Concerning tackling statistics from 2023

[AuburnLegacy_1]

The 2024 defense will look unlike any other over the past three seasons, as UCF lost 8 of it top 10 tacklers, including 6 of its top 7, from 2023.

The Knights lost 53% of its tacking production (447 of 841 tackles) with the departures of eight defenders: Jason Johnson (114), Walter Yates (80), Tre'Mon Morris-Brash (56), Nikai Martinez (54), Josh Celiscar (47), Jireh Wilson (46), Corey Thornton (27), and Decorian Patterson (23).

UCF returns only four top 10 tacklers from 2023 in Lee Hunter (69), Demari Henderson (45), Quadric Bullard (34), and Malachi Lawrence (27), who tied for 10th with Thornton.

UCF returns its four leading interior defensive line tacklers in Hunter, John Walker (24), Ricky Barber (18), and Matthew Alexander (16).

Demari Henderson, Bullard, Braeden Marshall (22), Brandon Adams (21), William Wells (14), and Ja'Cari Henderson (11) return after finishing with double digit tackles in the secondary.

Kam Moore (11) is the only returning linebacker to record 10 tackles or more.

These 11 tacklers, along with Lawrence, are the only returning Knights who finished with 10 tackles or more last season.

 

[LoboCane]

The 2024 defense will look unlike any other over the past three seasons, as UCF lost 8 of it top 10 tacklers, including 6 of its top 7, from 2023.

The Knights lost 53% of its tacking production (447 of 841 tackles) with the departures of eight defenders: Jason Johnson (114), Walter Yates (80), Tre'Mon Morris-Brash (56), Nikai Martinez (54), Josh Celiscar (47), Jireh Wilson (46), Corey Thornton (27), and Decorian Patterson (23).

UCF returns only four top 10 tacklers from 2023 in Lee Hunter (69), Demari Henderson (45), Quadric Bullard (34), and Malachi Lawrence (27), who tied for 10th with Thornton.

UCF returns its four leading interior defensive line tacklers in Hunter, John Walker (24), Ricky Barber (18), and Matthew Alexander (16).

Demari Henderson, Bullard, Braeden Marshall (22), Brandon Adams (21), William Wells (14), and Ja'Cari Henderson (11) return after finishing with double digit tackles in the secondary.

Kam Moore (11) is the only returning linebacker to record 10 tackles or more.

These 11 tacklers, along with Lawrence, are the only returning Knights who finished with 10 tackles or more last season.

Look man…I’ll say it again. Gus Malzone should have hired a young and hungry DC from G5. A young dude that has his career ahead of him. A guy that will put the time and effort into making a defense great.

It’s never a good idea to keep changing DCs year after year and it’s NEVER a good idea to hire an old, wealthy, retread DC at the end of his career.

Look at Roof’s initial UCF conference….he not even bothered to get a haircut and looked like a total slob. Ted Rood is at UCF to watch the direct deposits hit his bank account…he will do the least.

 

[AuburnLegacy_1]

Look man…I’ll say it again. Gus Malzone should have hired a young and hungry DC from G5. A young dude that has his career ahead of him. A guy that will put the time and effort into making a defense great.

It’s never a good idea to keep changing DCs year after year and it’s NEVER a good idea to hire an old, wealthy, retread DC at the end of his career.

Look at Roof’s initial UCF conference….he not even bothered to get a haircut and looked like a total slob. Ted Rood is at UCF to watch the direct deposits hit his bank account…he will do the least.

Dude. Piss on that. There is no way in h*ll I would trade Ted Roof for Zac Alley. Chokelahoma downgraded. UCF upgraded exponentially.

Alley did a jam up job at Jacksonville State, finding a lot of fringe guys and putting them in schemes to be successful. But the SEC ain't the Ohio Valley Conference, and Chokelahoma is in for a rude awakening.

I would take Ted Roof over Zac Alley 100 out of 100 times.

 

[Square Knight]

Losing our "Top Tacklers" from last year is probably a good thing, since almost no one on last year's defense knew how to tackle. 🤣

Seriously though, our LB did not know how to step up and fill gaps. They would hang back 5 years off the line of scrimmage...and get faked out of their cleats by almost every RB they faced.

