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Red Zone Coordinator

Any chance that Gus would turn over the reins to a Red Zone Coordinator? Feels like we have a real need for change in this area. It might also allow Gus to save face if not done publicly. Not sure if Harris or Hinshaw is that guy.

This area seems ideal for a young OC. Short field and short playbook. A need to balance substitutions vs mismatches. Feels like some new blood for clock management would be helpful as well.

Given that Harris knows JB well, this could be an opportunity

The Knighted Ones - Ep. 62: Should We Take The Rizk?; The Ted Roof Scapegoat, & Some Scary Deja Vu

Welcome to The Knighted One’s Podcast, Episode number 62!! We are the ONLY podcast that features a former UCF National Champion, a former UCF radio host, an ESPN Analyst and Hoops Player, a INfamous rapper, Our Resident Influencer, and an IG star, shooting the breeze, talking UCF Sports. Remember to like and follow us Youtube, IG, and check out the 70+ teams and conferences on the College Huddle.

This week we discuss whether Gus' hand was forced to axe Ted Roof, and should he even be to blame?; We ponder if Rizk is the real deal QB we need, and why hasn't he come up sooner? We also discuss Gus' flops in playcalling, how much hope we have for our annual space game, and discuss how much 2024 is starting to look like 2015...



Please comment for subjects that we should cover in our Intern Re-Education segment!

Go Knights! and Charge On!


Introductions
Text Talk Trash Talking - 00:05:43
No More Raising The Roof - 00:10:39
- Was Gus' Hand Forced?
- Defense Was Hung Out To Dry
- Scapegoat Roof
- Gus "Don't Go For It" Malzahn
- Blaming The Wrong Issue
- Playcalling Hot Potato
Where Do We Go From Here? - 00:24:11
- A "Rizk"-y QB Situation
- EJ Said "No"
- It's No Longer A Team Sport
- Rizk Is QB1 On Paper
- First In, Last Out Mentality
- Daniel Jones Catches a Stray From Josh
- Bring Out The Youth
- Ej v Rizk? Who Will Step Up?
- Program In Freefall
- Auburn Deja-Vu
- No Plan, No Triage, No Leadership
- How Has Rizk Not Been An Option Before?
- Season Projections*
- Josh Can See Into Alternate Dimensions
- Terry's Ultimatum
- "One More Thing" w/ Ben Stout
- We're Not The Worst!!! :D
Week 10 Preview - The Space Game!! - 01:22:28
- Vegas Is Pranking Us
- We Have A Shot
- Can We Score?!?!
- Keeping All The Tricks Up The Sleeve
- The Luster Is Gone
Week 9 Score Predictions Review - 01:30:40
- Allen Wants His Cred
Week 10 Score Predictions - 01:32:37
- Josh's Expectations For This Game Are In Orbit
- Allen Has No Hope For Our Space Game Record
- A Winnable Game, With Conditions
- Rizky Business Keeps Our Victory Hopes Alive
- "Possible" Is All We Need
- Our Defense's Game To Win
Big 12 Scores Recap - 01:40:57
- Unexpected Top Teams
Listener Love - 01:44:03
- Roger's Apology
- The Very Elusive Trey & Ben
Allen's Oxymoronic Stats Of The Week - 01:46:28
- Allen Is Having 2015 Deja Vu
Josh’s Sometimes Funny Fact Of The Week - 01:50:01
- A Millenium Milestone For Time Zones
UCF Athletic Sports Update - 01:51:17
- Taylor Hendricks Rough NBA Injury
Final Thoughts - 01:57:33

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***New Direction: Tim Harris Jr. set to lead UCF offense amid QB reassessment (Sunday interview)***

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Tim Harris Jr.'s offensive coordinator title no longer has an asterisk attached.

As of this week, Harris assumes full control of UCF's offense which includes calling plays in games. Gus Malzahn ceded those responsibilities (in addition to firing defensive coordinator Ted Roof) on Monday in response to UCF's five-game losing streak.

We caught up with Harris on Sunday night, right before Malzahn made the decision to hand over play-calling duties. While it was too early to talk about his new role, he did discuss the plan for quarterbacks moving forward.

The hope was Jacurri Brown would blossom into a capable starter when given the opportunity. He showed flashes against Cincinnati, but struggled mightily passing the ball at Iowa State as he mustered just 62 yards through the air.

Last week leading up to BYU was his first week practicing exclusively with the first team. With the Cougars focusing on eliminating Brown as a running threat, the onus was on him to improve throwing the ball. It didn't happen. Brown went 8 of 17 for 96 yards and two interceptions. He was replaced in the fourth quarter by Dylan Rizk.

