he not only brings experience to the gridiron at 28-years old, but also a perspective on life and what it trulymeans to sacrifice.

Davison graduated from Washington High School in 2004 and had every intention of attending college, but said that onemorning he woke up and believed he was being called on to serve a higher purpose.

"I felt an urge that I wanted to serve my country and I wanted to do something more with my life," Davison said. "I wanted to dosomething that was meaningful."

He went to sign up at the Marines recruiting offices that same week and about a month later he was training in boot camp,which Davison said was much like football training camp, but there was no going home. He was only 19 at the time and was thefirst in his family to serve in the Marines. By the following year, Davison was sent off to Fallujah, Iraq, for the first of his threedeployments. He served for five years, with a return trip to Fallujah in 2007 and served as a training officer at the American basein Okinawa on his third and final deployment. When asked what he took away from his time in the military, he discussed growingup in a place unfamiliar to home.

"It taught me what was really out in the world," Davison explained. "The best thing was that it turned me into a man, really fast."

While Davison's classroom may have been tours in Iraq and American bases nearly 6,500 miles away from Indiana, the marinemade sure he kept up with one of the things he loved most: football. Wherever he was in the world, Davison said he wouldwatch football and he really missed playing the game that had been a key part of his life growing up. After his time with theMarine Corps, Davison returned home, where he attended Vincennes University and was a member of the track team beforetransferring to Valencia Community College and eventually UCF in 2011.

"I missed the game and wanted to be part of a team again after I got out of the military," he said. "I missed the camaraderie and


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I missed the physicality of the game. I missed being a part of something more and I wanted to run out on that sideline during agame and have the whole stadium cheering. Anybody who's ever had that feeling, misses that feeling and I had an opportunityto get it back, so I took it."

After meeting with head coach George O'Leary, Davison joined the Knights as a walk-on in the spring of 2012 and was a keyplayer on the scout team and now contributes on special teams. At 28-years old, Davison is much older than many of theplayers and is even 10 years older than some of the younger players.

"We always call him grandpa and we're always making jokes, but Kelly brings a different dimension to the offensive line," fellowsenior Jordan McCray said.

Davison's teammates see his leadership and experience as a benchmark of holding yourself accountable and as an example ofwhat it means to sacrifice and work hard. Offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe described Davison's character as selfless andsees that Davison's teammates look up to him.

Davison says he is not too much of a vocal leader but does his best to listen and help out anyone who asks for his advice. Asone of the few senior leaders for the Knights, Justin McCray compliments Davison on his work ethic and values the lifeperspective Davison brings to the table. Davison has shared some of his stories with the offensive linemen, but always keepsthings in perspective through experience by relaying that things can be much worse.

"He's just a good guy that seems to have his mind in the right place," teammate Chris Martin said. "Obviously, he's beenthrough a lot and that's taught him a lot of things that most of us would never be able to understand, but we need that type ofrole model on the team and I'm glad he's able to fill that role with us."

Davison said he has no regrets and has thoroughly enjoyed each moment on this journey. He appreciates Coach O'Leary andthe opportunity to play here at UCF and hopes to carry that sense of belonging after he graduates and pursues a career as ahigh-school biology teacher and football coach. But for now his goal is to just work as hard as he can for the team.

"Coming here has been awesome. This is a great program. This team works really hard. It reminds me a lot of the Marine Corpsjust in the work ethic of the team and how hard we drive, how hard we push and how hard we want to be the greatest," Davisonsaid.

Tipping the scales at just 150 pounds his freshman season, Brandon Alexander had much to gain and a lot to prove as a walk-on in 2011. Fast forward to 2014, and the 6-foot-2, 195-pounder has made a name for himself not only with the Knights, but nationally, as well, as a 2013 nominee for the Burlsworth Trophy, which is given to the most outstanding collegiate football player who began his career as a walk-on.

The Orlando native credits his success to hard work and perseverance, making him a perfect fit for the blue-collar persona of the UCF football team.

“I’ve been competing since I was young. That’s what my parents taught me to do,” the senior safety explained.

