Blake Bortles: The UCF Years - A Quarterback's Rise to Prominence
Robby Blake Bortles, born on April 28, 1992, is an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the Jacksonville Jaguars. However, before his professional career, Bortles made a name for himself playing college football for the UCF Knights. This article delves into Bortles' UCF career, highlighting his accomplishments, statistics, and the impact he had on the program.
Early Years and Recruitment
Bortles attended Oviedo High School in Oviedo, Florida, where he excelled in both football and baseball. As a senior, he completed 151 of 233 passes for 2,211 yards with 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Despite his success in high school, Bortles was considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com and was ranked as the No. 28 pro-style quarterback in his class.
UCF was the first college to offer Bortles a scholarship, and its proximity to his home made it an attractive option. Although many schools recruited Bortles to play tight end, UCF was one of the few schools that gave the three-star quarterback a scholarship offer to compete at quarterback. He accepted the offer and enrolled at UCF.
2010: Redshirt Season
Bortles was redshirted as a true freshman in 2010, giving him an opportunity to adjust to the college game and learn the UCF offense.
2011: Redshirt Freshman Season
As a redshirt freshman in 2011, Bortles played in 10 games, completing 75 of 110 passes for 958 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions. He showed flashes of potential, but it was clear that he still had room to grow.
Read also: Blake Bortles: College Days
2012: Sophomore Season - Emerging as a Leader
In 2012, Bortles started all 14 games at quarterback. He completed 251 of 399 passes for 3,059 yards with 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also rushed for 285 yards and eight touchdowns.
His 251 completions ranked fourth on the single-season list, while his 399 attempts were fifth, 3,059 yards put him in fifth and 25 touchdowns were good for fifth as well. He was the first UCF quarterback to throw for at least 3,000 yards since 2002. Bortles boasted 10 games with at least two TD passes, becoming the first UCF QB in school history to accomplish that feat in a single season. From Sept. 15-Oct. 27, tied for the second longest streak in UCF history without throwing an interception in 147 straight attempts. After that, he broke that record by ending the season without throwing a pick in his final six games for a total of 174-consecutive attempts without an interception. He almost broke the school's interception-to-attempt ratio record with a mark of .0175, falling just short of Daunte Culpepper's record of .0174 in 1998.
Some notable games from the 2012 season include:
- At Akron 8/30: In his first collegiate start, completed 13-of-16 passes for 168 yards and three touchdowns, including a 56-yard strike to Rannell Hall.
- At Ohio State 9/8: Completed 25-of-41 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns.
- FIU 9/15: Threw for 251 yards and two touchdowns on a 20-for-30 day.
- Missouri 9/29: Threw for 267 yards and two touchdowns while completing 29-of-43 yards.
- ECU 10/4: Passed for 269 yards and a touchdown on 15-for-21 passing, and on the ground, rushed six times for 62 yards and a score.
- Southern Miss 10/13: Led the Knights to their first overtime win in school history, passing for 272 yards on a 27-for-40 night and running for two 1-yard touchdowns.
- At Memphis 10/20: Completed 15-of-26 passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns, while picking up 14 yards on three carries.
- At Marshall 10/27: Finished with a career-high 277 yards with two touchdowns on 15-for-21 passing and 23 yards on the ground.
- SMU 11/3: Threw for 210 yards with two touchdowns, completing 10-of-15 passes while also carrying the ball six times for 33 yards.
- At UTEP 11/10: Completed 16-of-27 passes for 214 yards, throwing for one score while rushing for two touchdowns on 11 carries and 56 yards.
- At Tulsa 11/17: Added 169 yards and a touchdown on a 13-for-31 day.
- UAB 11/24: Finished 17-for-23 with 225 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 21 yards rushing.
- At C-USA Championship 12/1: Threw for two touchdowns and 194 yards, while rushing for 60 yards and a touchdown.
- Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl 12/21: Earned MVP honors thanks to a 22-for-33 day, amassing 272 passing yards and three touchdowns.
Bortles' performance earned him several accolades, including being voted on to the All-C-USA Second Team, becoming the first UCF quarterback in school history to be named to a conference's first or second team (since UCF's first year in a league when it joined the MAC in 2002). He was also named to Phil Steele's All-C-USA Second Team and selected as the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl MVP as well as the team's Most Improved Offensive Player at the UCF Football Awards Banquet. Bortles led UCF to a Conference USA East Division Championship and a bowl victory.
2013: Junior Season - A Historic Year
In 2013, Bortles led the Knights to the inaugural championship of the American Athletic Conference, earning the league's automatic berth to a BCS bowl, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Passing for 301 yards and rushing for 93 yards and four touchdowns, Bortles led UCF to an upset of fifth-ranked Baylor, 52-42. Bortles was named the Offensive MVP of the game, which was UCF's first major bowl win in school history.
Read also: Lindsey Duke's Role in Blake Bortles' NFL Prospects
In his final collegiate season, he was 259-of-382 for 3,581 yards, 25 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. As a starter from the 2012 and 2013 seasons, Bortles had a 22-5 (.815) record for the Knights.
