#ChargeOn Today: Fall camp has arrived 🏈 What we know, what we don't and 3 players to watch
Before we jump into the fall camp preview, let’s give a quick shout out to Phil Dalhausser, a 2002 UCF grad, who just completed a heck of an Olympic career, retiring from beach volleyball. His resume is legendary:
🏐Four-time Olympian
🏐2008 Olympic Gold Medalist
🏐2007 World Champion
Here’s the craziest thing: He never officially wore a UCF uniform. Dalhausser played indoor club volleyball while in college, before transitioning to beach after graduation. He said it helped delay him having to get “a real job”. Guess things worked out just fine.
Today’s read is 5 minutes ⏲️
Trending in the Kingdom: It's Camp SZN 🏈
Gus Malzahn at UCF's Media Day on Tuesday (Photo courtesy: @UCF_Football)
We’ve arrived at Fall camp, with the opener against Boise State less than a month away. Gus Malzahn’s group has a lot of roster details to iron out before Sept. 2 and camp can tell us a lot about what this year’s group will look like.
Here’s the scoop: Let’s just set the table for you, because with the influx of transfers, NFL departures and roster reconstruction, there’s been some changes. Malzahn has made it clear it’s all about figuring out what he has in camp, since spring went by so quickly.
“I don’t think it’s one position battle,” Malzahn said during Tuesday’s Media Day, ahead of camp opening. “I think it’s learning more about our team. Putting them in game-type situations and how they respond…because it was a very fast 15 days in spring.”
There are some leftovers from the Huepel era, which makes year one much easier for Malzahn in Orlando, especially when you have one of the best quarterbacks in the sport returning to lead your offense.
Three things we do know:
1. Gabriel will lead yet another high-scoring offense
There’s only a handful of teams in the country - and you can count them on one hand - that are better equipped at the quarterback position heading into the 2021 season. Dillon Gabriel has gotten better each season and despite a 6-4 outing last year, he still was top five in the FBS in passing yards, threw just four interceptions and has thrown 35 deep ball passes (20 yards or more), which is more than anybody in the sport.
🌈 Here’s Gus on Gabriel’s fit in the new offense:
“More than anything, it’s be efficient and protect the football,” Malzahn said. “We’ve got some new guys around him, either transfers or freshman guys, and we’ll just see who we can count on. He’s a guy that, honestly, will keep developing and keep improving, but we know what we’ve got with him pretty much with the information from the last two years and spring. Just getting the pieces to the puzzle around him is probably the most important thing.”
Per ESPN, UCF has ranked in the offensive SP+ top 15 for four straight seasons and that’s expected to continue with a ton of offensive talent returning. There’s question marks at running back and the loss of some of his favorite targets in the passing game, but Gabriel’s ability to make plays happen with his legs and Gus’ love affair with the RPO (run-pass option) should be a match made in heaven.
2. The offensive line may be the best unit on this team
The most experienced, too, which I’m sure Gabriel is giddy about. UCF returns every starter up front, including first-team all-conference center Matt Lee and guard Cole Schneider.
There’s 86 career starts among those returning, so it’s a veteran group who’s only going to be better. The line allowed 22 sacks last season, which was 63rd-best in the FBS, but you’re going to have that when you’ve got a quarterback moving around like Gabriel does.
3. Kalia Davis’ return will make this defense much better
Despite having two NFL Draft picks in the secondary, UCF’s defense couldn’t have been much worse last season. They ranked 123rd out of 127 teams in total defense and 93rd in rush defense, but that was without defensive lineman Kalia Davis, who opted out due to COVID-19. He’s back, and one of the lone leftovers from those 2017 and 2018 AAC championship clubs. I think it’ll make a massive difference on the defensive front.
Davis was one of 10 players who decided to sit amid the pandemic last year, but when he played in 2019, he was a force, especially at getting in the backfield. He had eight tackles for loss, three sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, earning first-team all-conference honors by Pro Football Focus.
