Ty Bartrum and Jaden Craig are about to turn a longtime friendship into a one-day Big 12 collision.
When UCF and TCU meet Saturday, the matchup will bring together two players who have shared a lot more than a conference link. Bartrum, now a standout safety at UCF, and Craig, TCU’s starting quarterback, were teammates at Harvard, roommates in Cambridge and best friends long before they landed on opposite sides of the field.
Their connection goes back even further than college. Both grew up in New Jersey, got to know each other during their senior years of high school and took their official visit to Harvard together. They clicked right away, then carried that bond into college as roommates and key pieces for the Crimson.
Bartrum earned multiple first-team all-conference honors in the secondary. Craig left Harvard as the program’s all-time leader in passing yardage and touchdown passes.
After last season, both players entered the transfer portal and ended up in the Big 12, though in different places. Bartrum chose UCF.
Craig chose TCU. That means the two friends who once shared a campus, a room and a huddle are now preparing to line up against each other.
Craig said the moment still feels unusual, but also exciting: "I mean, that was my roommate. That's my best friend right there.
I love him to death and I'm excited to play against him. He's picked up where he left off at Harvard, so I'm happy for him."
Bartrum has had the same game marked down for a while. "I've been looking forward to the TCU game," says Bartrum.
"I met Jaden even before we came to Harvard. He's my best friend and I wish him nothing but the best … except when he plays us!"
UCF coach Scott Frost knows the relationship too, but he doesn’t sound like he’s expecting some secret file on Craig to come from Bartrum. When asked whether he had leaned on Bartrum for extra scouting help, Frost said, "You know, they're friends.
But he (Craig) is in a completely different system, and so is Ty. So, it's always good to see people that you care about across the field from you, but it doesn't go much further than that."
For about four hours Saturday afternoon, friendship will take a back seat. Craig will be directing the Horned Frogs’ offense.
Bartrum will be trying to stop him. And at the Bounce House, two former roommates will try to beat each other for the first time in a new chapter of a story that now includes a Big 12 rivalry.
When it ends, the best friends can go right back to being best friends.
Only one of them will have bragging rights.
In Other News...
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Daunte Culpeppers path to Central Florida almost never made it to the starting line. A difficult academic stretch in high school pushed several college programs to move on, but UCF stayed in the mix long enough to offer something more practical than a sales pitch: help. Former assistant Paul Lounsberry worked with Culpepper on the schoolwork side, a crucial bit of guidance that helped him clean up his grades and reopen the door to recruitment.
Once he arrived in Orlando, Culpeppers career took off in a way UCF could hardly have drawn up better. He went on to set multiple records and became the programs first first-round NFL draft pick, a milestone that still speaks to how much the Knights gained from sticking with him when others backed away. [Read more 🡒]
UCF Faces A Huge Test Against A Quarterback Who Can Change Everything
TCU arrives with a quarterback who has already forced the rest of the Big 12 to take notice, and UCF is preparing for the kind of challenge that can stress every layer of a defense. Jaden Craig has been one of the leagues most productive passers early in the season, and Scott Frost along with defensive coordinator Alex Grinch have pointed to the difficulty of matching up with a quarterback who can extend plays, stay composed in the pocket and punish hesitation.
For the Knights, the timing makes this one even trickier. UCF is still sorting through offensive line injuries while trying to steady its protection up front, and the offense is also chasing better results on third down. Against a TCU attack led by a quarterback with the ability to change the game in a hurry, that combination turns this into more than just another Big 12 matchup. [Read more 🡒]
UCF Secondary Gets Its Real Test After Eye-Opening Start
Through the first three weeks, UCFs defense has looked far sharper than many expected, and the secondary has been a big reason why. Antione Jackson and Demari Henderson have both drawn strong marks from Pro Football Network, giving the Knights a back end that has helped set the tone while the rest of the defense settles in.
Now comes a different kind of exam. UCF is heading into a matchup with TCU, and quarterback Jaden Craig is coming off a slow start that has turned into a much more productive stretch, with multiple touchdowns and plenty of yards in recent games. For a defense that has already shown it can capitalize on mistakes, this is the kind of passing game that will tell UCF how much of its fast start really holds up. [Read more 🡒]