Less than 24 hours after the announcement was made that UCF would square off against LSU in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, Sports Illustrated ranked the matchup as the most anticipated game of this year\u2019s bowl season.<\/p>\n
Of everyone who is looking forward to the New Year\u2019s Day game, UCF linebacker Nate Evans, defensive lineman Brendon Hayes and offensive lineman Bailey Granier are probably at the top of that list.<\/p>\n
The three are the only Knights on roster who grew up in Louisiana.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy initial reaction when the bowl game was announced was, \u2018It\u2019s time to go.\u2019 This is what I dreamed of \u2014 playing on the big stage, playing LSU, all my loved ones and friends watching,\u201d Evans says. \u201cThat is the<\/em> team in Louisiana.\u201d<\/p>\n “This is what I dreamed of \u2014 playing on the big stage, playing LSU, all my loved ones and friends watching.” \u2014 Brendon Hayes, UCF defensive lineman<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Evans was ranked among the state\u2019s top 50 recruits by Rivals when he signed to play at UCF in 2016. While in high school, he went up against the Tigers\u2019 starting linebackers Devin White and Michael Divinity Jr. and trained regularly with cornerback Kristian Fulton.<\/p>\n He also played against his now UCF teammate Hayes in the 2014 LHSAA Division I state playoffs. Both raised in the New Orleans area, Evans was the star linebacker for the storied program John Curtis (which claims 27 state championships to date) while Hayes was an all-district selection for Brother Martin.<\/p>\n \u201cHis team beat us by two touchdowns to get to the Super Dome. He holds that over my head every day,\u201d Hayes says with Evans in earshot.<\/p>\n Evans responds: \u201cI\u2019m sorry, B. Hayes. I\u2019m sorry, Brother Martin. But John Curtis all the way. We handed it to them.\u201d<\/p>\n As all-conference honorees for the Knights this year, the two say they are looking forward to teaming up together this time to show their state what UCF Football is all about.<\/p>\n While they are focused on coming out with a win, they also plan to soak up this special moment for themselves and their home state. Hayes says he hopes to take a picture with all the Bayou-bred players on the field after the game clock hits zero.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll have that picture forever. It\u2019s going to be a good representation of what New Orleans and what the state of Louisiana bring to the game of football,\u201d Hayes says.<\/p>\n Granier is looking forward to the game, as well, because even though he played in the SEC from 2014-17 at Vanderbilt before transferring to UCF this season, the Commodores never crossed paths with LSU during that span.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s super ironic that I went somewhere else and now I\u2019ll end up playing them in a huge bowl game,\u201d he says. \u201cThe goal is to win one more game \u2014 my last game of college football. I\u2019m excited, nervous, scared and sad all at the same time about it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf I\u2019m comparing it to what I\u2019ve experienced, I think this team is built like an SEC team.\u201d \u2014 Bailey Granier, UCF\u00a0offensive lineman<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Granier is from Galliano, Louisiana, where he was the captain of the football team at South Lafourche High School. It\u2019s the same high school that proudly claims LSU coach Ed Orgeron as a graduate. Orgeron led the 1977 football squad to a state championship as both an offensive and defensive lineman.<\/p>\n In his hometown of 7,350 people, Orgeron is something of a legend. His high school jersey number was retired on \u201cCoach O Day\u201d on Feb. 17, 2017, which Granier\u2019s parents attended.<\/p>\n \u201cHe knows where he came from, which is a really good thing,\u201d Granier says of Orgeron. \u201cI think that\u2019s why he\u2019s so passionate about coaching at LSU.\u201d<\/p>\n Granier says he exchanged several messages with people from back home in the days that followed the announcement of the Fiesta Bowl matchup. Some were kind. Some were funny. Others talked smack.<\/p>\n Rather than responding, Granier \u2014 along with Hayes and Evans \u2014 intends to let UCF\u2019s performance on the field speak for itself.<\/p>\n \u201cI played in the SEC for four years. I have a pretty good idea of what it\u2019s like to play against those teams,\u201d Granier says. \u201cIf I\u2019m comparing it to what I\u2019ve experienced, I think this team is built like an SEC team.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For Knights and Louisiana natives Nate Evans, Brendon Hayes and Bailey Granier, the New Year\u2019s Six bowl game against LSU means a little more. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":93339,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[1810,4857],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-93322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-football","tag-ucf-athletics"],"yoast_head":"\nOne Knight\u2019s SEC Connection<\/h2>\n