Davis is fresh, motivated and maybe we’ll see him line up in the wildcat format this fall as an added bonus. 🤣
Three things we don’t know:
1. Who steps up in the secondary?
Losing three-time, first-team all-conference safety Richie Grant is going to sting the worst, but so will the loss of corner Aaron Robsinon (and Tay Gowan, even though he sat out in 2020). There’s a lot of inexperience in that defensive secondary, so it’ll be interesting to see who emerges in camp.
Derek Gainous, Davonte Brown, Corey Thornton and Zamari Maxwell are back, but all are pretty raw and have room to grow. Hopefully last year’s experience will help. The addition of Jarvis Ware (Missouri), Divaad Wilson (Georgia) and Marco Domio (Auburn) in the transfer portal prove Malzahn and defensive coordinator Travis Williams saw a clear need for depth and experience, but there is talent here, so we’ll see who shows out.
2. Which transfer makes the biggest impact?
I already hit on Ware, Wilson and Domio, who will have plenty of opportunities to step up, but they’re just three of the 13 transfers that will boost multiple position groups on this roster. I’ll hit on the running backs in a second, so let’s skip that group for a moment.
To me, the trio that has the chance to make the biggest noise is DL Big Kat Bryant (Auburn) and DL Ricky Barber Jr. (WKU) on defense and WR Nate Craig-Myers on offense.
Bryant is far and away one of the best additions to the roster. The former four-star recruit left Auburn to improve his draft stock, which he should be able to do easily at UCF. The former two-year starter and All-SEC selection as a freshman piled up 56 tackles, including 11.5 for a loss and 10 sacks, as well as a pair of interceptions, two forced fumbles and seven pass breakups at Auburn.
“Big Kat stepped right in, which I expected him to do,” Malzahn said on Tuesday. “He stepped right into a leadership role. He’s one of those guys that’s respected for what he’s done on the field. He’s got leadership ability. He’s a hard worker. I believe he has earned the respect of his teammates in a short period of time. That didn’t surprise me at all.”
I like Barber to add to the run defense alongside Bryant and Davis on that defensive front and I believe Craig-Myers, who I covered when he was coming out at Pasco High School, will have a shot to steal receptions away from Ryan O'Keefe as the No. 2 wide receiver. He’s that good.
3. Will a RB1 emerge from the group?
I’d hoped Bentavious Thompson would flex his talent this year with a wide-open backfield, but that’s no longer the case. Malzahn confirmed he’s off the team, but didn’t go into detail as to why.
Thompson’s exit means UCF’s top three rushers from last season are all gone, leaving us with this group to fight for carries. We’ll see how the depth chart shakes out, but here’s my best guess to open camp.
Isaiah Bowser (Northwestern transfer)
Mark-Antony Richards (Auburn transfer)
RJ Harvey
Johnny Richardson
Damarius Good
Anthony Williams
Trillion Coles
JaJuan Forte
Harvey scored three times in the spring game, so there’s recency-bias here, but Malzahn was asked about both transfer running backs and got juiced when Bowser’s name was brought up. The former Northwestern running back had a sensational freshman season, but battled injuries in the years since.
On Bowser: “Very excited about Isaiah. You talk about a guy who started in the Big Ten championship game. He is another guy who’s earned his teammates respect and really excited to see him on the practice field.”
On Richards: “He was highly recruited, a top 100-150 player, something like that, so he’s a very talented young man. He’s battled some injuries and I think he’s close to being really healthy. I’m curious to see how he’ll respond, but he is very talented.”
The good news is there’s an embarrassment of riches, and maybe that’s a good thing. The last regime was really good at using different backs depending on defensive looks and game situations. We’ll see if Gus’ group operates the same way, but he made it clear UCF has to be balanced to win a conference title, which means someone’s going to lead this team in rushing, and I doubt it’ll be Gabriel.
