UCF's Defensive Linemen and Wide Receivers Impressed against Boise State

After concentrating towards watching the UCF defensive linemen and the wide receivers, the two units each proved that they are going to be a handful for opponents all season long.

Author:
Brian Smith
Updated:
Sep 3, 2021 1:15 PM EDT
Original:
Sep 3, 2021

If anyone questioned the UCF Football team’s talent coming into this season, watch the replay of the game against Boise State. Mental errors aside that come with first games, there are numerous players for the Knights that can play for any college football program in the land.

More specifically, the defensive line and wide receiver talent is really good, especially from an athletic standpoint, and it’s going to be difficult to handle either unit moving forward.

Defensive Line Provides Playmakers

Perhaps it would have been best to just place a checkmark on a sheet of paper each time a UCF defensive lineman ran down a Boise State running back or forced signal caller Hank Bachmeier to move off his spot. The Knights defensive line, including edge rusher Big Kat Bryant, oftentimes overwhelmed the Boise State front.

There were speed rushes by Bryant that created havoc; that was expected. What many did not know was that Kalia Davis is a “dude” along the interior that was rarely blocked efficiently by one offensive lineman. Ricky Barber made his mark with consistent penetration into the Broncos’ backfield, too.

Those three players -- Bryant, Davis and Barber -- made the Knights formidable along the defensive line. They combined for 13 tackles and five tackles for loss. That’s a great start, but there’s more.

As players such as defensive end Anthony Montalvo, who recorded three tackles and one tackle for loss of his own, get more and more acclimated with playing along the other defensive linemen, there’s bound to be even more production from the unit as a whole. It was a great game for Montalvo at defensive end.

Now, opposing teams must make difficult choices about how to run block and pass block that will drive offensive coordinators crazy. Keeping an extra running back or tight end in the backfield to pass block is a win for the defense before a play even begins. That’s what may happen moving forward, as the UCF defensive line is a force to be reckoned with.

Making Football A Track Meet

Those special plays where a receiver or running back zooms by a defense with an effortless gate. Those plays are unique. UCF possesses several players with that type of speed. It helped the Knights literally run past the Broncos late Thursday night.

Take your pick. Who’s the fastest UCF offensive skill player? Regardless, it’s an overall group with 4x100 speed that could compete for many college track programs. There’s some shiftiness as well.

Several times a UCF offensive skill player made a Boise State defender just look bad. Stop-and-start, then hit the gas. Hesitation move, watch the defender run by, then take off again. Those plays presented themselves several times throughout the game. There’s also the ‘Bowser Effect’ that’s likely to go into hyperdrive moving forward.

As Isaiah Bowser’s exploits continue to grow, so too will the big plays from other UCF skill position players. Teams will need to concentrate on the big running back after he whalloped the Broncos for 172 yards rushing and a touchdown. Teams will need to concentrate on UCF's running game, and that opens the door for the speed of the wide receivers to make even more plays in space.

The speed and crafty moves of wide receivers like Ryan O’Keefe (three receptions, 45 yards), Brandon Johnson (five receptions, 47 yards, one touchdown) Jaylon Robinson (six receptions, 140 yards, one touchdown) and Titus Mokiao-Atimalala (three receptions, 19 yards, one touchdown) can be utilized even better now that there's a legitimate rushing attack. There are several other speedy UCF wide receivers like Amari Johnson (left the game with an apparent shoulder injury) that could also make big contributions this fall.

Final Thoughts

It was a great start to the 2021 season for the defensive line and the wide receiver corps. They proved what they could do against Boise State, and now it’s just a matter of how many different ways these two units can impact future games? It’s going to be fun watching them play to find out.

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