{"id":241914,"date":"2026-04-22T15:09:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T15:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/241914\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T15:09:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T15:09:12","slug":"former-ucf-standouts-ready-for-their-moment-in-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/241914\/","title":{"rendered":"Former UCF standouts ready for their moment in NFL draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

Malachi Lawrence<\/a> took a moment to watch UCF<\/a>\u2019s football team take part in a spring practice recently. It wasn\u2019t long before the former Knights defensive end was greeted by coaches and players, offering a handshake or a hug.<\/p>\n

Lawrence spent four seasons at UCF, a rarity in today\u2019s transfer portal era, after signing with the Knights in their 2022 recruiting class. He went from being on the sidelines as a freshman to becoming one of the top edge rushers in the Big 12 last season.<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old could fulfill a lifelong dream if selected in the NFL draft, which begins on Thursday and runs through Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, just seeing all the work that I put in and just seeing it actually come to life, it\u2019s definitely been a blessing,\u201d Lawrence said.<\/p>\n

His draft stock climbed after a standout performance in the NFL combine<\/a> in Indianapolis in February, where he ran a 4.52-second 40-yard dash, which was one of the fastest times for a defensive end.<\/p>\n

Since then, mock drafts have had Lawrence projected anywhere from a mid-first-round selection to the second round.<\/p>\n

The last time UCF has had a player selected in the first round of the NFL draft was cornerback Mike Hughes in 2018. The last Knights\u2019 defensive end picked was Bruce Miller in 2011, who later played fullback in the NFL.<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer UCF edge rusher Nyjalik Kelly participates in the Knights’ Pro Day on March 25 at Nicholson Fieldhouse. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/ Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud of how much development and progress some of those guys made in our one year,\u201d\u00a0 UCF coach Scott Frost said<\/a>. \u201cHe did an unbelievable job of working consistently and just continuing to get better in a year with (defensive ends coach) Mike Dawson and (defensive coordinator) Alex Grinch. I\u2019m really happy for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawrence isn\u2019t sure which NFL team could select him. He participated in 30 virtual calls with scouts, coaches and general managers since the combine and made 17 in-person visits.<\/p>\n

He plans to host an NFL draft watch party at his home in Louisville, Ky.<\/p>\n

Lawrence isn\u2019t the only Knight who could hear his name called this weekend.<\/p>\n

Fellow edge rusher Nyjalik Kelly<\/a> is coming off back-to-back strong seasons at UCF, finishing with 99 tackles, including 17 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks with the Knights following two seasons at Miami.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s projected to be a sixth or seventh-round selection.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe Nyjalik is undervalued a little bit, because I know what he can do,\u201d said Frost. \u201cLast spring, we couldn\u2019t block him, and he wrecked some of the offense\u2019s practice, so I\u2019m excited about his opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Lawrence, Kelly\u2019s dreams of playing in the NFL began when he was growing up.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandpa used to be on the couch, kicking his feet up and the NFL was always on (the TV),\u201d Kelly recalled. \u201cWe were always watching the (Miami) Dolphins. You would see the players on the screen and I wanted to be one of those players, because I knew my grandpa watched it and I always wanted my grandpa to watch me on TV one day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Running backs Jaden Nixon and Myles Montgomery also hope to continue their careers in the NFL. Both are projected as sixth or seventh-round selections or as undrafted free agents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to make a team just so I could play football,\u201d said Nixon, who rushed for 558 yards and seven touchdowns last season for the Knights. \u201cThat\u2019s all it ever has been about. It\u2019s just playing football. I don\u2019t think about anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re gonna get somebody who\u2019s going to embrace their role, whatever it is, and try to help the team continue to win ball games,\u201d said Montgomery, who led the team in rushing with 705 yards and 4 touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Offensive lineman Paul Rubelt is also hoping for a chance to prove himself at the next level.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you take a shot at me, I\u2019ll give you my all,\u201d Rubelt said. \u201cWhoever takes a chance on me, they won\u2019t regret it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Frost: \u201cJaden, Paul and Myles and a bunch of other guys, if they get their shot, they\u2019re going to have a good opportunity to make a living playing the game. That\u2019s what you dream about when you\u2019re little.\u201d<\/p>\n

Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com<\/a>. Sign up for the Sentinel\u2019s Knights Weekly<\/a> newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Malachi Lawrence took a moment to watch UCF\u2019s football team take part in a spring practice recently. It…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":241915,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[111,28,114,1335,139,141,140,76046,110,3865],"class_list":{"0":"post-241914","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando","8":"tag-college-sports","9":"tag-florida","10":"tag-latest-headlines","11":"tag-orange-county","12":"tag-orlando","13":"tag-orlando-headlines","14":"tag-orlando-news","15":"tag-social-sports","16":"tag-sports","17":"tag-ucf-knights"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}