UCF's running game should get a huge shot in the arm this week.
Dontravious Wilson, who entered the season as the Knights' starter, expects to return to action after suffering a knee injury in the season-opening loss to FIU. Forced to the sidelines, a pair of freshmen have been carrying the load.
Wilson said he suffered a PCL tear, much less serious than an injury to the neighboring ACL, but still enough to miss several games. He returned to practice last week.
"I got hit and my knee kind of twisted," Wilson said. "It's still not 100 percent, but much better."
The offense has sputtered in the absence of Wilson and other players who went down with injuries, including quarterback Justin Holman, wide receiver Jordan Akins and center Joey Grant. Total offense and rushing offense marks ranked last in the nation.
"It was very frustrating (not being able to play)," Wilson said. "I just tried to be the biggest cheerleader I could be for my teammates."
In his absence, true freshman Taj McGowan has started the past three games, rushing for 119 yards on 41 carries. Redshirt freshman C.J. Jones has seen more second-half action, accumulating 73 yards on 16 carries.
"We have study hall at night, so after that we were all watching film together," Wilson said. "Trying to give them pointers to make their game better and improve. They're young, they're excited. They don't really know what to expect because they don't have the game experience."
One issue constantly brought up by George O'Leary is that the running backs have to "make somebody miss." That's been lacking so far this season.
"It's more of an anticipating where the cut is coming from," Wilson explained. "That comes from watching the defense and how they play certain plays. Sometimes we run a stretch play and you know the defense is going to over pursue it. That's when you know the cutback lanes are going to be open. You only have one man to beat. It comes with anticipating the cuts."
Tulane could be just what the doctor ordered. The Green Wave have struggled defensively, particularly against the run. They gave up more than 500 yards of offense in their games against Duke and Georgia Tech.
"We got one goal in this program and it's to win a conference championship," Wilson said. "A sense or urgency has to pick up. We definitely don't want to be 0-5. This is a huge week."
