Fresh off one of the biggest wins in school history, UCF quarterback Blake Bortles may have as high a draft stock as he may ever have. This makes the decision tot turn pro a little more complicated for Bortles, who has been holding off on a decision to return to UCF for 2014 or jump in to the NFL Draft pool.
According to Jeremy Fowler of CBSSports.com, Bortles will meet with UCF head coach George O’Leary to review his NFL status on Friday. A decision on his playing future could realistically be expected soon after that meeting.
Bortles completed 20 of 31 pass attempts for 301 yards and three touchdowns in UCF’s Fiesta Bowl victory over Big 12 champion Baylor on Wednesday. He was named the game’s offensive MVP for his effort and deflected questions about his future by saying he was just focused on celebrating the moment with his team. Bortles has been seemingly been moving up the draft rankings over the last month, and some seem to think he might be worthy fo a top ten pick. This is a contrast to just weeks ago when the feeling seemed to be Bortles had a chance to be drafted in the late first round.
If Bortles does return for the 2014 season he will have an excellent chance to lead UCF to another conference championship, although the postseason format is changing. Instead of having an automatic spot reserved in one of the top college football bowl games under the new structure next season, the conference champion will have a chance to play in the Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Bowl or Cotton Bowl on a rotating basis if they are ranked higher than the conference champions from the Mountain West Conference, Conference USA, MAC or Sun Belt. If that system was in place this season, UCF would have played in the bowl game with the spot available this season.
UCF is set up for regular success moving forward in to 2014 and beyond under the new college football structure, and having Bortles back would be a nice boost for the fortunes of 2014. But f his stock is this high and the NFL evaluation is suggesting he will be a first round talent, it will be hard to make the call to come back for another season.