"You know, just coming into the game, it felt like (Brown) had a pretty good week of practice," Harris said. "I think what you take back from the game, he's just got to settle himself down, play within the offense, and just take advantage of the opportunities that he got. He had some third-down opportunities on some balls that we missed that we can't miss.

"But overall his mindset, he tried to stay locked into the game, played through the mistakes. But we definitely look back at that. There were some plays out there."

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Though it was a smaller sample size being two drives at the end of the game, Dylan Rizk showed promise. He connected on 6 of 10 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown.

"I think Dylan did a really good job just taking advantage of the opportunity that he got," Harris said. "He came in, he moved the offense, he gave us some energy. And he did that in a lot of different ways. He hit some passes, he scrambled, picked up some first downs, some really key downs.

"So I was really proud to see that of him. And Dylan, he stayed very steady throughout the whole process. He's a guy that when you look at how the quarterback room has gone, he could be frustrated and just completely mentally take himself out. He hasn't done that. He's been locked in every single day when the opportunities come for him to get reps.

And he's shown some of those things that we saw yesterday... We're really proud of how he performed when he got out there."

Harris said they entered the BYU game with the intention of rolling with Brown. They weren't planning for Rizk - or presumed backup EJ Colson - to necessarily play.

"We went through the week with Jacurri as our guy," Harris said. "Jacurri was our quarterback. And, again, like I said, he had a really good week of practice. He felt comfortable in the game plan. And when we got out there, there were just some plays that he didn't make. I think there were some things that don't show up on tape that he did do a good job of. Sometimes, you know, getting us in the right calls in certain situations. But just overall, hitting some third down balls was a really important thing that we'd want to have back.

"But, no, that was our plan going in. And I think when things started to go a different direction, we felt like we wanted to give another guy a chance to kind of get our offense going. And Dylan got his opportunity and did that."

Although Gus Malzahn has indicated it was too early to name a starting quarterback for Arizona, Harris said Rizk will be squarely in the mix.

"Yeah, absolutely. The way that Dylan finished that game, the way that he moved the offense, I definitely think... I know that those conversations are being had by us right now just of how we're looking at things moving forward. And Coach (Malzhan) will be able to get more in-depth about that. But it's pretty obvious that Dylan did a good job of putting himself in a position to show that he can move this offense."

Kobe Hudson was injured on UCF's first offensive play of the game with an apparent leg injury and did not return. Jacoby Jones emerged as the go-to receiver with six catches for 116 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown reception from Rizk.

"I think it was really good," Harris said. "We needed to see that. Jacoby's an experienced guy. He's dealt with a lot throughout his career. His season last year ended in a bad injury. He's really used all of the rest of last season after it happened through the time that he's been here to kind of get back comfortable playing. So, to see him get the opportunity that he got yesterday and run with it, it really was a testament to the hard work that he's put in."

Chauncey Magwood was the recipient of three catches for 57 yards.

"Magwood was another one that got an opportunity to get balls thrown his way. And, you know, he did a really good job, too. So, it just shows us as an offense that we have weapons. We've just got to do a good job of spreading the ball around. And if we can do that when all of our guys are healthy, it'll make us that much more dangerous of an offense."

RJ Harvey eclipsed the 1,000 season rushing yards mark with 127 yards against BYU.

"I think that's really great for RJ," Harris said. "I'm really proud of him and just the development he showed over the course of his career. But I think more than anything, if you ask him right now, us getting a win, that's probably more important than any of that in his eyes because you watch him after these last couple of performances, although his numbers have looked good, but he's probably hurt more than anybody. These guys are about winning."

  • Poll
Poll: Predict UCF's November record 🏈

What will be UCF's November record?

  • 4-0

    Votes: 21 10.2%
  • 3-1

    Votes: 32 15.5%
  • 2-2

    Votes: 53 25.7%
  • 1-3

    Votes: 68 33.0%
  • 0-4

    Votes: 32 15.5%

The season prediction poll is looking worse by the week for most of us as 8-4 and 9-3 were by far the most popular choices.

UCF must win 3 of their final 4 games to reach 6-6 and bowl eligibility (though I guess there's always a chance a 5-7 team could go bowling).

How do you see things breaking down as UCF will play November with new coordinators and TBD at QB.

