We just wrapped up our 20 minutes of weekly access and there is a new weapon at WR.



Joey Gatewood has changed positions. Top two QBs are definitely MK and JRP. More later.

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UCF has plenty of experience returning in the secondary, including Justin Hodges who emerged at the nickelback position this past season.

"If we all just do our job and listen to Coach T-Will, the sky is the limit."

He really liked the the way the third team performed today, particularly Philjae Bien-Aime.

Asked about freshman CB Nikai Martinez, Hodges said he was "twitchy."

He also added Mikey Keene and John Rhys Plumlee are doing well.

Team “MK”.

I’ve watched him during his freshman season play QB and throw a football last season. I’ve seen him cast a fishing lure in a local lake. He helped UCF beat the 🐊.

From what I can see, he has everything in the tool box to be a leader on and off the field.

Not sure if he can catch a fish though.*

Excited to see him develop over the coming days, months, and 2022.

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SIAP:

Any guesses?

Arch Manning?

I became a UCF fan in 2005 as an undergrad. What was the Kruczek era like? Gene McDowell? What type of offense did we run?

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Isaiah Bowser is feeling better than ever.

Returning for a fifth year and his second in Orlando, the UCF running back is back to 100 percent after a season plagued by injury. Now in the midst of spring practice, he's looking forward to his final collegiate season.

Bowser caught up with the media on Saturday following UCF's third practice and first day of full pads:

Coach Gus Malzahn was wearing Bowser's t-shirt just a few minutes earlier.

"It's awesome he wore that," Bowser said. "It shows the kind of coach we have. Players coach. He's here to support us and make sure we're great all the time. I love to play for a guy like that. NIL gives us the opportunity to build our brand. It's definitely great we can do things like that nowadays."

How was the first day of pads?

"It was good getting the pads back on. We haven't played in a long time. I think everybody did a good job today. More than I had expected for us to be moving so well so early. We've had a good start to spring ball."

He was hobbled a bit last season with injuries that forced him to miss five games. How is he feeling now?

"That's all in the past," Bowser said. "I feel 100 percent. I'm ready to compete and keep getting better and better every day."

What's his early take on the quarterback competition?

"Right now, there's no clear cut anything right now. All those guys are competing. We're splitting the reps. Everybody is going with the ones. You know how it is. Ones, twos or threes aren't so important right now. We're just getting in the flow of things. I've been impressed with all those guys."



Gus Malzahn had mentioned earlier they were treating Bowser "like an NFL guy" in terms of managing his body.

"Me coming back, that's one thing he mentioned, to treat me more like an NFL guy in terms of my body," Bowser said. "He got me into yoga. Now I go a couple times a week. That really helps me feel lose and ready to go for each practice."

I asked more about the yoga sessions, whether a lot of guys participate.

"It's whoever wants to come on the team," Bowser said. "We've had a handful of guys. Probably 10-plus every time. A lot of older guys go mainly. A few younger guys. Old guys like me and Ryan Swoboda. We're trying to get our body in tune and ready to go. It's right over here in our facility. Coach hired an instructor to come and teach us yoga for about an hour."

What are the benefits?

"Stretching is the main thing," Bowser said. "It helps with mind and body. It connects you to your body. Your breathing. It's really beneficial to me."

Earlier, Gus seemed giddy when talking about the running back depth and said they could feature two-RB sets this year.

"Our running back room has a lot of explosive guys," Bowser said. "Guys that can really make plays. I think getting two of us on the field is going to be really dangerous."

How are the new offensive line transfers doing?

"Those guys, they got into it quick coming into a new offense," Bowser said. "You can tell they're veteran guys who have played a lot of football. They adapted quick, knowing the plays. They've been great. I've been really impressed with how they've performed so well."

And what is he getting from the defense, particularly on the first day of pads?

"Defense brought physicality," Bowser said. "Those guys were coming downhill, but we were hitting them too. There were a lot of big collisions today. You can tell guys are hungry and trying to earn their spot."

I asked who had the "play of the day" on offense.

"I think one was Trillion Coles," Bowser said. "He made a move with a spin. That was pretty sweet."

I asked about the new tight end transfer Kemore Gamble, who was a former starter at Florida.

"Another play I could have mentioned - he made a diving catch today," Bowser said. "He's come in and been a leader right away. He's played a ton of ball in college, just like I have. He's fitting in well. I think he's a great addition to our offense."

And what about wide receiver Kobe Hudson, who was Auburn's No. 1 target last year?

"Kobe has stepped up performing well," Bowser said. "Making good catches one on one, elusive with the ball too. I'm excited to see how he can take his game to the next level this season."

How good can this offense be?

"We have a chance to be really good," Bowser said. "We plugged the holes. We're just getting things together right now. Seeing the potential out there is really encouraging. I think we have a chance to be really good."

Eastern Illinois LB Jason Johnson was an FCS All-American.


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D3 last year, but still. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

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Justice prevails and Trump gets a check, lol.

Class of 2023 QB 6'6" Nick Iamaleava commits to Tennessee. 247 rates him as #3 overall player in 2023 recruiting class.

How did Heup pull this off?

