***Spring Update with DC Travis Williams (April 2) 🏈
- By Brandon
- The Dungeon - Knights Only
- 20 Replies
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Past the halfway point and two weeks to go until the spring game, UCF defensive coordinator Travis Williams gave a status report about his side of the ball.
Today was family day, so T-Will had his three daughters in tow. The trio came up to the stage to say hello - Brave, Reign and Tru (in order from youngest to oldest).
Saturdays had been intended to be scrimmage days, but the schedule was changed when Gus Malzahn had to be absent last week. Today's practice was in the stadium and T-Will began by talking about what they worked on.
"Today was more situational. We did red zone. We did third down red zone. Coach Malzahn is talking about being really good in different situations. Obviously the red zone is what we have to be good at. We have to stop guys from scoring and force field goals. Offensively, we're trying to score touchdowns. It's always good to do those situations... Defensively and offensively, it helps to understand what the other teams are doing."
T-Will said next Thursday is the next scrimmage.
"We have some more install so Coach Malzahn is thinking about Thursday."
The first scrimmage was this past Tuesday. How did that go?
"It wasn't bad. That was our first time tackling since the bowl game. We missed a few tackles, but the (missed) tackles were down from last year at this time. You never want any missed tackles, but that was our first time tackling. It was good to see the guys run around. We're coaching the fine details of the defense, but let's not overlook guys getting to the ball. If we get to the ball with bad intentions, good things will happen.
"Overall, it was a solid day. There are things we can get better at as a defense. We were looking at what individuals need to improve. As a coordinator, I'm just making sure everybody is getting to the ball. Overall, I thought it was a solid day."
CB Brandon Adams had the pick-six in the first scrimmage.
"I'm seeing a lot of growth. We threw him into the fire as a freshman and saw him progress. He's a guy that has a lot of talent. The sky is the limit for him. He's a former quarterback. Didn't have a lot of time on task playing cornerback. He has a lot of heart. He has dog in him. He's willing to learn. You can see him getting better each day. I'm looking forward to him getting better. That was a great pick by him, a pick six. Any time you have that it's good."
I asked about the biggest position battles this spring.
"All 11. We don't have starters. We have standards. Keep the standard of what we're looking for. That's on and off the field. It sounds like coach-talk, but we're dead serious about it. We've got to be able to depend on you off the field and on the field making the right checks. Who's missing tackles. Who's not running to the ball. We're not giving anybody anything... Obviously we know some guys that can play. We understand that. But at the same time, we want to keep that standard."
The biggest thing they need to work on between now and the spring game is communication.
"The more you talk, the more confident you are."
Safety Koby Perry was an All-Conference player at Austin Peay.
"He can find the ball. Like Coach Malzahn says, he's like a heat-seeking missile. He's a very, very aggressive player. Loves ball. He's not scared. He's not scared of contact. Matter of fact, the first play he met a running back in the hole. There was a collision and the running back kept going. Most players would be nervous the next time. Second time he ran it and did it again. Kept going. It shows he has a lot of courage and loves ball.
"Now sometimes fast isn't always good. We've got to slow him down in some situations. Coach Addi and Coach Gibbs are doing a great job with that. He's learning our system and how we operate. I'm looking forward to him helping us a lot."
Who's stepping up in a leadership role?
"Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste is the first guy that comes to mind. He's stepping up being vocal. He's just a super human being. That's the first thing. I know I keep saying it. I love being around him. He loves football. He loves his teammates. He breaks down the huddle. He's communicating. He's one. Ricky Barber is another one that stands out. The list goes on. Davonte Brown is quiet, but you can start hearing him. He's a natural quiet kid that leads by example, but he's taking the bull by the horn and being more vocal. But Jeremiah is the guy you hear. Josh Celiscar is a guy you hear. Ricky Barber is a guy that you hear. Those guys are standing out leadership wise vocally."
I asked what kind of leader T-Will was back in the day when he was a linebacker at Auburn.
"I was always a loud, vocal guy. But when you first come in as a freshman learning the system, I didn't have time to talk. I'm trying to learn what I'm doing. I've been in that stage of be seen and not heard. I'm going to work and improve myself. As I continued to go, I started to be vocal. I wasn't always a vocal leader when I first started. But I like to talk as you can see. So off the field I was talking. Off the field, I was like let me figure it out. They were moving fast, like playing with more than 11. I had to let the game slow down and then I started making calls."
He hopes the guys at Pro Day impressed the scouts.
On the biggest questions for the rest of spring:
"The question mark is seeing the linebackers emerge. See them continue to come together. All those guys are battling for playing time. All those guys are trying to please and do everything I'm asking of them. The communication part of it.
"Even on the back end, we've got some DBs that are new. We've got some guys with playing experience. We're doing some shuffling on the back end to create some competitions.
"On the defensive line, we've done a lot of hard count... Making sure those guys stay onsides. In the last game against our rival, we were offsides. They threw an interception and the game would have been over, but we had offsides. Those were the things we show those guys. It shouldn't have gotten down to the three-yard line. Having those examples.
"So up front, staying onsides. Playing physical, playing in our gaps. Linebackers, communications. In the back end, with the musical chairs to create competition and again, communication."
