After eight seasons in the NFL, Former UCF Quarterback Blake Bortles who lead the Knights to their first BCS Bowl win in 2014 announced he has retired from football.
The former UCF great that played quarterback for the Knights under the George O’ Leary era from (2010-2013) took to his social media Wednesday to announce that his playing days are over.
“I have made the difficult decision to step away from the game I love and officially retire from football. Much love to my family, fans, and teammates,” Bortles said in a statement.
UCF Head Coach Gus Malzahn wished the former UCF great well in his retirement after all he has done.
The announcement comes off the heels of an appearance on the Pardon My Take Podcast where he revealed that although he made the announcement official Wednesday, Bortles said he quietly retired form the game about a month ago after being waived by the Saints in April of this year.
“I have not touched a football since January,” Bortles said. “I quietly—I didn’t tell anybody—I retired two months ago probably. I just didn’t tell anyone, so I guess you guys are the first to hear publicly.”
During eight season NFL run, Bortles played in 78 games after being drafted 3rd overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2014. Bortles started 73 of those games for the Jaguars and threw for 17,649 yards 103 touchdowns through the air and 1,766 yards rushing with eight touchdowns on the ground.
Bortles highlight season in 2018 where he led the Jaguars to the AFC Championship falling short to the New England Patriots.
Bortles, now a UCF Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, is recognized as one of the best quarterbacks ever for the Knights throwing for 7,598 yards, 56 touchdowns through the air, 561 yards rushing and 15 scores on the ground.
This all cumulated in the 2013 season where Bortles led UCF to its first BCS Bowl win beating the then #1 ranked offense in country with the Baylor Bears to win the Fiesta Bowl, where he would win MVP for the game and Offense player of the year for the American Athletic Conference.
Bortles’ legacy reflects as one of the best to ever come to UCF. Congrats on your retirement Bortles, one of the best Knights to ever do it.