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UCF returns only one linebacker with significant experience (Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste), but defensive coordinator Travis Williams isn't worried.

"They will be ready. I promise you by the time we play the first game, we will be fine," Williams said.

Here's a recap of T-Will's first media availability of spring practice, following UCF's second workout:

T-Will said the focus of spring is teaching effort, getting to the ball, working on leverage in regards to tackling and also communication.

"From the naked eye, I thought it was a solid day."

Asked about early standouts, T-Will name-dropped DE Josh Celiscar. "Just his effort and getting to the ball." Then also mentioned DT Ricky Barber and LB Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste. He added they'll know a lot more on Saturday when they put the pads on.

He said the first day of spring this year vs. last year is obviously "totally different." He thought a few guys "stepped up their level" in the second level.

I asked about leadership on the defensive side. "We've got Anthony Montalvo, Ricky Barber, Josh Celiscar, Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste, Davonte Brown, Newt (Divaad Wilson). You have a nucleus of guys trying to take the bull by the horn and lead the right way."

T-Will added there's a difference between influence and leadership. Guys with "influence" don't always take you down the right path.

On Ricky Barber, T-Will wants to see him continue to develop under DT coach Kenny Martin. "Ricky was banged up a lot last year. I don't think we've seen close to what Ricky can be. I'm excited to see a healthy Ricky Barber this year."

Asked whether UCF's defense will be "scary good," quoting Davonte Brown, T-Will said he hopes he's right. "I think what he's saying is everybody is understanding what they're doing. Also the standard being the standard. That starts with coaches and also players. I'm glad he said that. I hope he's right."

Asked about transfers, T-Will said DB Koby Perry is showing tremendous effort. "He walks in the room and he's gonna be the one who's talking. He's the loudest guy in the room. Very confident, which is awesome."

Then he mentioned DT Lee Hunter and DB Nikai Martinez. "For us, it's getting the guys in the right seat. Very encouraged by the guys we brought in."

He wants players to "get to the ball with bad intentions."

I asked about the lack of depth at linebacker. Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste is the only returning player with significant game experience.

"It's critical. A lot of the guys have to grow up and be ready to play. I thought the first two days were really good. If you go back to last year when we first got here, what was the worst position everybody was saying? They said linebacker. I heard it. I read it. I get it. That's why they call me coach. I've got to get them ready. They will be ready. I promise you by the time we play the first game, we will be fine. I'm not worried about it. We've got the right guys in the room. We've just got to get them ready. It's a development sport."

Jason Beede asked whether they would continue to look in the transfer portal for linebackers (UCF just offered an FCS LB earlier this week).

"I don't know. My job is to develop. We'll see. We go to the portal to get the best players for a need. We'll see."

I asked whether guys like Quade Mosier, Cole Joyce or Kadeem Leonard are ready to take the next step.

"All three of those guys are doing great. Terrence Lewis is doing great. He's still hobbling with the injury he's rehabbing. We're watching the things he does as far as the contact part of it. He's getting reps. We have enough guys. We just have to get them enough reps even if we're rotating guys. We'll see."

I asked him to expand on Terrence Lewis, who is the former five-star recruit who transferred in after redshirting at Maryland last year. He confirmed he would be limited for the entirety of spring.

"You can see he can really change direction. He's very explosive. He's a student of the game. He's always in the office trying to learn the playbook and different things like that. When he's not out there, he has a play script and he's going over each play. Just trying to be a pro when he's on the sideline. I liked his preparation and his progress on and off the field. We've got to continue to bring him along and we'll be fine."

The reason he was holding up some hand sanitizer is because of the green color as it is St. Patrick's Day.

Believe It!

Yes it was a great Saturday for our UCF Women’s Basketball and Women’s Softball Teams.


Both Teams are playing at elite levels right now.


After watching on ESPN+ our Women’s Softball Team beat Furman 8-0 in the first game of our Doubleheader today, I watched our UCF Women’s Basketball Team dominate the gators in the NCAA Tournament 69-52. That was all very sweeeeeeeeeet.


As soon as the UCF Basketball game was over I went out to the UCF Softball game for the second game of our Doubleheader with Furman.
We ended up winning the second game 8-4.


After the game I took lots of pictures and interviewed our UCF Women’s Softball Assistant Coach Whitney Jones.



In the next few posts I will publish several great pictures and stories.


Good stuff for sure Ladies and Gentlemen!!!!…

Nm

Best to ever do it Go Knights

UCF still has a long way to go to match the "wow" factor when it comes to facilities.

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They should do everything in their power to hire Frank Martin. Former high school coach in Miami with ties in the state and was very successful in the Big 12 at K State. Would be an absolute home run.

For the facilities excuse crowd. You know, the guys who beat Kentucky. Looks like a middle school place.*

I started hearing rumors of this earlier today, hoped it wasn't true. I confirmed that sadly it is. Page Sessoms, a fullback for UCF in the late 1990s, died on Thursday as a result of a bicycle accident.

Page was an awesome guy. When I was in my infancy of starting this site, he was probably one of the first guys I got to know. He leaves a wife and two sons. Just awful.





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