UCF defensive coordinator Travis Williams appeared at a Gasparilla Bowl press conference Tuesday, a couple days before the Knights meet Florida.
What's your opinion on the transfer portal and how it's working in recruiting, and there's talk whether high school kids are getting a raw deal.
"I'll start with this. The transfer portal, when you're recruiting high school kids and you don't get them, a lot of times if you built that relationship and they go to another place, a lot of times you have a chance to get them coming back the second time around. For the high school guys that are leaving, I can see it's a little something there as far as being overlooked. I can definitely see that. Even for the junior college guys. You can see that as well. All of this is new to everyone. I'm sure they're gonna come up with some kind of way for all the kids to get what they deserve. But at the same time, I think it's different for different staffs as well. It may be a kid that gets overlooked. Maybe not overlooked. Right now it's so early in the process so we're still learning."
Greg Knox coached you at Auburn. What's your relationship like?
"Coach Knox, that's my guy. First of all, great guy. Great family guy. Great coach. He's been doing it a long time. He's been in the SEC a long time. When he left Auburn, he went to Mississippi State. Then he's been at Florida. Just being in the SEC that long says a lot about him. A really good teacher. A people person. I've been knowing Coach Knox almost 20 years now. Just a stand-up guy. He's a guy I always root for. I can't root for him Thursday. I'm a big fan of Coach Knox."
Have you talked this week?
"I just saw him last night. We had a social. Saw him last night. Hugged his neck. He hugged my neck. Just an awesome person. A guy that's from Texas. He has Texas roots. I'm from South Carolina. We just talked about G.J. getting a job. How excited he was for G.J. I was talking about how excited I was for him. I am for him. Coach Knox is a stand-up guy."
What is your role in containing Emory Jones? What's realistic in terms of numbers?
"I don't know about numbers. We've got to figure out a way to get him on the ground. Find a way to keep him bottled up. He does a really good job. He's a really good runner. They call runs for him. He's not just dropping back and scrambling like the kid we played in the last game. These are designed runs for him. They make you play 11 on 11. Every guy has to fit on the run and be in tune with the run. That's what Dan Mullen was always doing. They're going to keep doing it. They did it vs. Florida State with the staff there now. That's something they're doing. It's a good scheme. It's pretty much wildcat the whole time. He has the ability to throw it. It's a unique deal that we've got to get him on the ground and bottle him up."
Big Kat Bryant, how big is it to have him playing even when he's playing in all-star games?
"It's huge. For one, I'm super proud of him. He came in and was a no-ego guy. Came to work every day. Didn't miss a practice. Even if he was nicked or bruised. Says a lot about him. Coming from Auburn, but he wasn't an ego guy. Had his best season this season. He got everything that he earned. I'm a big fan of his. I know he has a bright future. I didn't know about the East-West (game) so I need to congratulate him about that. He's a guy that deserves it. He came in with a lot leadership. Our guys were seeing how it's done. Again, proud of him.
It looks like you got to talk to some former players, Jamel Dean and K.J. Britt. How was that?
"It was cool. They play for the Tampa Bay Bucs, they stay right down the road. K.J., he's my guy. He'll come up to Orlando and visit us. It was good to see Jamel Dean as well. Those guys are doing great. Having a really good season with Tampa Bay. We always root for the guys we've coached all around the league."
Freshman Brandon Adams and the younger guys, what did you see throughout the season?
"Just growth. It was one of those years with injuries and different things. Just like coach was saying, building a foundation. Brandon has poise. He has poise and confidence. He's got ice water in his veins. He's not scared. He's from Atlanta. A former quarterback. I think he said he played defensive end in Pop Warner. He has a bright future. He's going to learn from Coach Addi and Coach Gibbs and he'll get better and better. Proud of his progress."
Signing day was last week. How exciting was it to sign the Henderson twins?
"It was awesome. It was exciting to sign all those guys. But keeping the guys that's close to Orlando, keeping them in Orlando is a big deal. That's something Coach Malzahn, we really wanted to do coming in. Keeping the guys close to home. Try our best not to let them out. I really do think we have a really good class. You're talking about a foundation. These guys, we wanted really good football players. Good people, but football players as well. Didn't look at where they were rated. We watched the film and trusted our eyes. We're very pleased with the class."
The one spot you didn't sign anybody is d-tackle. Is that a priority in the portal or an ongoing process?
"We just feel like we've got a really good d-line. We've got a lot of guys coming back. We should be fine. If we go in the portal, we'll get a veteran guy. Looking at the guys coming out next year, it's a lot of guys coming out that we think could come in and help us early as freshmen. We feel really good about our interior. If we add a guy here or there, that would be great, but we did that on purpose as far as what we're trying to do."
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