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This time a year ago, UCF fans probably weren't that familiar with Alec Holler. That all changed in the season opener against Boise State. He caught the game's first touchdown and went on to have a breakout season at tight end.

We caught up with the senior and former walk-on following Thursday's practice.

Holler says he's now more of a leader, helping the younger guys learn the offense.

He gave his thoughts on Gus Malzahn's decision to name John Rhys Plumlee the starting quarterback.

"I'm so happy for him. John Rhys is my buddy. He's a good dude. He's a great player. You feel for Mikey (Keene). I love Mikey as well. Whenever it's a close quarterback battle and you love both dudes, it's kind of bittersweet. I'm going to ride with John Rhys. He's our QB1 and I love that dude."

Knowing Plumlee is QB1, they can build on the chemistry.

What makes him excited in regards to JRP when he's finally allowed to be let loose and be live against opponents?

"Everyone is talking about his legs when he's live," Holler said. "It's a whole new dynamic added to his game. I'm excited to see how he does with that."

Did he watch JRP's Youtube highlights?

"When they told me I was going to host him (on the recruiting visit), I looked up John Rhys Plumlee and the first thing that came up was Ole Miss vs. LSU (highlights). LSU won the National Championship that year. He went crazy. The plays that he was making on the field were ridiculous. Okay yeah, we need this guy. Let's bring him in."



Kemore Gamble had described Alec Holler as a "technician." How would Holler describe Gamble?

"Kemore is a beast. When he gets out there and it's one-on-one, it's game over when they throw it to him."

Goals?

"I want to win. I want to win a conference championship. I was here when we won the conference championship and went to the Fiesta Bowl. That was my freshman year and I was on scout. Now, being a guy that's contributing a lot, I want to win a conference championship."

The tight end room has "a lot of dudes" that can make a "huge impact" on the season.

The offensive line consists of "beasts."

He says they're going to "score a lot of points" and definitely "more than the other team."

Holler feels he's seen the most improvement with his route running and speed.

"I'm trying to be more of an impact in the passing game."

Franz goes 12-20 on the floor and 4-8 from 3. He scored 38 points tonight

I never expected this to happen. Before the season, I wasn't expecting much out of him especially after Summer League performance.

But dude is a star. He is most likely to win Rookie of the Month and he is in the running for Rookie of the year definitely.

That is most points a Rookie scored this season.

Dude is going to be a star

LFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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(Mike Gundy loves to talk - his press conferences are always 45-minutes or longer - so I edited out his comments earlier about Yormark and expansion. You can watch the edited video above or read this recap):

Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy says college realignment is "just getting started." That's the sentiment he shared on Thursday, a couple days after meeting with new Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark.

During his press conference, Gundy was asked to recap his meeting with Yormark, who has been touring Big 12 campuses the past couple weeks.

Gundy on Yormark: "He's very well educated on all the schools in this league."

Gunday said he had an hour-plus conversation. Yormark "wants information" and is "eager to learn."

Then Gundy dropped this:

"I don't think it's any secret. He agrees with all of us. He thinks conference realignment is just getting started. It's just starting now. I think he believes - and I don't want to speak for him, you can ask him directly - one thing I like about him is he tells the truth. He's a straight shooter."

Gundy adds that he loves having a commissioner, president and AD who are "straight shooters." Gundy also prides himself on being a "straight shooter" though it sometimes works against him.

Gundy repeated again that Yormark believes conference realignment is just getting started.

"It's kind of funny because it's gotten quiet for a month. We haven't really heard a lot, so that means it's going on. I'm very comfortable with him. We made a great decision in hiring him."

Gundy then explained Yormark is in the process of hiring an Associate Commissioner to oversee football. It would be the replacement for Ed Stewart, who recently departed for USC. Yormark wants this new hire to handle football so Yormark can concentrate on media rights and enhancing revenue streams.

Gundy was then asked to elaborate on his realignment comments.

"(Yormark) knows so much about the schools in this league. And he knows so much about the PAC-12 schools just because of what's happened. I was shocked. He didn't say this, but if anything happens in conference realignment it would be this league (Big 12) going in this direction (points). That's west. I don't know any of us, maybe him subconsciously, thinks it's going to go in this direction (points east). That's what I got out of it. He knows details of every school in that league (PAC-12). I was shocked."

Gundy then talked more the forthcoming Big 12 associate commissioner hire.

Later, he was asked about playing on Thursday nights and he said they will probably play more Thursday/Friday games in the next TV contract.

"The networks are going to tell us what to do."

So after para USA game hosted by Orlando in July, now the 2022 Military Warrior game will be hosted by ESPN World Wide Sports beginning Aug 19th to 28th

That means Orlando is capable in hosting events like this. Maybe one day we will see more.

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Looks like they’ll be dropping these weekly.

Beede: “UCF and Big 12 are like the Island of Lost Toys.”

💀 Loved it. Check it out!

Had a chance to tie in the last few seconds but keeper got a finger on it. Lost 0-1.

So football season is coming up in a little more than 2 weeks and I am super excited!

But as a hoop guy, I want to ask something about our 2022/23 schedule

We will host Miami, FSU and we will play Missouri in Orange Bowl Classic.

We will also play at Ole Miss.

Anybody else?

I am really looking forward to the development of Darius Johnson and he could be a star for us this year plus Hendricks.

I personally think we have a better team than last season. i think we could sneak into the post season

Looking for 2 tower club tickets for the Louisville game, would prefer section A but may be open to other sections. Thanks!

It’s finally Football Season!! Going to dump some practice clips in here from Twitter.
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Travis Williams, UCF: A longtime Gus Malzahn assistant, Williams followed Malzahn to Orlando to run a defense for the first time. An off-the-field talent as a musician, he is cited by many for how effective he is at building relationships with players.