Alexander actually grew up as a basketball player, dribbling and shooting since the age of 2. He didn’t tackle organized football until the 11th grade at his father’s suggestion.

“At first I was like, ‘I don’t know. It’s not my thing,’” Alexander said. “I [went] out there and I played defensive end for two years. That’s ridiculous [and] it’s crazy, but I played defensive end.”

Alexander loved running around and making plays, but what drew him closer to the game was the team. The back-and-forth communication, the relationships built through trust and the ultimate feeling of camaraderie made football all the more enticing.

“It’s a lot different from basketball and it’s more of a team game. You could have someone mess up and when that one person messes up, somebody else can come in and help you out,” Alexander said. “In basketball, if one person messes up, that player could mess up the whole squad, the whole team. The camaraderie in football, everything coming together is just unique and that’s what I love about football. It’s a unique sport.”

Alexander carried his love for football 20 miles up the road from Evans High School to UCF, where he joined the program as a walk-on. He appeared in 10 games, with five starts coming at corner in the final five games of his first season in 2011, amassing 43 tackles and five broken-up passes.

“I just came in with a mindset saying, ‘I’m going to come in and work.’ I have to get my education first, but as far as going on the field, I didn’t let anything get me down,” Alexander said. “I know I’m going to have to come out and bust my behind out here to make sure that I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. If you do what you’re supposed to do, then everything will come.”

Alexander’s outlook and work ethic tends to go against the grain of the Millennial stereotype, those who often crave instant gratification and operate with a sense of entitlement.

“I’ll tell every walk-on here now, I’ll tell every scholarship player now that you don’t just come here and expect something to be given to you,” Alexander said. “You have to come out here and earn it, regardless of what you did in high school or anything that you have done. You have to make sure

you come out here and do what you’re supposed to do in order for you to succeed.”

Alexander’s message translates to the comeback success the team experienced in 2012 after a disappointing 2011 season. Led by then-sophomore quarterback Blake Bortles, the Knights came up just six points short of closing out their Conference USA tenure as champions. Finishing 10-4 with their second bowl win in program history, UCF seemed to be gaining steam.

A freshman recruiting class that featured the likes of Alexander, linebacker Terrance Plummer and wideout Rannell Hall was no longer an inexperienced group of starters. They were dynamic in their play and took on varying roles of leadership for the team. Starting in 12 games for the Knights, Alexander totaled 62 tackles, snagged his first-career interception and led the team with nine break-ups.

Alexander’s stay at corner was brief, however, with the departure of Kemal Ishmael, pressing the need for Alexander’s eventual transition to safety. The move was a bit easier than expected.

“My first two years playing cornerback I had the luxury of having Kemal Ishmael back there, so I knew a lot about safety before I got up there,” Alexander said. “Kemal would just talk to me during the play and say, ‘You got this.’ If you know corner, you have to know the safety on your side. You always have to know the other side of the corner. So, it’s four different positions on the field as far as DBs, but at the same time everybody’s kind of doing the same thing. In order for you to [succeed], you have to know all four positions.”

Just as Alexander had made a change, the Knights were moving to an unfamiliar frontier: the American Athletic Conference. Some experts did not view the new member as a force to be reckoned with and outlined the Knights as a middle-of-the-pack competitor.

The Black and Gold made the most of their opportunity, upsetting the likes of Penn State and No. 8/6 Louisville on their way to becoming the inaugural American champions. The Knights capped their memorable season by shocking No. 6/5 Baylor,

52-42, to become the BCS Tostitos Fiesta Bowl champions and the No. 10-ranked team in the final Associated Press rankings.

Alexander played a pivotal role in 2013 at safety, starting in all 13 games with 63 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, one recovery, three interceptions and seven break-ups. In arguably the best game of his career, Alexander collected seven tackles, two break-ups and an interception, with one of his break-ups coming in the endzone on fourth down with less than 30 seconds remaining to secure the win over Houston. Later that week, Alexander was named American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week.

Even as the bar for success is raised through the spring, Alexander remains humble. The Knights play to compete, to win, without the need to prove anything to anyone but themselves.

