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UCF’s Ty Bartrum Graded a Top-10 Returning S in the Big 12
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- UCF’s Ty Bartrum Graded a Top-10 Returning S in the Big 12
(Mike Watters/Imagn Images)
A career season for Ty Bartrum at Harvard has made him the second-best returning safety in the Big 12 for the UCF Knights .
Pro Football Focus College gave Bartrum an 87.9 rating , 1.2 points higher than Iowa State 's Micah Harper and 3.5 points lower than Arizona 's Cam Chapa. All three are transfers coming from the FCS level.
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The Harvard transfer was the team's lone captain last season. He elevated the program to new heights in his final season, helping them earn an at-large bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs in the Ivy League's first season of eligibility.
Bartrum earned multiple postseason honors and nominations, including FCS Football Central All-America Third Team, Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America and All-Ivy League First Team for the second straight season.
He started all 11 games for the Crimson , extending his streak to 30 straight. The 6-foot-1 safety finished second on the team with 83 tackles (27 solo), forced two fumbles and recorded one interception on the season.
Bartrum said if you don't miss tackles, you're going to be a great player. Tackling is his strongest attribute, but he's still focused on improving other areas, like making plays on the ball in the air.
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"Balls in the air, it's your ball, Bartrum told local reporters on April 2 . "Get it at the highest point. If you're around the ball a lot, you're going to make a lot of plays, and that's what I try to focus on."
UCF has a senior-laden defensive back group with multiple seasons of starting experience, and it doubled down on that by signing Bartrum during January's transfer portal cycle. He's embracing the new competition in the Big 12, saying he wants to play and be among the best players.
Bartrum wants to help the Knights win a championship -- the entire team does -- and he doesn't care about how many snaps he receives, whether that's maintaining his starting streak in Orlando or making an impact on special teams, as his father did in the NFL for 15 years.
His teammate, quarterback Alonza Barnett III , highlighted the conference parity. There has been no repeat champion in eight seasons, and he's embodying a "Why not us?" mentality . UCF has struggled in the Big 12, posting a 7-20 record over the last three seasons, but this new squad gives Coach Scott Frost similar vibes to the undefeated 2017 team he coached.
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Frost recruited an experienced safety who elevated his previous program and could make an immediate impact for his team. Bartrum will play his first snaps of Big 12 football in UCF's home opener against Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 3.