The way we kept Oklahoma State in check in that unexpected win is that we kept superstar Ollie Gordon bottled up at or behind the line of scrimmage most of the game. Why we couldn't do that against the other teams we faced is by far the most mind boggling part of last season.

 

[LoboCane]

Losing our "Top Tacklers" from last year is probably a good thing, since almost no one on last year's defense knew how to tackle. 🤣

Seriously though, our LB did not know how to step up and fill gaps. They would hang back 5 years off the line of scrimmage...and get faked out of their cleats by almost every RB they faced.

The way we kept Oklahoma State in check in that unexpected win is that we kept superstar Ollie Gordon bottled up at or behind the line of scrimmage most of the game. Why we couldn't do that against the other teams we faced is by far the most mind boggling part of last season.

Oh but who do you blame for that. Every coach that’s brought in is done by Gus Malzone. Every recruit that gets offered gets green lighted by Gus Malzone. But, somehow, the blame goes to coaches who are not Gus Malzone? GET REAL.

 

[AuburnLegacy_1]

Oh but who do you blame for that. Every coach that’s brought in is done by Gus Malzone. Every recruit that gets offered gets green lighted by Gus Malzone. But, somehow, the blame goes to coaches who are not Gus Malzone? GET REAL.

No. We are saying the blame falls squarely on the back of the lowest paid, most-in-over-his-head, final assistant added to the 2023 staff.

Grant Heard is the only hire worse than the Ernie Sims hire. Shame on Gus for hiring those two chicken heads, but kudos to Gus for having enough sense to fire them.

The obvious wide receivers coach hire after Darrell Wyatt bolted for Boston College was Kodi Burns, but Burns landed with Heupel at Tennessee and then moved on the New Orleans Saints.

The next obvious hire, however, was former Auburn assistant Ike Hillard, who is now coaching the Atlanta Falcons wide receivers.

Gus was dumb to hire Heard over Hillard. He was equally dumb to hire Sims over literally anybody, but the obvious choice was former Auburn/Florida linebackers coach/run game coordinator Christian Robinson.

Hiring Heard over Hillard and Sims over Robinson cost UCF 2 or 3 wins in 2023--and no telling how many recruits.

I like all of the current hires, but I am curious to see whether Gus retains Herb Hand after 2024. Portal offensive line recruiting is Hand's specialty, but NIL has changed the game. Gus will have to recruit and develop high school linemen. Hand could "get a new job" and Gus could bring Middle Tennessee State OL Coach Kendall Simmons to Orlando for recruiting purposes.

Kendall Simmons - Football Coach - Middle Tennessee State University Athletics

Updated December 2023 Kendall Simmons, a former Auburn great and eight-year NFL veteran, is in his first season as a member of Derek Mason’s coaching staff.

goblueraiders.com

 

[Knight_Classes_begin_7pm]

The 2024 defense will look unlike any other over the past three seasons, as UCF lost 8 of it top 10 tacklers, including 6 of its top 7, from 2023.

The Knights lost 53% of its tacking production (447 of 841 tackles) with the departures of eight defenders: Jason Johnson (114), Walter Yates (80), Tre'Mon Morris-Brash (56), Nikai Martinez (54), Josh Celiscar (47), Jireh Wilson (46), Corey Thornton (27), and Decorian Patterson (23).

UCF returns only four top 10 tacklers from 2023 in Lee Hunter (69), Demari Henderson (45), Quadric Bullard (34), and Malachi Lawrence (27), who tied for 10th with Thornton.

UCF returns its four leading interior defensive line tacklers in Hunter, John Walker (24), Ricky Barber (18), and Matthew Alexander (16).

Demari Henderson, Bullard, Braeden Marshall (22), Brandon Adams (21), William Wells (14), and Ja'Cari Henderson (11) return after finishing with double digit tackles in the secondary.

Kam Moore (11) is the only returning linebacker to record 10 tackles or more.

These 11 tacklers, along with Lawrence, are the only returning Knights who finished with 10 tackles or more last season.

I hope you are correct

 

[beelit47]

Losing our top tacklers is like losing herpes