On the eve of 2022 spring practice, UCF head coach Gus Malzahn covered several topics about his program. The Knights will practice three times per week up until the April 16 spring game.
Opening statement:
"We're real excited to start spring practice tomorrow. We've had a good offseason up to this point. Like I told the guys earlier today, our emphasis in the spring is about development and competition. We're really going to have a chance this spring to slow down and really teach. Last spring, we practiced four times a week. This spring it will be three. We'll practice Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. It will give us enough time to make corrections from the day before and slow down our install. Really trying to really stress the development of each guy individually and team wise as far as that goes.
"We do have some guys that will not be participating this spring because of injuries. Jarrad Baker, Jarvis Ware, Quadric Bullard and Ryker Casey will all be out. On a limited basis, Malachi Lawrence, R.J. Harvey and Terrence Lewis will be limited. But the rest of the guys are ready to go. Real excited to see the guys. You can just tell walking around the complex, they're ready to go and chomping at the bit. We've got a lot of our guys coming back from last year with some transfers that have a chance to be impact players. A lot of excitement right now getting ready for spring."
Can you contrast this spring to last spring? I know last year you barely had a month before spring practice. How is it different this year?
"It's completely different. We didn't even know some of our players. We were getting to know our players on the practice field. Everything was accelerated. Practicing Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, that was extremely tough. The good thing now is we know our players and they know us. Our foundation has been built. We have really good leadership. We really can accomplish a lot more this spring."
How has the strength and conditioning been this winter?
"There's no doubt. Coach Dawson has had a chance, first of all, last year it was different than what they've done in the past. We've had six weeks to really help our guys. A lot of them have gotten stronger, faster. Some of them gained weight. We needed a couple to lose weight. Very strategic in that area and getting ready for spring. Getting ready to go."
You had to bring in a staff pretty quickly last year before spring. Now that they've been around for a year, does it feel different now having that stability?
"There's no doubt. All of our defensive guys are back. Offensively, Chip Lindsey is back. He's been with me three different times so it feels very comfortable. Grant Heard, we're very excited to hire him. He was from Hugh Freeze's tree. Me and Hugh are real close. That's an easy transition. A lot of continuity. From a player standpoint, they know what to expect. I think that's very important from a player's standpoint."
You finished last year on a high with the win against Florida. State champions. What's next for UCF?
"I felt like we were the best team in the state last year. Our goals are a lot higher now. Our goal is to be the best team in college football. That's what we're striving to do every day. Our guys understand that. That's what we're trying to do."
The journalist killed yesterday in Ukraine, Brent Renaud, directed UCF's "Our Time" last year. What was your relationship with him?
"Brent, first of all, was an outstanding individual. He spent a lot of time with our coaches and our players. You can tell he was a true professional. He had that ability to connect with players and coaches. Did a super job. Sad to hear that. Kind of caught us off guard yesterday. I told our team in our team meeting, a lot of them got close to him, we're just praying for his family."
The quarterback competition, how do you see it and is it an open competition? Is it Mikey's team?
"It's open competition. Every position is going to be open. We're going to rotate those guys. The first week, Mikey (Keene) will be the first one to trot out there. The first week we're going to give all five of them an opportunity to show what they can do. We'll narrow it down as we go. Our goal is to have in some kind of order once we leave spring. The good thing is we've got some very talented young men at that position. That's a position you can't have enough depth at."
You mentioned Grant Heard's name (newly-hired wide receivers coach). How did that hire come together?
"We've known each other for a long time. He was at Arkansas State before I got there. The unique thing about Grant is he's been with Hugh Freeze, one of the best offensive minds there is, but he actually coached quarterbacks before. He really understands the big picture. He's a veteran guy. He's a great developer. He's a great recruiter too. I was really looking for the right fit. We've got a wonderful staff. We're a real close staff, we do things together. We were looking for something for someone who didn't just look at it as a job, but as a team and family. He checked all the boxes. We're real blessed to have him here."
What is the objective of spring practice?
"We're wanting to slow down. In spring, my philosophy has always been not to do a lot. It's to develop a foundation offensively, defensively and special teams. It's also an evaluation period from a coach's standpoint. As a coach, you want to play to your strengths. We're identifying what the strengths in all three phases this team is going to be made up of. Most of the time in spring you can figure that out. It's a combination of both of those. Putting people in different positions and mixing and matching. We'll be doing a little bit of that too."
Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste is really the only returning linebacker with game experience. How important will this spring be for that unit?
