The Ten Best Players in (Modern) UCF Football history
College Football is fast approaching. Of course the dead period has been awful waiting for college football to come back. Most of the discussion lately has been centered on expansion for the Big12. But that talk is quite boring especially since no concrete evidence has come out. Rather it is all just speculation and heresay. So in the mean time, let us talk about something different to pass the time. There is a pet project that I have been working on. That is the top 10 players in modern UCF football history. There are two caveats to this equation: the first being that no FTU will be listed in here the second being that the players listed will only be those that have played since UCF was considered a division 1 program. Sorry to those that will be angered by this decision(hi some rivals posters), but to be frank many don't remember UCF players pre-division 1 days. This will be a series of articles This is also opinion and can be up for debate. Let us begin with Number 10.
Number 10: Rannell "Speedy" Hall
To lead off let us start with one of the most electrifying players in UCF history. That is Rannell "Speedy" Hall. Hall was the perfect combination of size, speed, and power. He was probably the best athlete to ever grace UCF's football team. In his UCF career, Hall was the Swiss Army knife of playersIt was Hall, Worton, and Perriman(to be discussed later), that collectively made up the best wide receiver units in UCF history. Yes, Worton and Perriman have the big signature moments, but Hall was the straw that stirred the collective drink. Without Rannell Hall, Worton and Perriman would not have been as successful as they were. His skill set opened up so many opportunities for other players. Without Hall, UCF would not have won the Fiesta Bowl. That is why he makes the top 10.
In his career at UCF, Hall amassed a total of 145 catches for 2,081 yards and 9 touchdowns and 2 rushing touchdowns. His best season comes his junior year when he 886 yards receiving and 5 touchdowns. Of course Hall's numbers don't leap out and some will argue that he doesn't deserve to be ahead of a few other past players. But Hall's impact went beyond just the numbers. Consider that Hall's main responsibility was to suck the defenses into covering medium and short passes allowing the other receivers to get open on deep passes. Just look at the USF game in 2013. Hall had been getting open on short passes all game and finally that paid off as this sucked the USF defenders in allowing Breshad Perriman to catch the game winning 52 yard bomb from Bortles. You see all of what Hall did so well in his playing career at UCF can not be measured by stats. But when one goes back and watches the games, you can see that Hall's fingerprints were all over UCF's success.
Every great player has that one shining moment. A great player rises to the occasion. Well for Hall that came against Baylor in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl. Baylor defense was supposed to be faster and more powerful than UCF's offense. But then Rannell Hall took over. Twice Hall took screen passes from Bortles and embarrassed the Baylor defense. Both times Hall made All American safety Ahmad Dixon look like a fool as Hall carved through Baylor's defense. It was the epitome of Hall: size, speed, agility, and the power to break arm tackles. Baylor had no idea how to handle Hall that first half. Everything Baylor tried failed. Rannell would finish that game with 2 touchdowns for 114 yards. He should have been the MVP of that game. Without him who knows if UCF even wins the Fiesta Bowl. Hall was the catalyst that whole season and the Fiesta Bowl performance verified that.
Rannell Hall may not have the flashiest of numbers or awards. But he was the key cog to the recent era of UCF success. Without Hall, 2013-2014 does not happen. That is why he is on this list. So who will number 9 be? Well here's a hint: The next player was with UCF when the Knights were Independent and in the MAC.
