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One week into preseason camp, UCF held their first scrimmage inside the Bounce House on Sunday. Head coach
Gus Malzahn said the defense won the day.
What did you learn about your team after the first scrimmage?
"Overall I thought it was a good day. The defense dominated the scrimmage. It was real impressive the way they flew around. The first offense only had one touchdown and it was called back for holding. It was an opportunity for offense to see how we handle adversity, how we respond. But I'm very proud of our defense. They played with great energy. I think they tackled well. They played very physical.
"We started out the scrimmage with some live field goal, field goal block. Started out with that. Then we went old-school scrimmage, put the ball down and wherever it ended up, we played it. It was normal tempo. It was a run-oriented scrimmage. That was by design. Our next scrimmage will be a little more equal.
"I think we learned something. As coaches, we wanted to learn some things about defensive players, offensive players. Especially the new and young guys. It's hard to say right now who's stands out. We need to watch the film this afternoon and see where we're at. Start to try our best to put the pieces of the puzzle (together).
"There were a couple field goals and that was about it. It was real impressive show by the defense."
Run oriented, so how did the running backs look?
"I'm worried about holding on to the football. We had one fumble. The defense got it. It was one of the younger guys. It's the first day we let
(Isaiah) Bowser get tackled. Bowser probably had two to three series. It was good to get him out there. That's probably all he'll do.
Johnny Richardson had a long run, about 70 yards, that got called back. The rest of the guys probably got pretty close to equal carries. We learned a lot."
What did you have your quarterbacks do and what did you learn?
"We weren't able to go quarterbacks live, so you don't get a chance to get a really great feel. How they ran the offense, how they communicated, that's really what we'll look at as far as execution. There wasn't a lot of long drives. It was more of how a team responds to them. How we respond to adversity on the sideline."
Besides the energy from the defense, what else stood out about them?
"They were having fun and playing physical, good, hard-nosed defense. It felt good watching them fly around."
Mikey Keene, even looking back since the spring, what have you seen specifically that's different?
"You can tell he's a year advanced. He understands concepts and situations. True freshmen, you're learning as you go. He's got a better feel for that. He's continuing to improve."
You said the quarterbacks weren't live. Does that limit what John Rhys Plumlee can showcase?
"Obviously he can make plays with his feet. Strategically, you do the best you can about when you think he'd be down. That's the challenge. We can still learn quite a bit from what we see."
What did you learn from watching your linebackers?
"It was the whole defense. There really wasn't one group that stood out. The secondary was making plays. Defensive line was very disruptive. They had a great pass rush today. The linebackers, I felt them out there. Their presence. They're really confident and were flying around trying to play physical."
You said you kicked a couple field goals?
"Daniel (Obarski), I think he had all the field goals.
(Colton) Boomer has a little bit of a tweak so we're going to rest him until he's 100 percent. Obarski is the one who got the reps. We punted within the scrimmage, just a snapper and a punter and returner. I couldn't even tell you how that went. I'll look on the film to see that. Especially our new punter (
Mitch McCarthy), I'm curious to see how he reacts in situations. We were going to do some live punt return. We'll push that to our next day we're in shoulder pads. Be a little more specific with that."
Did any young guys stand out?
"It's hard for me to say. If I say one guy, there's probably two or three I'm going to leave out. I'd rather not. The next time I talk to you I can tell you who stood out in a good way and who didn't."
The timeline for naming a quarterback starter, is that still pretty fluid?
"What our offensive staff said, let's get through the first two scrimmages. That's for everybody. Then we'll see where we're at. My experience is usually the whole team knows who the starting quarterback needs to be. We'll see if that happens. Right now, I'm not putting a date down with it."
In the days before the scrimmage, you said you were working on third down and red zone. How did that go?
"It was really good to go third down with our offense and our defense. Yesterday, we took it off their legs and it was red zone. Red zone is a completely different world. There were a few red zone series live. That's always different with how guys respond. Offensively, right now, we're trying to figure out who we can count on. Who is game ready. Who is really a part of the team with that? The great thing on a day like this when you're struggling on one side of the ball, you really get to see if we're going to fight through and stick together. That's the positive as you move forward from a coach's standpoint."
What are your expectations for Tre'Mon Morris-Brash this camp?
"Rush the passer and be one of the best pass rushers in college football."
What do you think about the new practice scheduling format with three days on and then a day off?
"That's by design too. Trying to help our guys with the soft tissue, the wear and tear. Football is a routine. Once you get to the season, it's three to four days and then you play. So we're trying to monitor that. A lot of times in fall camp, you get just as much data or more data in a walk-through when you can slow down and teach. My experience is attention spans for players in meeting rooms every year kind of goes down. If you actually walk through and show them and teach. Oh, okay. They're so used to everything happening quickly with their phones and all that. A lot of times off days are even more beneficial than pad days."
What's the plan this week? You have another scrimmage next weekend? What's the objective?
"We'll clean it up. We'll correct. We'll have all the corrections and everything that goes with it. We'll have a special teams emphasis. Then we'll gear up for the next scrimmage. Hopefully at the next scrimmage we'll have a lot of good information."
Will the quarterbacks be live in the next scrimmage?
"I haven't decided yet. Before, I'd say no but you never know."
How would you describe the communication between players on the field?
"Some good, some bad. It was hot out there today. We're rolling and going. The communication, the effort, the attention to detail needs to improve especially on the offensive side. And it will."
Is the scrimmage on Saturday?
"Yes."
How would you describe the debut of your wife's podcast?
"I'm going to be honest with you. I saw five minutes of it. We did it about three weeks ago. I can't remember everything. She's the star of the show. Like I said before, she's the personality of the group. I'm real excited for her."
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