Bortles' junior season was filled with accolades:
- Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Offensive MVP
- American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, and selected to the First Team
- Sporting News American Athletic Conference Player of the Year
- SI.com Honorable Mention All-American
- One of 16 quarterbacks in the country selected as a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award
- Earned a spot on the Maxwell Award Watch List, which is presented to college football's player of the year
- One of 30 quarterbacks to be on the Manning Award Watch List presented by the Allstate Sugar Bowl
- A member of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List, an honor given to the nation's top college quarterback based on character, citizenship, scholastic achievement, leadership qualities and athletic accomplishments
- Selected to the College Football Performance Awards Quarterback Trophy Watch List
- Received a spot on Phil Steele's Postseason All-American Athletic Conference First Team
He completed the season 259-for-382 with 3,581 yards. Bortles joined Daunte Culpepper as the only two UCF quarterbacks to have two seasons of at least 3,000 yards passing. He had a 67.8 completion percentage and a 163.43 efficiency rating. He threw for 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Bortles was UCF's third leading rusher, amassing 272 yards and six touchdowns. He posted at least 300 passing yards in five games during the season.
Some notable games from the 2013 season include:
- Akron 8/29: Threw for a career-high 314 yards, completing 18-of-24 passes with three touchdowns. Bortles eclipsed the 300-yard passing mark for the first time and connected with wideout Breshad Perriman on a 91-yard touchdown strike, marking the longest play from scrimmage in UCF history.
- At FIU 9/6: Continued his school-record streak of not throwing an interception in his last 217 attempts, throwing for 214 yards with 12 completions and a touchdown pass to WR J.J. Worton. The signal-caller also netted 22 yards on four rushes and a one-yard plunge for the score.
- At Penn State 9/14: Went 20-for-27 with 288 yards through the air and three scores. Received American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Nittany Lions.
- South Carolina 9/28: Eclipsed the 300-yard mark for the second time this season and threw for a career-high 358 yards while completing 25 passes with two touchdowns through the air.
- At Memphis 10/5: Completed 17-of-36 passes for 160 yards. In the win at Memphis, led UCF on a game-tying drive with 2:05 to go that lasted 15 plays and 80 yards.
- At Louisville 10/18: Threw for 250 yards, completing 21 of 32 passes with two touchdowns through the air. Trailing 35-31 at Louisville, marched his team down the field on an 11-play, 75- yard drive that was capped off by a 2-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Godfrey with 23 seconds left.
- At UConn 10/26: Set a career-high with four touchdown passes, the most in a game since Ryan Schneider had four vs. Ohio Nov. 30, 2002. Bortles completed his day 20-of-24 for 286 yards with four touchdowns. He also had a season-high 26 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.
- Houston 11/9: Completed 17 of 24 passes, throwing for 210 yards.
- At Temple 11/16: Bortles completed the day 27-for-38 for a career-high 404 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. The 404 passing yards were the 10th most in a single game by a UCF quarterback. Bortles also added 62 rushing yards on 11 carries. Was the Manning Award Player of the Week for his outing against Temple.
- Rutgers 11/21: Complete 21-of-30 passes for 335 yards and one touchdown. Bortles also added one score and 32 yards on the ground.
- USF 11/29: Threw for 219 yards and two scores while completing 17-of-26 passes.
- At SMU 12/7: Went 24-for-35 for 242 yards and added a pair of rushing touchdowns.
- Tostitos Fiesta Bowl 1/1: Earned MVP honors vs. Baylor by going 20-for-31 with 301 yards, three touchdowns and nine straight completions to end the game, while also adding 93 rushing yards and a touchdown on eight carries.
College Statistics
Here's a summary of Blake Bortles' UCF career statistics:
Read also: Learned and Blake: On-Screen vs. Off-Screen
| Year | Games | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | TD | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 10 | 75 | 110 | 68.2 | 958 | 6 | 3 |
| 2012 | 14 | 251 | 399 | 62.9 | 3,059 | 25 | 7 |
| 2013 | 13 | 259 | 382 | 67.8 | 3,581 | 25 | 9 |
| Total | 37 | 585 | 891 | 65.7 | 7,598 | 56 | 19 |
NFL Draft and Legacy
Bortles did not enter his junior season as a top NFL prospect, but jumped up draft boards after leading UCF to the Fiesta Bowl. Following his impressive junior season, Bortles declared for the 2014 NFL Draft. He was projected to be a first-round pick and was ultimately selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the No. 3 overall pick.
During his college career, Bortles threw for 7,598 yards, 56 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. As a starter from the 2012 and 2013 seasons, Bortles had a 22-5 (.815) record for the Knights.
Bortles' success at UCF helped elevate the program to new heights. He led the Knights to their first major bowl win in school history and helped put UCF on the map as a football school. His legacy at UCF is one of leadership, determination, and success.
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