4-star IOL Waltclaire Flynn Jr. commits to UCF Knights
Loganville (Ga.) Grayson four-star interior offensive lineman Waltclaire Flynn Jr. picked up his first college offer as an eighth grader. Several more started to come in as he entered his freshman year.
Flynn Jr. now holds 40 offers from nearly every major Power Five program in the country. In the end though, the school that made Flynn Jr. the most like a priority was UCF as he announced his pledge to the Knights Saturday night choosing them over Georgia, LSU, Oregon and Texas A&M.
“Every time I visit there it’s like red carpet treatment,” Flynn Jr. told On3. “No one else was giving me that so why not give them a chance?” It was very important for them to show me that kind of love.
“Not a lot of other schools were doing that. UCF’s always been a really good school so for them to do that for me, why not go there?”
UCF was one of the newest schools to get involved in Flynn Jr.’s recruitment. The Knights extended him an offer last summer and he’s taken five visits to Orlando since then.
Flynn Jr. said that he gets a genuine home vibe every time he’s on campus. Whether it’s love from the players, the coaches or the fans, he’s come to fall in love with Orlando already.
His official visit just added on to the decision that he says was made when he returned to campus during the spring.
“I knew it was UCF during the March visit before my official visit,” said Flynn Jr., the No. 327 player in the 2024 class. “Going into that visit I was just going to visit just to visit. During the visit, they brought out red carpet and told me how much of a priority I am and that sealed it.”
Future in the Big 12 and relationship with coaches sold UCF to Flynn Jr.
A highly-coveted recruit with a ton of offers, Flynn Jr. knew that he wanted to go to Power Five program once he made his decision. With UCF now in the Big 12, the Knights perfectly fit that need in his mind and only helped their chances as they recruited him.
It’s very exciting,” Flynn Jr. said. “They were just in a Group of Five conference so for them to be in the Big 12 now is crazy. I really think they’ll succeed in the Big 12.”
The Knights also have a pair of coaches that instantly became two of his favorites after meeting them.
UCF head coach Gus Malzahn is coach that Flynn Jr. immediately connected with and a guy he said that he feels the most comfortable around when it comes to head coaches. They also have an offensive line coach in Herb Hand that Flynn Jr. connected with from the first meeting.
“Coach Hand has put 40-plus people into the NFL and I have the chance to start if I keep working hard,’ said Flynn Jr. “Our relationship has been real tight from the jump and continues to grow every day.”