UCF Offensive Linemen Ruled Out For Texas Tech Game
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The first player availability report for the UCF Knights' matchup with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, released on Wednesday night, has already ruled out several players.
For offensive linemen Carter Miller and Keegan Smith, Saturday marks their first missed match of the season. Miller has served as the Knights' starting center in all nine games this season to this point. Smith has also seen action in all nine games, though he has not started one since UCF's conference opener against Kansas State.
Quarterback Cam Fancher was also ruled out, which makes Texas Tech his fourth consecutive missed game. However, quarterback Tayven Jackson was not mentioned in the report, signaling his availability for Saturday. Coach Scott Frost said on Tuesday that Jackson told him he had a hamstring issue during pregame warmups for the Houston game.
As for players that were injured during that Houston game, defensive back Braeden Marshall was the only one among them to get ruled "doubtful." The rest of them, running back Myles Montgomery, linebacker Jayden McDonald, defensive end Malachi Lawrence and defensive end Nyjalik Kelly, were all ruled as "questionable."
Montgomery leads the Knights with 614 rushing yards. Lawrence leads the team with 10 tackles for loss and seven sacks. Kelly leads the team with six quarterback hurries, is the only defensive lineman with over 30 solo tackles on the season, and he and Lawrence have forced two fumbles each. McDonald, a backup linebacker, has caught an interception and recovered a fumble this season.
"You get to this point in the season, we're dealing with some injuries," offensive coordinator Steve Cooper said on Tuesday. "Cool thing is, no one's making excuses. It's next man up, and we got smart, smart coaches that can figure out the rotation of those things to be able to get through practice and try to put those guys in position, the guys that maybe haven't played as much, try to put them in position where they're going to have some success so they get the confidence that they need, and they will have to play on Saturday."
Another name not mentioned in the report is defensive back Jayden Williams. The Florida Atlantic transfer has missed the Knights' last six games due to a combination of a broken thumb and then the surgery to fix it failing, resulting in him needing to get a pin in said thumb, Frost said last month.
As for the Knights' opponent, the Red Raiders have two key defensive players listed as "questionable:" former UCF defensive lineman Lee Hunter and linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech's leading tackler and the Preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.
New player availability reports for both teams are released on Thursday and Friday at 10 p.m. EST, with a final one coming out 90 minutes before kickoff. Kickoff for the Knights and Red Raiders game is set for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, putting the final player availability release at 2 p.m.
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Bryson Turner is a sports journalist who covers UCF Athletics. Turner has contributed to the Black and Gold Banneret, the home for UCF Athletics on SB Nation. He has called the Orlando area home since the age of 8 and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from UCF.
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