I’m not sure why but you can no longer buy tickets for any events at a school in Palm Beach County at the gate. You must purchase them in advance from gofan web site. I wonder if that will have an affect on attendance.

My wife's registration needs to be renewed now, and I wanted to get her the UCF plate. Is there a way to do this online during registration renewal?

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UCF defensive coordinator Travis Williams talks about his group as they prepare for next Thursday's season opener vs. South Carolina State.

Recap from his press conference:

What was the important thing he learned about this defense during camp? He said communication among the linebackers having so many newcomers.

On South Carolina State, T-Will said he had a lot of respect for their coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough. He's been the head coach of the FCS Bulldogs since 2002.

T-Will is originally from Columbia, S.C. Pough was a high school coach in that area, coaching at Fairfield Central from 1994-96. He then went to South Carolina as a position coach under Lou Holtz prior to becoming the head coach at South Carolina State.

"Very well respected guy in the state and a very well respected guy in our profession. He's a guy I look up to. I've followed his career for a long time. He does a great job and does it the right way. They're a well-coached bunch. I'm looking forward to shaking his hand right before the game and letting him know how I appreciate him."

South Carolina State won the MEAC Championship with a 7-5 overall record in 2021, ending the season with a 31-10 victory against Deion Sanders-led Jackson State in the Celebration Bowl. Pough is a four-time MEAC Coach of the Year (2008, 2009, 2019, 2021).

T-Will was asked about John Rhys Plumlee and he felt JRP came along in understanding the offense. Will give defenses a "headache" with what he can do running and throwing.

More on the LBs, T-Will tells those guys "every day is an interview." Says "we hit it with all those guys." Different guys from bring something different to the table.

The defense is "moving with a different confidence." They should be ahead going into year two. They're "playing with an edge. A knife cannot cut if it's dull." He's pleased with the entire group.

Guys are totally bought in and having fun. It starts with the assistant coaches.

You can only know so much before the first game, so it's about how you respond. He brought up the early 21-0 deficit to Boise State in last year's opener. E + R = O.

He talked about how much the defense grew last season and understanding why certain things were called.

Asked about "Knight" Justin Hodges: "Justin is my guy. He's so passionate about football... He comes in my office and we talk all the time. It's good to see a guy that's passionate about ball and learning, being the best he can do. He practices hard."

T-Will explained about Hodges' transition to the "Knight" (aka nickel) position last season. He was banged up with a shoulder and then an ankle injury early in the season, then was thrown into the Navy game as a starter and had to defend the triple option. "I'm very proud of his progress."

What's his favorite part of game week? The preparation, going over film, etc. "It's a puzzle you're putting together and then it's showtime." Says it's like a "chess match."

I asked T-Will who would see the first reps alongside Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste and to share his plans for the linebacker rotation. "Look at you. That's a trick question. That's pretty good. (The depth chart) is going to come out Sunday. We've got a couple more days."

I then asked whether he thinks some of the freshman could help them this season. He thinks all could play at some point, especially since they can play four games and still redshirt. "If they can help you, play them."

Asked to single anybody out, he said "I really think we hit on all those guys. You can talk about T.J. Bullard, Kam Moore, the Henderson twins, Nikai, Jamaal, K.T. All those guys and I don't know if I forgot a guy. We hit on all those guys."

No injury issues. "All hands on deck."

He "absolutely" feels they have more depth which allows them flexibility to do some different things and keep guys fresh.

T-Will complimented the video department led by Brad Helton and everything he does to distribute film to coaches and players.

On Shaquem Griffin, he saw him obviously in the Peach Bowl. He was so impressed by him. "He's using his influence in a positive way and can bless others. He has a bright future in whatever he does. He has a remarkable story and he is an inspiration to a lot of people."

He was wearing the "Girl Dad" hat for his daughters who would watch this interview later on Youtube. "This is one of my favorite hats. I wear it a lot actually. Sometimes it doesn't even match my clothes. Shout out to my daughters, Tru, Reign and Brave."

I heard from my ticket rep today.

"Wanted to let you know that away game tickets went on sale this morning for the upcoming season. Please note that right now we are only selling tickets and the seating assignments will take place in August."

I figured I would share.

Maybe...

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How we, the voters, have allowed Local, State and Federal Governments to conduct itself in its 'tough on crime,' and the change in 'Police Procedures' since, pretty much start with Ruby Ridge and Waco in the early '90s. By 2019, just over 25 years later, we not only had seven (7) times as many people in jails, despite violent crime going down, but ... we now use 'no knock raids' and 'military tactics' as 'standard law enforcement procedure' for non-violent offenses, and they are consist of the majority of cases.

Let me repeat that again ... over 25 years of violence going down, we massively increased use of military tactics in law enforcement to the point the majority of uses are now against non-violent suspects. We need to stop doing this to citizens, and putting law enforcement in harms way over non-violent offenses. In many cases, these start as 'turn in your neighbor' cases, which was very much the case of Ruby Ridge, and one of the very first examples of why we should never.

Again, we need to stop going after our fellow Americans, and putting police in harms way doing it, when they shouldn't in the first place. This is self-defeating police state, which is not about the police, but their procedures and use.

I have mixed feelings about this, but I feel like I would watch it at UCF.

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Just dropped, I just started it...but it's centered around the murder of Greg Faull (sp) who was a UCF fan and original owner (w/ ex wife) of the Burger joint where Burger U is now. An expose' of how he was on the run after the murder.

Pat Forde with the national story. I wonder if Pete Thamel is jealous.

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