There’s something different about pulling up to a camp in your own city. No flights, no long road trips, no counting exit signs on an unfamiliar highway — just a quick drive to a campus we’ve literally been driving past for years – even before we moved to Orlando. UCF has always been part of our world as our mom is actually a alumni (go Knights, right?), so watching Cruz walk onto that field as a recruit felt like a full-circle moment we didn’t even fully anticipate until it was happening. June 4th. Orlando. Home. And somehow, that made everything feel a little bigger.

Was the camp perfectly run? I’ll be honest — no. There were moments where the organization felt a little scattered, the kind of thing you only notice when you’ve been to enough of these to know what a tight operation looks like. Throughout it all, the presence of UCF made a difference in setting the stage for the day. But here’s the thing: that stuff fades. What doesn’t fade is the experience Cruz walked away with.

He competed, held his own, and, more importantly, got time with the people who matter. That’s really what these camps come down to. You’re not just throwing routes, you’re building connections with the coaches who might one day be calling your name on signing day, especially at UCF.

“At the end of the day, it wasn’t about the logistics. It was about Cruz being seen in his own city — and he made sure that counted.”

The highlight of the day? Cruz getting to talk with head coach Scott Frost. For those who don’t know, Frost is relatively new at leading the Knights — and he’s the kind of coach who actually makes time for the recruits coming through. Taking time for recruits is part of the UCF culture, and Cruz walked away from that conversation feeling genuinely good about it, and honestly, that energy is everything at this stage of the process.

When the head coach knows your name and makes a point to connect with you, that’s not nothing. That’s a signal. It’s one of those little moments in the recruiting journey that you file away and remember later — especially when the decisions start getting real and the UCF factor is in play.

Camp season takes you all over — we’ve been to Wake Forest in North Carolina, up to leaving the morning after this to Denton for North Texas, all across the state of Texas. Each stop matters. But there’s something uniquely grounding about a camp in your own zip code, and especially when UCF is your home.

UCF is part of the fabric of this city. As I said, it’s where our mom went to school. It’s a program that Cruz has watched his whole life. So whether this becomes a bigger part of his story or simply a meaningful moment in the journey, one thing is certain — he showed up on that field in Orlando, and he represented. That’s always going to mean something to us. Camp season isn’t over yet, but this one? This one had a different energy. And I’m glad we have it documented.

Until the next camp 💋—

Austyn Ryli · Football Sis · allaboutaustyn.com