“For us as a team, I feel like nothing’s changed,” Alexander explained. “We’ve always been good, and we always felt like we’ve done well. It’s just the fact that we don’t come out here to prove to other people that, ‘Hey, UCF should be on the map.’ It’s all about us; it’s all about our struggle. We know that we’re good and we’re going to keep playing day in and day out to make sure that we’re doing what we’re supposed to do. We don’t need everybody else on the outside to be like, ‘Oh, UCF’s just good now.’ We show it by our actions and not by our words.” ■

Walk This WayBY JOEY NELSON UCF ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS

FOOTBALL

MAY ’148

BRANDON ALEXANDER

UCF Knights Insider #5 - 5-14.indd 8 4/11/14 1:00 PM

EEven though UCF’s speedster is in his se-nior season, fans still get excited talking about Quincy McDuffie’s high school days. He was one of the fastest track runners in the nation and it was his speed that led him to Bright House Networks Stadium.

Orlando’s Edgewater High School is just about 30 minutes from UCF. There, McDuffie collected five varsity letters: three from track and two from football. But he only played in two football games his senior year due to a rib injury. College programs did not have much tape on the young man, and for the most part, there was not much interest in McDuffie as a football player. However, his former high school coach, Bill Gierke, pressed UCF head coach George O’Leary to take a look. With McDuffie’s speed and the mutual respect the two coaches shared, it was an easy decision to keep McDuffie local and welcome his play to UCF.

From his first kickoff return in a UCF uni-form, one that went for a 95-yard touchdown, to his 1,919 yards on just kick returns alone his first three seasons, McDuffie has proved his worth. Coaches and teammates expect big plays from McDuffie, whether it is a screen

pass in the first quarter or a kick return that could lead to a comeback. Being account-able is something he holds in high regard. McDuffie loves it.

“It’s a wonderful feeling bringing that im-pact to the game and being able to contribute to your team’s success,” McDuffie said. “I take a lot of pride in it, knowing that they count on me. I’m always ready to step up and make those big plays.”The Knights’ seasoned, yet powerful, special

teams weapon has certainly done a great job of following through on making those key contributions and does it on not just the con-ference level, but at the national level as well. McDuffie ranked third in the country in kick return average his sophomore season and was named to the All-Conference USA First Team along with earning a spot on the CBS Sports All-America Second Team in 2010. McDuffie has amassed 856 receiving yards with 73 catches and four touchdowns and is looking to make even bigger plays as the Knights fight to take back the Conference USA title.

From a leaping touchdown catch between three Houston defenders that helped the Knights defeat their first ranked opponent in

2009, to even the nullified touchdown return on the opening kickoff against Georgia in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in 2010, McDuffie has had plenty of memories to call his own. But those memories would mean nothing without his teammates; his friends; his broth-ers. His most memorable moment as a Knight reflects that team-first, humble attitude.

“I would say [winning] the conference championship and [making] it to the Liberty Bowl are some of the best memories,” said McDuffie with a smile. “That was a very suc-cessful year and we were able to end on a good note for our seniors.”

Even with talks of returning to track and the upcoming 2013 NFL Draft, McDuffie is simply focused on winning football games. “Right now I’m just worried about the season. We’ve got to take each game one at a time,” McDuffie explained. “When the time comes, through the grace of God, hopefully I can be given the opportunity or at least experience [the NFL] for a time.”

From being the local speedy threat, to a selfless team leader, it is simply what the work entails. And for the Knights, McDuffie is just the man for the job.

Just The Man For The JobBy Joey Nelson

GAMEDAY8

QUINCY McDUFFIE

2012 UCF Gameday FB Program - Game 2.indd 8 9/25/12 11:11 AM

AAs one of seven returning seniors, Chris Martin understands that nothing is guar-anteed in this game. When Martin first ar-rived at UCF in 2009, he was recruited out of Choctawhatchee High School in Florida’s panhandle to play defensive line. But after Martin redshirted his freshman season, he was asked to make the jump to offensive line.

Martin spent his first two seasons in high school at the offensive tackle position, but said he was still surprised by the request to make a change.

