Who Is Andrew Brito?
Orlando, FL- During the fourth quarter of the University of Central Florida’s game against SMU, fans would be understandably confused when UCF Head Coach Gus Malzahn sent in a quarterback that until then had not received playing time with the school.
That quarterback is redshirt-senior quarterback Andrew Brito, who transferred to the Orlando based university during this past Summer. Brito stands at a listed 5’9, 170 pounds, and hails from Paramus, N.J. where he excelled at Paramus Catholic High School earning the nickname “ChaCha.”
After his high school performances Brito took his talents to College of the Canyons, a junior college in Santa Clarita, Cal., where he was one of the best junior college quarterbacks in the country as a freshman, passing for 3,071 yards and 30 touchdowns. His sophomore campaign was cut short as he only played four games, granting him a redshirt year, but he still managed 1,092 yards and nine touchdowns.
His junior college performance ranked him as a three star quarterback according to 247Sports Composite, receiving scholarship offers from Austin Peay, Maine, Massachusetts, Morgan State, and Western Illinois.
Brito chose to continue his career at the University of Massachusetts, where he played six games during his redshirt sophomore season, completing 93 of his 170 passes for 830 yards and seven touchdowns. That included a performance of 239 yards and two touchdowns against the University of Connecticut, who UCF faces this week.
After only appearing in one game in 2020 where he completed his sole pass of the season for a loss of five yards, Brito decided to enter the transfer portal. On the 2nd of August, Brito announced his intentions to join UCF as a walk-on with two years of eligibility remaining.
Brito spoke on why he chose UCF, “For me, it was being able to compete around real talent day in and day out. Being able to test myself and see where I stand when I compete against the best. Also, the opportunity to build relationships with players and coaches who know and have played this game at a very high level.”
Brito already entrenched himself as part of the team, making quick friends with all of his teammates. He’s even been going to UCF’s unofficial barber, “Monster Tha Barber” in Oviedo, Fla. getting his hair put into cornrows, as “The Ultimate Short King” would do.
Immediately upon entering Saturday’s game Brito took his opportunity looking comfortable in the pocket, immediately firing a pass to Jaylon Griffin for 14 yards, then getting the ball to Amari Johnson for 21 yards. The final three plays of the game, Brito worked on the ground picking up six yards, before taking a sack, then on the last play of the game picking up nine yards on a scramble.
With only three games remaining for UCF against Connecticut, USF, and an unnamed bowl game opponent, it will be interesting to see how much more playing time Brito receives in what could be the final year of his collegiate playing career.
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