For UCF Football to Have a Great Season, Here are Four Components of the Team that Must Do Well

There are so many cliches with college football, but the following four categories certainly hold value while also being quite traditional. Football goes through changes, but some aspects of the sport hold true year after year. For the Knights, much of the following concerns stemmed from uncertainty due to several transfers and a new coaching staff.

Fall camp will help to unravel some of the situations that are listed below, while some others may take time during the regular season to define the best possible answers. Still, there’s good reason for optimism with UCF Football. Here’s a look at four categories that will make a major impact on whether or not UCF has a great football season.

Running Game Must Lead the Way, Open Passing Lanes for Gabriel

Head Coach Gus Malzahn will bring his power-spread into Orlando and it’s going to be predicated on inside zone runs that set up many other aspects of the offense. Quarterback runs, run-pass option (RPO) plays, play-action passing, screens and traditional passes are just some of the aspects of the offense that start with the inside zone. Here’s why.

If teams do not respect the Knights when it comes to running the football between the tackles, that limits UCF’s passing attack, as well as RPO plays. When a quarterback makes a decision to run or pass the football (RPO plays or ad lib), the numbers in the box are a vital part of that decision making.

Defining the number of players in the box means, from a basic standpoint, defenders that start a play near the line of scrimmage and defend from each side of the offensive tackles/tight ends. Here’s a quick video, as it’s easier for some people to see it as opposed to reading about the topic.

If an opposing defensive coordinator feels that the defense can handle UCF’s rushing attack with six defenders in the box or less, that allows more coverage options for the defense to stop UCF’s passing game and RPO game. Above everything else within this article, UCF’s running game is No. 1. That’s the priority. When the Knights move the football via the rushing attack, it’s going to be a long game for the opposing defense.

Quarterback Dillon Gabriel will shred defenses when he’s provided one-on-one coverages because teams respect UCF”s rushing attack. When a defense can mix and match coverages in an attempt to disguise what’s going on in the secondary, there will be more chances for error between Gabriel and his intended targets. Passing routes can and often will be more complex when there’s even one more defender in the secondary. Again, it’s math.

College coaches discuss this topic quite often, and it’s not something that’s going to change. The Knights must establish the rushing attack during the early portion of the 2021 college football season.

Secondary Meshes Well Together, Makes Big Plays

This is not a new topic. The Knights allowed the most plays of 10 or more yards in all of college football’s Division I level last fall. A big reason for this dreadful statistic was inconsistent play in the secondary. The Knights made some big plays, but mental errors and missed tackles often led to game-changing first downs and touchdowns.

With the arrival of a transfer like cornerback Jarvis Ware coming over from Missouri, just as one example, there are more options for the Knights at cornerback than last fall, so that certainly helps. Still, it’s about playing football as a unit. The secondary was often dysfunctional last year despite possessing NFL talent. That cannot happen again.

Until hearing what Defensive Coordinator Travis Williams says about the secondary towards the end of fall camp, very little will be known. Until that time comes, do note that this is a new coaching staff. There’s not going to be much holdover, if any at all, in terms of which players get the most reps during fall camp. Playing time will be earned at cornerback and at safety.

Here’s to hoping the secondary progresses quickly this season and the Knights change the fortunes of allowing big plays.

Transfers Should Make Huge Impact

It’s a lot of fun to speculate about which player will make the biggest impact from the transfers, but honestly, there could be several transfers that impact the UCF record. The more important point, at least a few of these young men need to bring consistent play to the gridiron for the Knights.

Hopefully there’s balance with the transfers, meaning positions on both sides of the football are improved from last fall. The secondary (two transfers) certainly needs help, but so does running back (two transfers arriving) and wide receiver (three transfers).

Which player(s) step up in the short-term, meaning the month of September, starting out hot for the Knights? There’s bound to be at least one transfer that comes out of the gate on fire considering the vast options and level of talent that was brought to UCF. That would be a big help for the 2021 team, and here are two predictions. Writer’s Picks: defensively, Big Kat Bryant at defensive end, and offensively, it’s Jordan Johnson at wide receiver.

Both of these players came to UCF with high expectations and for good reason. They were both blessed with natural ability that cannot be taught. Look for both of these players to hit the ground running in Orlando for the Knights. Here are some thoughts about Western Kentucky defensive line transfer Ricky Barber, as well as Bryant, defined by linebacker Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste.

Surprise Players Emerge

Even if it’s just one player that becomes a playmaker for the Knights that few knew about prior to this upcoming season, it could be the difference in UCF going 9-3 and being undefeated. Sometimes one player makes a huge difference in an overall unit, and that’s part of the allure of college football and its unpredictable player trends.

That would be the same situation for UCF. With the transfers that are coming to UCF alone, there’s quite a bit of uncertainty. Now, one must also consider the fact that there will be new offensive and defensive schemes being implemented. Therefore, returning players that UCF fans may not consider prominent players could in fact become prominent players.

With a new scheme comes new opportunity. That factor certainly lends credence to this being a really interesting season for UCF fans, as well as the UCF coaches. The coaches will not even know which player(s) will emerge from the transfers or the returning roster. That’s what practice is all about, and that’s what fall camp should help to define: who will emerge?

As for a position group, running back is a 100% lock to be a part of this list. The top three running backs departed from last season, meaning there has to be a player emerging in the backfield. Beyond running back, the Knights really need something good to happen at tight end.

There’s little experience behind Jake Hescock. Two players honestly need to emerge so that there’s a good substitution pattern, as well as the ability to run different formation groups like a three tight end set near the goal line.

On defense, look for Kennesaw State linebacker transfer Bryson Armstrong to be an impact player, especially early in the season with special teams. That young man is a tackling machine.

Another defender to keep in mind that few people know much about would be Hirkley Latu, a Hawaiian (that’s familiar for UCF fans) that started his college career at Brigham Young and is now at UCF. Latu was hovering around 200-pounds coming out of Kahuku High School, and he is now weighing 250-pounds. Keep an eye on Latu as an edge defender.

One of the UCF players, if not two or three, will emerge this fall. Hopefully that player or players makes a dent in the UCF win-loss record as much as he does his own statistics.

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