“I came back in the spring and they said you’re going to be an offensive lineman,” Martin said. “We need you. We need your attitude on that side of the ball. So, it shocked me but I accepted it as fast as Coach (George) O’Leary told me. I was like, ‘OK, let’s get to work. Tell me where I need to be and what I need to do.’”

Martin would go on to suit up and play in 10 games for the Knights during his redshirt freshman season and notched three starts at left tackle. His versatility and athleticism paired with his willingness to do whatever it takes allowed the transition to be much smoother than even Martin had expected. But with challenge often comes reward, and Martin certainly made the most of it.

“I wouldn’t necessarily call the change dif-ficult,” Martin said. “I enjoyed being able to play. Being versatile, I feel it’s a good tool to have. I enjoyed being able to play those posi-tions and having that ability. Not everyone can do that. I don’t think of it as a bad thing. I just think of it as it’s good to be versatile in this game.”

Coming into his own at offensive tackle, Martin was certainly growing at the position. He recorded eight starts at left tackle with one at right tackle in 11 games during the 2011 season. He believes that playing along the defensive line surely helped his develop-ment at the tackle position and gave him insight into where he needed to be and what had to be accomplished on each down and

with every snap.“Running a defense then switching to of-

fense, I learned both sides of the ball my first two years here. So, I learned college football very quickly,” Martin said. “There are a lot of details that people don’t pay attention to that I learned just from switching. You learn things on defense and when you switch to offense, you remember those things and it benefits you. It has made me a better player. I feel that being able to understand what the defense is doing, it really helps.”

But as the spring rolled in and later into summer workouts, Martin was asked again to change positions, this time to tight end. Regardless of the progress made at offensive tackle, Coach O’Leary believed his athleti-cism could be used at this position, and Mar-tin believed in the idea as well. He said he was good with it, accepted his role, and started working right away. Again, it was Martin’s team-first mentality and selflessness that made the change a great experience.

“I told him I’d be more than happy to play this spot for you. I loved it. It was a fun time playing tight end. Right there, I got to learn another position. So now I know the guys who play across from me, the guys that play next to me, and I know myself. I’ve played these positions and I know them very well.”

When asked who scored UCF’s touchdown of the 2012 season against Akron, Martin laughed and said, “I think it was this big, tall guy named Chris Martin.” As hard as it is to believe, Martin recorded the Knights’ first score of the year by catching a five-yard strike from Blake Bortles in the win over the Zips.The Fort Walton Beach native made the

most of the tight end position but would only go on to play four games at tight end. Martin

was asked, for a third time, to make another switch – back to the offensive line. He said he wasn’t too upset by the request and was ready and able to step up on the line. Martin had been subbing in at right and left tackle during practice, so he knew it wouldn’t be an issue going back.

So for now, No. 70 is slated to start at right tackle for the Knights during their inaugural season in The American. Martin understands that he could be asked to switch positions at any time but said he loves being the guy the coaching staff can call on to fill a needed role.

“I play where they need me. It just happens with me that I could be in different areas, so I’m happy I can play there,” said Martin. “Without a doubt I’m willing to do whatever it takes. This team means more to me than most people realize.”

Changing PlacesBy Joey Nelson UCF Athletics Communications Student Assistant

THE CHRIS MARTIN FILE

Number: 70Height: 6-5Weight: 303Position: Right TackleHometown:

Fort Walton Beach, Fla.High School:

Choctawhatchee

GAMEDAY8

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT



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True GritSenior Jake Weiss worked his way back onto the men's soccer team and into thestarting lineup after being cut his freshman year.

Sept. 9, 2014

UCF Athletics Social Media Directory

By Joey Nelson UCFKnights.com

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) -- To the casual soccer fan, he's just another senior being called up to the line as a starter.But if you knew the road defender Jake Weiss took to earn his place on the field, the role carries a much greater weight for No.16.

After being cut from the men's soccer team following his freshman year, Weiss worked his way back onto the squad in the fall of2013 and is now a member of the starting lineup.