Give me a Knugget 🐴: UCF returns just 13.3% of its rushing yardage from last season, which ranks bottom five in the country, according to CFB Winning Edge. The stat was pointed out by Jason Beede, of Knights247.
3 players to watch in camp 👀
Johnny Richardson has the speed to play an "AK-type" roll in the offense. (Photo: AP)
There’s always guys each camp that emerge as the stars or surprises, and this group has a few candidates that could stand out.
Fill me in 👀: 17 starters are back from 2020, so for the sake of this piece, we’re going to skip the well-known guys. With that said, let’s look at three players you should keep an eye on this spring, and this is totally in my opinion, for what it’s worth.
Sophomore RB Johnny Richardson
As I noted above, it’s a stacked group at running back, but if there’s one guy I really want to watch this spring, it’s Richardson. He’s a firecracker and showed that in spurts last season (scored a TD against ECU) and this spring, where he totaled 137 yards in the spring game.
The sophomore is arguably the fastest guy on the roster and that SEC-level speed isn’t something Malzahn will just leave in the clip. Malzahn said the only thing he lacks is experience and this fall could go a long way in him forcing his way onto the field, especially with the way he can scoot.
Fun fact 🪧: Richardson had one of the best high school games you’ll ever see, rushing for 414 yards and seven touchdowns on just 18 carries in a game back in 2019. The total fell just short of the Polk County record of 436 yards set by Frostproof’s Travis Henry in 1996.
Redshirt Senior LB Bryson Armstrong
I swear this dude reminds me of Zach Thomas when I watch his tape. He’s all over the field and his 5-foot-11 frame doesn’t get in the way of that tenacity. The Kennesaw State transfer is a back-to-back all-FCS selection, the reigning Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Year and was the best defensive player in the school’s history. Now he beefs us a talented, but young linebacker group.
I’d expect Armstrong to catch on pretty fast and emerge as one of the leaders of that defense, especially with a resume that includes 314 career tackles, 40 tackles for loss and 18.5 sacks in 45 FCS games. Seriously, just watch this dude’s film.
Fun fact 🪧: He’s a two-time finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the FCS’ best defensive player. He left Kennesaw State with 13 single-game, season or career records.
Sophomore DB Corey Thornton
There’s so much potential here with Thornton and he showed flashes of that last season, being thrown to the wolves as a rookie. He was bound to see the field, following a preseason true freshman All-America nomination from 247Sports, and started all 10 games at corner, saving the Boca Bowl for one of his best performances (season-high 9 tackles vs. BYU). Last season, 12 defensive players started their first-career games and Thornton certainly showed he belonged, but a lot of that was by necessity.
He’ll get the benefit of the doubt in camp to keep his job, but the transfers should push him for playing time. That’ll lead to some serious growth, which this secondary desperately needs. I like Thornton to take a step forward this fall.
Fun fact 🪧: As PFF points out, Thornton’s 661 snaps last season were the fourth-most by a cornerback in the American Athletic Conference.
Knights of the Roundup 🏀⚽🏈
From 1991-94 @CoachHinshaw put up 🔥 all-time numbers & left as the career leader in:
-Passing TDs (82)
-Passing yards (9,000)
-Pass completions (614)
-Pass efficiency (138.18)
-Yards per completion (14.7) https://t.co/alfYcxJfCg
🏀Heck of a performance by Florida TNT, which included former Knight ballers Keith Clanton, Triston Spurlock and Matt Williams in The Tournament. They fell a win shy of the $1M championship game.
⚽ UCF women’s soccer has a pretty stacked schedule this year, which includes Texas in town in a few weeks.
🏈 Malzahn added Darin Hinshaw to the staff as an offensive analyst. That name should sound familiar. He fired passes for the Knights from 1991-94 and left as the school’s leader in a number of quarterback categories.
By Ryan Bass
The #ChargeOn Today Newsletter is dedicated to covering trending UCF Athletics news and topics. Have some feedback? Shoot me a message: chargeontoday@gmail.com
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