Kobe Hudson has yet to play his first football game in a UCF uniform, but he's already one of the team's most instrumental recruiters. The former Auburn wide receiver helped encourage Javon Baker, who was formerly at Alabama, to join him down in Orlando.
"I actually begged him to come," Hudson said. "I played a huge role."
Of course, the coaches were an important element too.
"Everybody loves Gus," Hudson said. "He's a great coach. Coach (Grant) Heard, he's great people. It's all good around here. It's a family. He's loved. He's a baller and people are going to love that about him."
Hudson and Baker will now team up with Ryan O'Keefe to form one of the best wide receiving trios in the conference.
"I've known Javon since probably my freshman year of high school," Hudson said. "We went to the Opening Camp. Javon was always the guy I watched. Most of the stuff I got, I stole it from him. He developed way faster than me. I'm just now catching up to him in talent wise, receiver skills. He's always been a guy that I was like, wow, he's really good."
Hudson arrived to UCF in January; Baker in June. The duo are now roommates. Hudson said they even keep a football at home and are constantly throwing it around.
"We've got a great relationship," Hudson said. "We're real competitors on and off the field. I love having him around. I know he's going to keep me going. He's going to push me every day. It's hot in Florida. He'll be tired, I'm tired. We keep each other going. Ryan keeps us going. It's going to be a fun year."
What does Javon Baker bring to UCF's receiver corps?
"He brings strength," Hudson said. "He's going to get the ball. You put the ball in the air, he's going to come down with it nine times out of 10. He's a great route runner. He's a great teammate. He's going to push you. If you're tired, he's going to be the guy, come on, we need you."
In 2021, Hudson was Auburn's No. 1 receiver with 44 catches for 580 yards and four touchdowns.
"I'm an all-around receiver," Hudson said. "Whatever Coach Gus, Coach Heard or Coach Chip ask me to do, I'll get it done. You throw the ball up, I'll go get it. You throw a five-yard hitch, I'll take it 60. Whatever you need me to do. I can block. I block for the running backs. I'll play special teams. Whatever it takes for the team."
Hudson says everything is clicking for him now.
"It's second hand to me. I played under Gus' offense my freshman year. Everything is second hand to me. I play fast. He allows me to play fast in the position I'm in. I play freely. I don't think about it too much. I go out there and play. Everything just comes naturally out there for me."
Hudson is catching balls from both Mikey Keene and John Rhys Plumlee. At some point, Malzahn will name a starter.
"They're great competitors," Hudson said. "The team loves them. They're both our leaders. They both obvious leaders on the team. We've got a good freshman, Tommy (Castellanos). He's going to be a great one. He's got two good people in front of him to look up to."
Hudson said he's become close with Castellanos, who is a Georgia native like he is.
"Me and Tommy are real tight," Hudson said. "On the break, he actually came to Atlanta so we worked out a couple times. He's a great athlete. He's going to be a great player for UCF one day."
Hudson said the defense has been bringing it.
"Coach T-Will, he brings energy to the defense," Hudson said. "Our DBs, d-line, it's competitive every day."
Hudson played wide receiver early in his high school career before transitioning to quarterback as a junior and senior so he was a little behind when he got to Auburn in 2020.
"I had a lot of catching up to do, but I feel like I'm at the peak of my game," Hudson said.
He's a big fan of his position coach, Grant Heard.
"I love Coach Heard. He's probably my favorite coach I've ever had in my life. He's a great mentor. He's a great guy off the field. He expects nothing less than my best. He pushes me. That's what I love about him. He doesn't take nothing less than my best every day. He expects us to outwork everybody on the field."
What does he want to accomplish this season?
"I just want to win," Hudson said. "I know if my team is winning, I'm going to play a big part in that. As long as I win, I know my NFL dreams will be accomplished. As long as we win, I feel everybody is gonna do what they wanna do."
He sees big things ahead.
"It's going to be a great season," Hudson said. "I want everybody to stay tuned. It's going to be a great future for us. We've got a great season ahead. Our offense is great.
"The team is bought in. We all believe. We know we're good. We're going to go into the game with that 'nothing can beat us' mentality. Whoever plays us is going to have to bring their 'A game."
"(Fans) can expect a lot of excitement from the offense and defense. We've got a lot of great talent. Our talent on this team is overwhelming. I've never seen this much talent. I've never been this excited for a football season in my life like this. I know we're gonna be good.
"We put in the work with Coach Dawson. He was pushing us this summer in the weight room. The last three days have been great energy. Coach Gus expects nothing less than our best. We always preach about the small details, like standing behind the line. Teammates. Bonding.
"We've got a great team, I feel like the team that becomes closer and close every day. We fought through a lot of adversity through the summer, so I feel we'll be a great team in the fall."