"I think that's what makes him special. He's really fought through. Most kids, when they get into normal school life after being cutfrom a team or not making a team, I think they just fall into the normal habits of a student and maybe they lose that edge to becompetitive," UCF men's soccer head coach Bryan Cunningham said. "I think what makes Jake special is that he was able toput all that on the side. He came out to all of our games even though he wasn't on the team, and he just grew as a person."

Weiss only logged three minutes in a victory over North Florida his first season as a Knight in 2011. Once the spring of Weiss'freshman year had come to a close, UCF's young soccer player was unsure of his status as a member of the team. By the endof the season, Cunningham and his staff eventually made the tough decision that Weiss had felt coming.

"We actually cut him from the roster," Cunningham said. "After the spring of 2011, he just really wasn't where he needed to be.We didn't see the development and the commitment from Jake at the time. He was young, very intelligent and a good player inhigh school and with his club team, but he was finding the balance of being a great student [and] at the same time, trying tocompete on a Top-25 team."

The decision, regardless of his gut feeling, still resonated with shock. Weiss hadn't expected that his coach would actually cuthim from the sport he had played his entire life. He said that he had tried several sports when he was younger, from football tobaseball, but it was soccer that truly hooked him.

"I just loved soccer," Weis said. "I loved running around. Soccer is very active and you have to be aware for 90 minutes. It's a lot


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more fun for me."

For Weiss, it was his love for the game that motivated him to continue to work. He trained on his own, playing state cup with anunder-19 squad, and he continued to excel in the classroom with a sickening work ethic to perform at the highest level.

"I have a 3.99," Weiss said. "I got an A- in economics freshman fall. It still gets me mad all the time. I got a 92 and an A was a93. It just irritates me, but nothing I can do about it now."

But even as he rallied off impressive grades and worked at staying active, Weiss still found it rough watching friends androommates leave to go to practice.

"I missed it. I missed waking up and training every day. Going to class, everyone can do that but not everyone can say theyplayed a college sport at a high level," Weiss explained. "It was something that motivated me. Plus my roommates motivatedme because they were always going out and training and traveling to the games. I missed that, it was always fun."

Cunningham told Weiss to use his time away from the team to improve, to get better and to prove that he belonged. So, he didjust that and hustled to develop his skills as a soccer player. Weiss was determined to return to the sport he loved.

"He came by the office and asked for an opportunity to try out again, and it was actually pretty seamless. He fought his wayback onto the team," Cunningham said. "He was fitter, he was stronger, and I think he was in a better place mentally. I think hewas a lot more mature, and ever since then he's blossomed into a player that we can depend on."

Through his undeterred perseverance and mental toughness, Weiss has now developed into a consistent contributor for UCFand is currently holding on to a starting job for the Knights. The team depends on Weiss to deliver on the field, and it has beenhis overall reliability as a teammate that has set him apart.

"He really wanted to make a point and prove that he could not only be on this roster but also contribute," Cunningham said."You can count on him. As a head coach, that's what you want. You want players who are consistent and you know what you'regoing to get out of them every single time. I think that speaks to Jake and his attitude and his determination."

Weiss has woven his determination from the field with his efforts in the classroom and as graduation approaches in December,he is looking forward to applying to UCF's industrial organizational PhD program.

"This is where I want to go," Weiss said. "I'd like to be able to work with businesses and consulting with employee selection andmotivation with workers, and also be able to help businesses run more efficiently."

For the time being, Weiss is focused on helping the Knights return to the NCAA Tournament, a homecoming of sorts as theKnights made the Big Dance his freshman season when they were knocked out of the second round by rival USF. For Weiss,this would truly mean coming full-circle.

He is the only player during Cunningham's seven-year tenure at UCF who has fought his way back after being cut from theteam.

"We all have our troubles in life and our pitfalls if you will, and it's how you recover from that. Can you persevere and fight yourway through it?" Cunningham said. "I think that's Jake."

To learn more about UCF's Everyday Champions, including how to support the program, click here.

JJonathan Davis has had his fair share of carries as a UCF tailback. He’s also piled on the tackles as a starting linebacker. Changing positions his junior season, Davis was called on to do something he loves; mak-ing tackles and being physical. It is one part of being a football player that comes natural to one of UCF’s key defensive leaders. Making the transition from run-ning back to linebacker wasn’t too difficult for Davis and has simply made the experience all the better.

