UCF Knights Offer Update on Wide Receiver Competition

UCF Knights Offensive Coordinator Steve Cooper once again talked about the depth of the wide receiver room after Thursday's practice.

With no returning production from last season's wide receiver room, the Knights will have a new look at the position this season.

"It's super important to develop depth, and there's certainly some guys that we feel really comfortable with playing football here," Cooper said. "Obviously, we got a long ways to go, and we're going to continue to work, but that's been nice to see that group really step up and make some plays in critical situations in practice."

One of these new additions is ex Charlotte 49er Duane Thomas Jr., who coaches and other players have been calling "Speedy." Thomas said the nickname came from his time playing youth football as a seven- or eight-year-old. A running back at the time, Thomas said his head coach gave him the name after he raced the rest of his team and was "running past everybody" and "just wouldn't lose."

While Thomas may have the speed-based nickname, he said the entire wide receiver room is fast.

"I think the biggest thing, we're really explosive, really fast," Thomas said. "Everybody can make the easy play, but everybody can also make the tough catches."

While Thomas was mentioned as a contender for the starting job by wide receivers coach Sean Beckton at the start of fall camp, coach Scott Frost mentioned a different wide receiver near the start of fall camp that was "fun to watch:" Chattanooga transfer Chris Domercant.

Orlando is Domercant's third stop of his college career, but his first at an FBS school. A Bellingham, Massachusetts native, he played his first three seasons, redshirting one of them, at Stonehill before transferring to Chattanooga last year. In his lone season with the Mocs, he recorded 36 receptions for 640 yards and two touchdowns.

"It's obviously a dream come true," Domercant said. "Coming out of high school, I feel like every kid that plays sports always wanted to play at the highest level."

Domercant also highlighted the receivers' speed, elaborating on Frost's utilization of speed in his offense, which he said would "put the defense in a bind."

"[Frost] stresses the little details as far as just getting set fast," Domercant said. "So, it's like the defense is, like, getting the calls or whatever, we might be able to catch them off-guard sometimes, so stuff like that."

Their first opportunity to show off their speed in front of UCF fans comes in the Knights' season-opener against Jacksonville State on Aug. 28.

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