Past the halfway point and two weeks to go until the spring game, UCF defensive coordinator Travis Williams gave a status report about his side of the ball.
Today was family day, so T-Will had his three daughters in tow. The trio came up to the stage to say hello - Brave, Reign and Tru (in order from youngest to oldest).
Saturdays had been intended to be scrimmage days, but the schedule was changed when Gus Malzahn had to be absent last week. Today's practice was in the stadium and T-Will began by talking about what they worked on.
"Today was more situational. We did red zone. We did third down red zone. Coach Malzahn is talking about being really good in different situations. Obviously the red zone is what we have to be good at. We have to stop guys from scoring and force field goals. Offensively, we're trying to score touchdowns. It's always good to do those situations... Defensively and offensively, it helps to understand what the other teams are doing."
T-Will said next Thursday is the next scrimmage.
"We have some more install so Coach Malzahn is thinking about Thursday."
The first scrimmage was this past Tuesday. How did that go?
"It wasn't bad. That was our first time tackling since the bowl game. We missed a few tackles, but the (missed) tackles were down from last year at this time. You never want any missed tackles, but that was our first time tackling. It was good to see the guys run around. We're coaching the fine details of the defense, but let's not overlook guys getting to the ball. If we get to the ball with bad intentions, good things will happen.
"Overall, it was a solid day. There are things we can get better at as a defense. We were looking at what individuals need to improve. As a coordinator, I'm just making sure everybody is getting to the ball. Overall, I thought it was a solid day."
CB Brandon Adams had the pick-six in the first scrimmage.
"I'm seeing a lot of growth. We threw him into the fire as a freshman and saw him progress. He's a guy that has a lot of talent. The sky is the limit for him. He's a former quarterback. Didn't have a lot of time on task playing cornerback. He has a lot of heart. He has dog in him. He's willing to learn. You can see him getting better each day. I'm looking forward to him getting better. That was a great pick by him, a pick six. Any time you have that it's good."
I asked about the biggest position battles this spring.
"All 11. We don't have starters. We have standards. Keep the standard of what we're looking for. That's on and off the field. It sounds like coach-talk, but we're dead serious about it. We've got to be able to depend on you off the field and on the field making the right checks. Who's missing tackles. Who's not running to the ball. We're not giving anybody anything... Obviously we know some guys that can play. We understand that. But at the same time, we want to keep that standard."
The biggest thing they need to work on between now and the spring game is communication.
"The more you talk, the more confident you are."
Safety Koby Perry was an All-Conference player at Austin Peay.
"He can find the ball. Like Coach Malzahn says, he's like a heat-seeking missile. He's a very, very aggressive player. Loves ball. He's not scared. He's not scared of contact. Matter of fact, the first play he met a running back in the hole. There was a collision and the running back kept going. Most players would be nervous the next time. Second time he ran it and did it again. Kept going. It shows he has a lot of courage and loves ball.
"Now sometimes fast isn't always good. We've got to slow him down in some situations. Coach Addi and Coach Gibbs are doing a great job with that. He's learning our system and how we operate. I'm looking forward to him helping us a lot."
Who's stepping up in a leadership role?
"Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste is the first guy that comes to mind. He's stepping up being vocal. He's just a super human being. That's the first thing. I know I keep saying it. I love being around him. He loves football. He loves his teammates. He breaks down the huddle. He's communicating. He's one. Ricky Barber is another one that stands out. The list goes on. Davonte Brown is quiet, but you can start hearing him. He's a natural quiet kid that leads by example, but he's taking the bull by the horn and being more vocal. But Jeremiah is the guy you hear. Josh Celiscar is a guy you hear. Ricky Barber is a guy that you hear. Those guys are standing out leadership wise vocally."
I asked what kind of leader T-Will was back in the day when he was a linebacker at Auburn.
"I was always a loud, vocal guy. But when you first come in as a freshman learning the system, I didn't have time to talk. I'm trying to learn what I'm doing. I've been in that stage of be seen and not heard. I'm going to work and improve myself. As I continued to go, I started to be vocal. I wasn't always a vocal leader when I first started. But I like to talk as you can see. So off the field I was talking. Off the field, I was like let me figure it out. They were moving fast, like playing with more than 11. I had to let the game slow down and then I started making calls."
He hopes the guys at Pro Day impressed the scouts.
On the biggest questions for the rest of spring:
"The question mark is seeing the linebackers emerge. See them continue to come together. All those guys are battling for playing time. All those guys are trying to please and do everything I'm asking of them. The communication part of it.
"Even on the back end, we've got some DBs that are new. We've got some guys with playing experience. We're doing some shuffling on the back end to create some competitions.
"On the defensive line, we've done a lot of hard count... Making sure those guys stay onsides. In the last game against our rival, we were offsides. They threw an interception and the game would have been over, but we had offsides. Those were the things we show those guys. It shouldn't have gotten down to the three-yard line. Having those examples.
"So up front, staying onsides. Playing physical, playing in our gaps. Linebackers, communications. In the back end, with the musical chairs to create competition and again, communication."