“It really wasn’t that different because I always had [being] a linebacker in my heart,” ex-plained Davis. “I just had to get the defense down pat, and once I got the defense down, I just used my athleticism and did what the coaches asked me to do.”

Davis nabbed his first start as

a running back in 2009 against Texas and split carries with fel-low senior tailback Brynn Harvey for the majority of the season. It became a one-two punch of sorts, with Harvey taking a bulk of the load and Davis coming in during short-yardage and goal-line situations. He would go on to rush for 549 yards on 129 carries, tacking on five touchdowns for his career. However, UCF’s line-backing corps became quite thin in 2011 and Davis was asked to make the jump.

UCF’s jack of all trades has al-ways loved playing on the defen-sive side of the ball. The cracks, big hits, takeaways and physical-ity were all things that Davis felt natural with. He played running back and linebacker at Tucker High School, making plays all across the board earning him Georgia’s 4A Defensive Player

of the Year his senior season. He was so used to playing two positions that it was actually a struggle to settle in and focus on just being a running back when he first put on a UCF helmet.

“It was pretty difficult. I was so used to playing two positions whereas the coaches just wanted me to concentrate on one,” said Davis. “It was easier [as time went on] to concentrate on one then when I played two in high school.”

Davis is now focused on be-ing UCF’s starting weakside linebacker and has been a vocal leader for the Knights’ defense. At 5-foot-9, 202 lbs., Davis is an intense ball player who is known for his big hits and playmaking ability when defending the run or blitzing the quarterback. Since joining the defense in 2011, Davis has collected 61 total stops, 11

tackles for a loss and 3.5 sacks.As the Knights continue their

final season in Conference USA, Davis is ready to keep UCF in contention for the conference title. But as his senior year wraps up, Davis looks back at some of his greatest times as a Knight.

“My most memorable moment was [my first start] in the Texas game and my first touchdown ever [against Houston],” said Davis. “I actually have the picture in my room. On defense, it was the [Charleston Southern] game when I got my first sack.”

Davis is one of UCF’s most ver-satile athletes and continues to be a passionate, physical presence for the defense. Making the tran-sition from tailback to outside linebacker was a bit of a struggle at first but Davis has made the move seem pretty easy.

Living In The BackfieldBy Joey Nelson

Jonathan Davis#11

GAMEDAY76

JONATHAN DAVIS


As a student-athlete who loves his sport, Kyle Wilshire will be the first to tell you that he is a golf fanatic. At the end of the day, however, family comes first. His parents, Don and Laura Wilshire, taught him that message and showed him the importance of work ethic and education, two factors that drive not only his career goals, but his everyday life.

Wilshire is in his final year at UCF and is one of four seniors on the men’s golf team. He has played an essential role in UCF’s success on the golf course, including the team’s 16th-place finish at the NCAA Championship this past year. As graduation approaches, Wilshire said his family and UCF have more than prepared him to accomplish his goals, which include becoming a professional golfer and a golf-course manager.

“My first career goal and my dream is to play professional golf,” Wilshire said. “I play, and I practice, and I put too much into this game, not just to represent my school but [because] I want to be out there on the tour; that would be a dream come true.”

The Kentucky native is not sure when he’ll turn pro but mentions that it starts at the collegiate level which is then followed by mini-tours and qualifiers. Athletes who aspire to play professionally,

including Wilshire, must face reality with a practical mindset and understand that becoming a successful professional is a much lengthier and difficult process than just being a professional.

The jump up into the pros, as Wilshire explained, is no easy task and requires a passion for the game that is derived from a persistence to be successful, which Wilshire said he learned from his parents. His mother, Laura, works on the assembly line for Toyota in Kentucky, while his father works as a club professional for two golf courses and also helps run the family restaurant. His brother, who Wilshire said is his hero, has served two tours with the Marines and also has three children, while his sister is a member of the women’s golf team at Auburn.

