Knights Kick Off Spring Practice With Malzahn Press Conference

Gus Malzahn’s Monday press conference was the introduction to UCF Football’s spring practice, and there are some key points to discuss.

Author:
Brian Smith
Publish date:
Mar 15, 2022 11:33 AM EDT

ORLANDO - To say that Gus Malzahn was giddy during his Monday press conference, it would be an understatement. His body language, voice inflection and smile all showed a man that’s happy with where the Knights stand heading into spring ball. Here are some takeaways from that press conference, starting with his philosophy about spring practice.

First, Coach Malzahn made a statement at the very beginning that’s simply important to note. “Our emphasis is to develop and teach.” That’s what spring ball is all about. The ability to get better, across the board. He also announced the schedule.

“We will practice on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. That will give us time to make corrections from the day before, and slow down or install. So we are really trying to stress the development of each guy, individually and team-wise, as far as that goes.”

Familiarity will help in year two.

“The good thing now is we know our players.”

Well said. In fact, that might be the biggest change from last spring to the current spring. The entire UCF coaching staff went through a transition last season as they learned names, faces, and player abilities. That’s in the past. UCF has an identity to build upon with a 9-4 season with the offenses and defenses installed. With that in mind, he mentioned some players that would be out or limited due to injury. A few notes.

From the players that would be out, it’s unfortunate that defensive backs Jarvis Ware and Quadric Bullard will miss spring ball. Ware missed last season with injury, and he’s a talented young man that could help at cornerback or potentially safety.

With Bullard, it’s the simple fact that he’s a leader and one heck of a tackler. He’s probably the best tackler in the UCF secondary, to be honest. Bullard’s ability to help the younger defensive backs continue to grow can still be utilized with him being at practice and a part of the meetings, etc.

Quadric Bullard

As for those placed in “limited basis” for practice, according to Malzahn, would be defensive end Malachi Lawrence, running back RJ Harvey and linebacker Terrence Lewis. Lawrence redshirted, so not much is known about where he’s at with his development. Harvey is coming off a knee injury, but he’s expected to help the Knights in the fall. Very talented runner, and possibly a player that could help in the passing game as well. Lewis, of course, is one of the most talented players to ever come to UCF. For him, getting healthy is priority No. 1. Learning the playbook with the UCF coaches can take place off the field just as much as during practice. No worries there. Lewis is a special talent.

Moving to the questions from the media, an interesting big picture question from UCF student and Inside The Knights writer Stephen Leonard came about.

Coach, you finished last year on a high with the win against Florida, the State Champions. What’s next for UCF?

“Of course, I felt like we were the best team in the state last year, but our goals are a lot higher than that. Our goal is to be the best team in college football. And that’s what we are striving to do every day. Our guys understand that. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

For about any UCF fan, that’s the type of point blank mentality that’s desired. Malzahn was brought in to win games, bring UCF up to a higher level, and eventually compete for National Titles. He’s not shying away from it.

Speaking of not shying away from it, the quarterback competition came up and Malzahn was direct about what’s expected.

“Yeah, it’s open competition,” Malzahn stated very quickly. “Every position is going to be open. We are going to rotate those guys (quarterbacks). First week…Mikey will be the first one to trot out there, okay? But the first week, give all five of them an opportunity to show what they can do. Then we’ll kind of narrow it down as we go, and our goal is to have it in some kind of order once we leave spring.

“The good thing is we have some really talented young men at that position. And that’s a position you can’t have enough depth at.”

Another interesting point came from a question regarding what Malzahn and his staff wish to accomplish from spring. One important note from that question:

“What are our strengths?”

There are many ways to analyze spring practice. Each coaching staff utilizes the 15 practices a little bit differently. Malzahn made it clear that he wants to go slower and work on basics, i.e. “The foundation” as he called it.

With all of the returning talent for UCF, that philosophy should allow the Knights to be really good at not only its core offensive, defensive, and special teams plays, but also work towards fundamentals.

College football is still about who can block and tackle. That’s often overlooked. Malzahn’s statement about strengths combined with slowing things down and working on the foundation is something to remember moving forward. It’s a good strategy for the college level overall.

In roughly a week, perhaps 10 days, it will be interesting to see what each of the UCF coaches say that come to the podium to speak with the media. Each practice brings new concepts, depth charts change, and players emerge. It’s going to be a very interesting spring for the Knights as they prepare for the second year under Malzahn’s watch.

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