ORLANDO, FL – Another year with a July 4th “Boom!” as Gus Malzahn and the UCF Knights land the commitment of Roswell (Roswell, Ga) 3 Star interior offensive lineman Andrew Stargel.
An all around offensive lineman he’s worked as a tackle primarily at Roswell, but projects as a guard that can swing out to tackle at the collegiate level, his game and body type are very similar to UCF right guard Marcellus Marshall. Stargel’s commitment is a big time win on the recruiting trail for offensive line coach Herb Hand as Kentucky, NC State, and Ohio State both made big pushes to land Stargel over the Knights. He told Knights247 before his decision that his relationships with each of the other schools and their staffs were amazing, highlighting the likes of Eric Wolford at Kentucky and Garrett Tujague at NC State who really made an impression on him during multiple visits. In the end it came down to UCF being special for him saying, “I love UCF so much they’re my favorite coaching staff by far, both coach Hand and coach Malzahn are great. I really just love everything about UCF.”
He’s preached that since his Spring visit with the Knights, immediately scheduling his official following meeting with coach Hand and watching UCF practice. After his official visit he talked about what makes UCF special, “Me and my family love being down here, it’s just a real family environment, you’re really welcomed. The teammates are very welcoming, and I’m excited about this place it’s special for sure.” A big piece of his visit was spending time with his player host Caden Kitler, who was coach Hand’s first offensive lineman to sign with UCF and has developed into the team’s starting center. The faith and trust Kitler and the rest of the offensive line room shows Hand was a big part of the immediate respect he’s garnered from Stargel.