Though overall offensive line play must improve going forward, one bright spot from the season opener was the play of Aaron Evans, UCF's new starting left tackle this season.
Evans, a redshirt sophomore from the Tampa area, says he's come a long way from last season in which he struggled in his one start at right tackle and lost his starting spot for the rest of the year.
"I think I did well," Evans said. "Considering how I did last season, I think I've improved significantly. My pass sets are a lot of better. I'm moving quicker. The game has slowed down for me. Just maturity and having more reps. I think I've improved a lot."
"I've gotten a lot stronger this offseason. The weight coaches really pushed us. It was one of the hardest summers we've had. Also, mentally I'm just a different person. Last season was a struggle for me mentally and I think I've grown mentally more than I've grown physically. I think that's really the big difference this season."
The challenge is even bigger this weekend as the Knights travel to California to take on Stanford, a team that like UCF suffered a stunning season-opening defeat. The Cardinal fell 16-6 at Northwestern, losing their preseason top 25 ranking.
"(The offensive line needs to work on) tempo and getting off the ball and getting movement on the line of scrimmage. We had issues last week with that... (Stanford is) a good team. They have explosive linebackers and quick ends. We've got to make sure we secure that. Secure our blocks and we'll be good."
Evans says the offense is anxious to put forth a better performance at Stanford.
"Last week was a little shot at the pride," Evans said. "We're a better team than how we played. We need to show it this week."
One thing the 6-foot-5, 290-pounder is not looking forward to is the five-hour plane ride in a cramped airline. If he can't sleep, Evans said he may spend some time drawing. Art is one of his passions and perhaps could lead to a future career path.
"I'm graduating next summer and going to try to start an art degree after that," he said. "I have two years left of eligibility, so I might start a fine arts degree."
