As we approach UCF preseason camp, here's a look at several topics that will define UCF's inaugural year in the Big 12.
There's a lot we're about to learn about UCF's readiness to compete week in and week out at the Power Five level.
As has been repeated quite a bit, there are no "off weeks" where you can simply show up and pencil in a victory. Though for UCF, that hasn't really been the case of late outside of Temple (Navy and South Florida, cough).
My biggest question for this team is simple: Is UCF's defense ready for the Big 12?
UCF's defense in 2022 under Travis Williams was a bit of an enigma. They gave up some yards, but were stout in the red zone. At the beginning of November, UCF ranked No. 1 red zone defense and No. 16 in scoring defense (17.6 ppg).
Those numbers began to drop in the final month. Injuries played a role too. UCF couldn't get off the field against Navy, which had nearly 40 minutes of possession time. South Florida seemed to move the ball at will in the second half, scoring 39 points (and 438 yards). Same with Tulane in the AAC Championship game (45 points and 648 yards).
UCF finished No. 46 in scoring defense (23.64), still pretty good in red zone defense (No. 5) and No. 69 total defense (380.0 ypg).
UCF had just six interceptions the entire season, half of which came from Divaad Wilson. If memory serves, a couple of those were bobbled receptions and being in the right place at the right time, not necessarily making great defensive plays on the ball. But hey, a pick is a pick.
The point is, interceptions were hard to come by. Just eight schools in FBS had less interceptions than UCF (shockingly, Michigan State had TWO the entire season).
UCF has a new defensive coordinator in charge - Addison Williams - and he was emphasizing turnovers the entire spring. There are also new disguised blitz packages that should disrupt the quarterback and in theory lead to more turnovers (rushing a throw, strip sack, etc.).
Quotes from spring:
Nikai Martinez: "I feel like Coach Addison benig the DC will have us in better situations, like third down and red zone. Being able to get our hands on the ball. That's what he preaches the most. Force turnovers to set up our offense with field position to score."
DeJordan Mask: "We're definitely seeing a lot of turnovers. Our cornerbacks are doing a good job. The safeties and nickels are coming downhill and punching balls out. Coach Addison has been emphasizing that all spring."
UCF is going into a league where they are going to face some great offenses and give up some yards. If they can't always get three-and-outs, they'll need other ways to stop drives.
From a schematic and game plan standpoint, there is a lot of optimism Addison Williams' defense will be an improvement from last year.
But does UCF have the talent and depth to compete at the Big 12 level? I guess we're about to find out.
Defensive line should be the overall strength of the defense.
UCF has a strong returning group that includes Josh Celiscar and Tre'Mon Morris-Brash on the outside with Ricky Barber inside.
But will there be depth? Towards the end of the season, Celiscar was playing EVERY defensive snap. That's unheard of for a defensive lineman.
UCF got a big portal addition in FIU DE Shaun Peterson Jr. who led the Panthers with six sacks last year. That output matched Morris-Brash, who also had six. Peterson, still somewhat new to DE after beginning his career as a RB, could turn out to be one of the most valuable portal additions.
Looking at the other DEs, will K.D. McDaniel (former Kentucky transfer) be a bigger impact this year? Will Dallaz Corbitt be healthy enough to contribute?
UCF could also use one of the redshirt/true freshmen to step and contribute, whether that's Jamaal Johnson, Kaven Call or Isaiah Nixon.
At defensive tackle, Ricky Barber is obviously a stud. This is a big year for him. Lee Hunter needs to show he's durable and has the stamina to take on more reps. Will he assume the starting role vacated by Anthony Montalvo?
But don't forget about Matthew Alexander, who is probably the sleeper of the defense. He quietly led UCF's defense in PFF grade (76.6) while playing more snaps than Lee Hunter last season.
And there's freshman John Walker of course. The future is bright for him - the question is how quickly he transitions. At a minimum, he should be a rotation guy.
Linebacker depth - or the lack thereof - was well documented last year. It's a big relief though that leading tackler Jason Johnson is back. His 126 tackles doubled up UCF's No. 2 tackler last year (Koby Perry with 56).
Who else will step up to be in the prominent rotation?
Walter Yates, who was UCF's third option (behind JJ and JJB) last season, will make his case. UCF brought in two transfers to bolster that competition - Rian Davis (Georgia) and Isaiah Paul (Washington State).
The competition in the secondary will be fascinating. It's a mix of guys with experience and promise - I'm really curious how the depth chart will shake out.
At corner, you have experienced returners in Corey Thornton and Brandon Adams. But then you're adding transfer Decorian Patterson (Middle Tennessee) who had more interceptions (7) than the entire UCF team last year (6).
I know it's pretty early for mock drafts, but Patterson is already generating preseason buzz with a first-round projection by Pro Football Network.
There's also transfers Ja'Maric Morris (JUCO) and Fred Davis (Clemson) as well as Ja'Cari Henderson.
At safety, UCF brought in experienced transfers between Jireh Wilson (ECU) and DeJordan Mask (Texas State). Quadric Bullard should be back from injury (he didn't participate in the spring). William Wells generated buzz for his play in the spring. There's also Demari Henderson who will be a year older.
Is Nikai Martinez ready to assume the No. 1 nickel (Knight) position? True freshman Braeden Marshall was also practicing there. Will one of the corners that doesn't earn a starting role add to this competition?