“Nothing’s ever come easy for my family,” Wilshire said. “We’ve always had to work hard. It’s just something that’s in us. We don’t do it for money. I think it’s just more peace of mind, knowing that we got out there and made the most of the day, made the most of life. We just work hard.”

It is the Wilshire family’s will to persist that also carries into the classroom and motivates the young man to get the job done. Wilshire understands that there will be a day when playing golf comes to an end but that doesn’t mean he has to stop being a part

of the game he loves. Viewing the management side of golf firsthand

has provided Wilshire with an outlet to apply what he’s learned as a business management major to the management and operations of a golf course. He also said that he actually loves school. He and fellow golfer Greg Eason, who Wilshire says is his best friend and roommate, were awarded Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar honors in early August, which Wilshire said was extremely rewarding and well worth the effort.

Wilshire aims to close out on top with his Knights, leaving their legacy on a “good note” by winning the championship in the new conference, The American. From deeply rooted family matters to a rigid backbone of persistence, Wilshire has proven his drive not only on the course but also in the classroom and his everyday life.

“The main thing is, something I learned from my parents, if you work hard and you leave the day, every single day, when you lay your head down at night, and you know that you’ve given everything to the effort to be better, whether that’s in golf or that’s in business, then things will work out and you can live with yourself.” ■

Driving to What MattersBY JOEY NELSON UCF ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS STUDENT ASSISTANT

MEN’S GOLF

SEPTEMBER ’1320

KYLE WILSHIRE

UCF Knights Insider #1 - 9-13.indd 20 8/16/13 3:36 PM

Whether he’s picking off an errant pass from an opposing quarterback or writing a lengthy education studies paper, defensive back Lyle Dankenbring continues to epitomize the definition of a student-athlete. He’s not only in the midst of his final season as a UCF football player, but he is also about to conclude his graduate studies in secondary education. Dankenbring has managed plays on the field with time in the classroom like no other and looks to finish strong in both.Since coming to UCF as a walk-on, Dankenbring excelled academically and also earned a scholarship for his efforts on the

field. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science and has been enrolled in graduate school since the summer of 2011. He has maintained a perfect 4.0 grade-point-average the past four semesters. On the field, he appeared in all 12 games as a junior last season and recorded 28 tackles.UCF football’s top scholar says it has been earning the respect of his coaches and teammates that has made him the most proud. “It’s not so much the scholarship and the playing time, but just the respect of my peers and my coaches [that] is the most important thing,” Dankenbring

said. “They’ve seen me develop. When I got here, I wasn’t physically ready to play. It’s the fact that I was able to develop physically and kind of add that attitude you need to have.”That “me against the world, play with a chip on your shoulder” mentality is what pushes Dankenbring, leading him toward a passion to teach. He hopes to one day be a social studies teacher, explaining to high school students the ins-and-outs of government or how the voting process breaks down.“My plan, when coming to college, was to find a degree that interested me and something that

would keep my options open,” Dankenbring explained. “I’d like to teach and coach. It’s kind of what I’ve found I have a passion for. I just like being in that environment and being around kids. You can make an impact in people’s lives.”Dankenbring says he’s definitely learned a few life lessons during his time as a UCF football player and student, from understanding the importance of planning to the ability to overcome setbacks. He believes strongly that academic and athletic success come directly from managing one’s time. He says it is that skill that allows him to translate working through

obstacles in life from the classroom to the football field. “Everybody has setbacks athletically, whether it’s an injury or whether you make a mistake during a game. You learn how to work through things and keep going.”Not many student-athletes can say they’ve managed a 4.0 GPA in grad school with hours in the weight room and plenty of hits on the gridiron. Dankenbring can. He is continuing to work hard as his time at UCF comes to an end, proving that student-athletes can be successful both on the football field and in the classroom. ■

Mastering Perfection

BY JOEY NELSON UCF ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS STUDENT ASSISTANT

FOOTBALL

NOVEMBER ’12 5

LYLE DANKENBRING

UCF Knights Insider #2 - 11-12.indd 5 10/26/12 11:42 AM

UCF Everyday Champions Portfolio

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