"It starts with him. There's no doubt. That's the guy who played quality reps and played well. He's the leader of that group. This spring, this is the great thing about all the linebackers. They've got opportunity. That's what we told them. Seize the opportunity. Seize the moment if you want to play. The good thing is we'll have a bunch of inexperienced guys running around and hopefully by the end of spring we'll have some guys that can help us."
How helpful is it for early enrollees being here in the spring and how have they adjusted?
"All of them fit in very well. Of course I knew they would. Our team last year, we had guys coming in late. Some of them in the summer. Our team embraced them. The culture here is outstanding for transfers to come in. All the guys have fit in extremely well. Like I said before, I really believe there's some impact players that will help us this year. I think quite a few will play at the next level."
One of the trends of college football the last few years is bringing in coaches for analyst jobs. How important is an analyst and what can you gain from that?
"Analysts, it's kind of a different philosophy with different head coaches. How they like to use analysts. Sometimes you can have too many people, believe it or not. Specifically, what I like to do is have a defensive-minded coach be an offensive analyst. Being able to look ahead and break things down. An offensive-minded analyst be with the defense. Game plan to make adjustments, predict how teams are going to play you. How teams are going to attack you. That's really been good for us. That's the way we do it."
Who of the new transfers has stood out?
"I can answer that question a little bit better once we're out on the grass a little bit. I'm excited about all the newcomers. We had an outstanding class. We recruited guys to play. How quick they can catch on really will be the question. Ask that question later in the spring and I'll have a better answer for you."
You had an open kicking competition down to the final week before the season. Is that something you want to get nailed down earlier?
"I think so. (Daniel) Obarski, he had his best game in the bowl game that we won. He had a lot to do with that. He has a lot of confidence. We're going to play the best guys. We'll have competition. I think competition brings out the best in everybody."
There's always talk every offseason about speeding up the game as games are lasting longer than ever, sometimes close to four hours. Is that something coaches every talk about and ways to do that?
"I really don't get too caught up in that. Whatever the rules are, you go by. I know a few years ago back in 2013 the main thing I got involved in was the RPOs (and offensive linemen blocking down field). I don't know if you remember, but college football was three yards down field and some coaches wanted the one yard down field like the NFL. Now the same coaches are good with the three. That was probably the biggest fight. I think me and Hugh Freeze were the lone rangers over here against everybody. We fought hard and they kept it. I think that part of college football has made it real excited offensively. I know defensive coaches are too fired up about that, but the offensive coaches like it."
How much has the Big 12 helped you in recruiting?
"It's helped a lot as far as the top recruits. I've told this before, but we battled that non-Power Five deal. Other teams used it against us. We out-recruited people, but we couldn't overcome the non-Power Five. We don't have that problem anymore. I think it's a great time. I just think everything is coming together. We talked about the future of college football is here because everything is set up. We had the big bowl win against Florida. Now we're going to the Big 12. We won nine games. Everything is going up. We have a bunch of transfers coming that can flat out play. Everything is coming together. I think recruits can feel it. When they come on campus, I feel like it's different here. I feel like our staff is real genuine. They're not a bunch of used-car salesmen like a lot of college coaches are. I think the right type of individual fits really good with us. I think that will be a big advantage for us in the future."
UCF women's basketball is playing Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
"What a coincidence. That's good stuff. Coach Abe is the best. It's been so fun to watch. First of all, it's extremely hard to do what her team has done. To win the league outright and to win the conference tournament, they're playing really good basketball. I texted her the other night, 'Y'all got the it factor.' I think they have a lot of momentum and confidence going into the tournament. She's a real basketball coach. Her personality, you can tell the team is taking on."
As far as recruiting, does it depend on immediate roster needs when bringing in transfers?
"I think it starts when you have a need. We've got to find this position. I also think if you have the ability to get a true impact player. When I say impact player, I mean one of the top players in college football at that position, I think you take them. It's not only the individual needs. Those impact players make a big difference."
Transfer portal can impact rosters in a big way. I think the NCAA allowed teams this past year up to seven extra scholarship for portal departures. Is that something you want to see continue going forward, more initial counters per year?
"There's no doubt, roster management is the hard thing because you don't how many you're going to lose in the portal. As many as you can replace to keep you at a non-disadvantage. Yeah, that's going to be an ever-changing deal. I've said this before. The teams that manage their roster the best will have an advantage. Those seven will definitely help."
March Madness coming up this week. Did you ever play basketball? Any background with that sport?
"I really love basketball. I love playing. As a matter of fact, I coached some AAU basketball. At one time I thought I was going to be a basketball coach. I love watching March Madness. It's as good as it gets. I like to watch a little bit. The challenge is we're practicing, but I'll try to definitely watch some of that."
When were you an AAU basketball coach?
"When I was in college a long time ago."
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