ABOVE VIDEO:Hear from both the offensive and defensive coordinators about the progress the players are making as well as RS sophomore receiver Tre’Quan Smith. (Chip Fontanazza, UCF Knights Video)
ORLANDO, FLORIDA (UCFKnights.com) – One consistent with UCF’s Spring Camp so far is how much intensity exists throughout each practice. The Knights continuously move fast which is allowing the entire roster to rack up the reps they need to become smarter players in the new system.
It is also allowing the coaches to become smarter on the sidelines as well.
“I told (the players) when I met with each of them, I said, ‘We’re in this thing together. We’re learning the offense. I’m going to make mistakes, you all are going to make mistakes, but we’re in this thing together. So don’t get frustrated. I’m not going to get frustrated. We’ll just keep learning and keep building each day,’” offensive coordinator Troy Walters said.
On the other side of the ball, defensive coordinator Erik Chinander has had another thing on his mind lately as he and his wife, Megan, just had their second child.
He flew to Oregon over the weekend to witness the birth of their daughter, Sophia. Chinander missed UCF’s practice on Monday but returned to Orlando that evening, and is back to focusing on the defense.
Erik Chinander
“We tell them to play one play at a time for however many the set is,” Chinander said.
“If it’s a set of eight, play one play at a time as hard as you can for eight plays in a row. And I think they are doing that. There’s a lot of mistakes and a lot of things that we need to correct. We need to get (better effort to the ball), we’re getting some, but so far I love these guys. They’re responding.”
At the end of each session, the offense takes on the defense for about 15 minutes. The defense has been coming out on top early in the spring, and on Wednesday it came down to one final drive. With no timeouts, 1:10 on the clock and looking for a field goal, senior quarterback Justin Holman found Jordan Franks, Taylor Oldham and Dontravious Wilson to get into range.
The field-goal unit came on only to witness D.J. Killings get the block. Kicker Matthew Wright was given a second chance and proceeded to drill a 40-yarder down the middle.
Throughout Wednesday’s practice, head coach Scott Frost was mic’d up for a future episode of the UCFKnights.com series, Rise and Conquer.
Following practice, UCF held its annual Pro Day where plenty of former Knights came out to support last year’s seniors and everyone who participated. Among those in attendance were Breshad Perriman, Terrance Plummer, Brandon Alexander, Billy Giovanetti, Victor Gray, Justin Tukes and many more.
Week two for the Black and Gold will wrap up on Friday with a modified scrimmage.
2016 #UCFastival: Register for free tickets or purchase VIP passes for UCF’s annual Spring Game Saturday, April 16, at 7 p.m. by visiting http://ucfastival.com. The #UCFastival features a memorable schedule of activities and events. For more information, click on ucfknights.co/UCFastival.
2016 UCF Football Season Tickets: Purchase or renew season tickets for the 2016 UCF football campaign now. Call 407-UCF-1000 or visit UCFKnights.co/16SeasonTix to put in your deposits for head coach Scott Frost’s first season with the Knights.