Me:
Nov. 2 - Arizona - W
Nov. 9 - at Arizona State - L
No. 23 - at West Virginia - L
No. 29 - Utah - W

My rationale: UCF is undefeated in Space Games. Sam Leavitt has returned at QB for ASU. WVU will probably be like 40 degrees. UCF-Utah may be a battle of bowl ineligible teams so who knows who will be motivated. Utah must win 2 of their final 4 games to reach 6 wins: BYU, @ Colorado, Iowa State and @ UCF.

My email to Terry Mohajir

Thought i'd share an email I just sent to Terry Mohajir's office. Didn't include the first couple paragraphs that had some of my personal information in it.

The current state of the football program is unacceptable. I was completely on board with the Gus Malzahn hire in 2021, and understand that there are growing pains when shifting to a new coaching staff and into a new conference.

However, after a 6-7 season last year, UCF fans were assured that they would see a much-improved product on the field and that there would be more accountability behind the scenes.

Since the hiring of Malzahn, you have allowed a culture of nepotism to flourish, where it's not the best candidate who gets hired on the coaching staff - it's a former player or coach who has some sort of ties to Malzahn. You have allowed Malzahn to continue his bad habits that have followed him from his firing at Auburn in 2020.

Along with that, it has been reported that Ted Roof, not even a year into his hiring as UCF's defensive coordinator, has been fired and will be paid his full 2-year salary. How on earth is that an acceptable contract to offer in the first place? Roof, who is another failed nepotism hiring by Mazahn, was on his 9th coaching position since 2011. As someone who has emphasized fundraising as much as you have, there should have been way more foresight in the handling of this contract. Instead, UCF is paying a coach another $700,000 not to be here.

Initiatives, such as the "Hometown Hero" and the "Future of College Football", promoted UCF in a way that showed innovation and unprecedented growth. I can't help but think that the fans were sold fool's gold, especially with an old-school coach who seems way too stubborn and stuck in his ways to dig this program out of the hole it's digging itself. That hole, by the way, isn't just referring to the football program losing games and players not wanting to play here. It's also referring to the financial hole that comes with coach buyouts, waning fan support, and a failed 6-figure quarterback.

The only way for Malzahn to salvage his tenure here at UCF is to hire people outside of his coaching circle, including an innovative offensive coordinator who has FULL CONTROL to completely overhaul the offensive system. Make UCF football exciting again, for both the fans and players.

Don't turn UCF into another irrelevant, middling team in a power conference. Be more accountable with what Malzahn does from top to bottom. And if you can't do that, perhaps he shouldn't be here.

INTERVIEW: UCF Hall of Fame Inductee - Mark Giacone

On this episode of Sons Today, Adam welcomes 2024 UCF Hall of Fame Inductee Mark Giacone. Mark was a key part of the early phase of UCF Football, having starred as a running back from 1987-1990. It was a different era of college football, and Marc relives the memories and moments that made him a hall of famer.

Click here to watch ... from the Sons of UCF.

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EJ

Can somebody fill me in on the cliff notes about EJ...

Is he that good? Do we actually know he's that good?
Isn't preserving a red shirt pretty worthless now?

I'm excited to preserve his red shirt but do we know he's as good as it seems when I've read 100 times that Gus wants to preserve his red shirt?

Dodd: Regrading the HC class of 2021

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Arthur fell from an A+ to a C

Gus Malzahn, UCF​

Back then, we said the change in lifestyle would fit Malzahn perfectly. No more living in Alabama's shadow. No more aggravation from Auburn boosters. UCF welcomed him with open arms. This was a comeback at a program that would eventually transition to the Power Four in the Big 12. After some early promise at UCF, the program has leveled out in Year 4. The offense that was so dynamic at Auburn and carried the Knights to the AAC Championship Game in 2022 has slowed. Malzahn is 9-14 in his 23 games and hasn't made a dent yet in the Big 12. He has company; that's the same record as Auburn's Hugh Freeze over that span. There must be something about Auburn. Malzahn's quarterbacks have included Dillon Gabriel, John Rhys Plumlee and KJ Jefferson. Not a bad group. Still, the Knights are only 27-21 in his four seasons. Regrade: C | 2021 grade: A+

Meanwhile Heupel went from a C to an A+

INTERVIEW: UCF Hall of Fame Inductee - Mark Giacone

On this episode of Sons Today, Adam welcomes 2024 UCF Hall of Fame Inductee Mark Giacone. Mark was a key part of the early phase of UCF Football, having starred as a running back from 1987-1990. It was a different era of college football, and Marc relives the memories and moments that made him a hall of famer.

Click here to watch ... from the Sons of UCF.

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