UCF Lands Transfer RB, Gus Malzahn Taking SEC Talent With Him To Orlando

Gus Malzahn hasn't been the head coach at UCF long, but he's already starting to make an impact. First, he added former Auburn assistants such as Travis Williams to his staff. Now, Malzahn is bringing at least one SEC player with him as well.

On Tuesday evening, former Tigers running back Mark Antony-Richards announced via social media that he was taking his talents to Orlando. He had been in the transfer portal since Dec. of 2020.

Antony-Richards is a nice get for the Knights.

According to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, he was a four-star prospect in the 2019 class. Antony-Richards was also rated the No. 90 overall player, No. 4 athlete and No. 12 player from the state of Florida.

Of course, that's another positive for him. He is from Florida and played his high school football at Wellington in West Palm Beach. Now, he'll be returning to his home state with the hope of making a bigger impact at UCF than he did at Auburn.

There were high hopes for him coming into this past season, but after the emergence of true freshman Tank Bigsby, Antony-Richards was given limited opportunities. In four games, he got only 20 carries, which he turned into 76 yards.

At 6-foot-1, 208 pounds, he possesses a lean build for a runner, but he still finds ways to be effective on all three downs -- when given the opportunity.

He should have that opportunity this season. The top two running backs for UCF, Greg McCrae and Otis Anderson, were both seniors. Antony-Richards will only be a redshirt sophomore this upcoming season, giving him at least three more seasons of eligibility.

Follow Clint Lamb on Twitter @ClintRLamb.