Again, I'm very interested to see how this all shakes out during the preseason going up against UCF's offense.
Here's how Big 12 offenses finished in points per game last year. The entire conference (except for Iowa State) finished in the top 50.
9. TCU - 38.8
16. Houston - 36.1
21. Kansas - 35.6
25. Texas - 34.5
27. Texas Tech - 34.2
31. UCF - 32.9
32. Oklahoma - 32.8
37. Kansas State - 32.3
39. Baylor - 32.2
44. BYU - 31.3
49. Oklahoma State - 30.6
49. West Virginia - 30.6
59. Cincinnati - 29.2
114. Iowa State - 20.2
There's a lot we're about to learn about UCF's readiness to compete week in and week out at the Power Five level.
As has been repeated quite a bit, there are no "off weeks" where you can simply show up and pencil in a victory. Though for UCF, that hasn't really been the case of late outside of Temple (Navy and South Florida, cough).
My biggest question for this team is simple: Is UCF's defense ready for the Big 12?
UCF's defense in 2022 under Travis Williams was a bit of an enigma. They gave up some yards, but were stout in the red zone. At the beginning of November, UCF ranked No. 1 red zone defense and No. 16 in scoring defense (17.6 ppg).
Those numbers began to drop in the final month. Injuries played a role too. UCF couldn't get off the field against Navy, which had nearly 40 minutes of possession time. South Florida seemed to move the ball at will in the second half, scoring 39 points (and 438 yards). Same with Tulane in the AAC Championship game (45 points and 648 yards).
UCF finished No. 46 in scoring defense (23.64), still pretty good in red zone defense (No. 5) and No. 69 total defense (380.0 ypg).
UCF had just six interceptions the entire season, half of which came from Divaad Wilson. If memory serves, a couple of those were bobbled receptions and being in the right place at the right time, not necessarily making great defensive plays on the ball. But hey, a pick is a pick.
The point is, interceptions were hard to come by. Just eight schools in FBS had less interceptions than UCF (shockingly, Michigan State had TWO the entire season).
UCF has a new defensive coordinator in charge - Addison Williams - and he was emphasizing turnovers the entire spring. There are also new disguised blitz packages that should disrupt the quarterback and in theory lead to more turnovers (rushing a throw, strip sack, etc.).
Quotes from spring:
Nikai Martinez: "I feel like Coach Addison benig the DC will have us in better situations, like third down and red zone. Being able to get our hands on the ball. That's what he preaches the most. Force turnovers to set up our offense with field position to score."
DeJordan Mask: "We're definitely seeing a lot of turnovers. Our cornerbacks are doing a good job. The safeties and nickels are coming downhill and punching balls out. Coach Addison has been emphasizing that all spring."
UCF is going into a league where they are going to face some great offenses and give up some yards. If they can't always get three-and-outs, they'll need other ways to stop drives.
From a schematic and game plan standpoint, there is a lot of optimism Addison Williams' defense will be an improvement from last year.
But does UCF have the talent and depth to compete at the Big 12 level? I guess we're about to find out.
Defensive line should be the overall strength of the defense.
UCF has a strong returning group that includes Josh Celiscar and Tre'Mon Morris-Brash on the outside with Ricky Barber inside.
But will there be depth? Towards the end of the season, Celiscar was playing EVERY defensive snap. That's unheard of for a defensive lineman.
UCF got a big portal addition in FIU DE Shaun Peterson Jr. who led the Panthers with six sacks last year. That output matched Morris-Brash, who also had six. Peterson, still somewhat new to DE after beginning his career as a RB, could turn out to be one of the most valuable portal additions.
Looking at the other DEs, will K.D. McDaniel (former Kentucky transfer) be a bigger impact this year? Will Dallaz Corbitt be healthy enough to contribute?
UCF could also use one of the redshirt/true freshmen to step and contribute, whether that's Jamaal Johnson, Kaven Call or Isaiah Nixon.
At defensive tackle, Ricky Barber is obviously a stud. This is a big year for him. Lee Hunter needs to show he's durable and has the stamina to take on more reps. Will he assume the starting role vacated by Anthony Montalvo?
But don't forget about Matthew Alexander, who is probably the sleeper of the defense. He quietly led UCF's defense in PFF grade (76.6) while playing more snaps than Lee Hunter last season.
And there's freshman John Walker of course. The future is bright for him - the question is how quickly he transitions. At a minimum, he should be a rotation guy.
Linebacker depth - or the lack thereof - was well documented last year. It's a big relief though that leading tackler Jason Johnson is back. His 126 tackles doubled up UCF's No. 2 tackler last year (Koby Perry with 56).
Who else will step up to be in the prominent rotation?
Walter Yates, who was UCF's third option (behind JJ and JJB) last season, will make his case. UCF brought in two transfers to bolster that competition - Rian Davis (Georgia) and Isaiah Paul (Washington State).
The competition in the secondary will be fascinating. It's a mix of guys with experience and promise - I'm really curious how the depth chart will shake out.
At corner, you have experienced returners in Corey Thornton and Brandon Adams. But then you're adding transfer Decorian Patterson (Middle Tennessee) who had more interceptions (7) than the entire UCF team last year (6).
I know it's pretty early for mock drafts, but Patterson is already generating preseason buzz with a first-round projection by Pro Football Network.
There's also transfers Ja'Maric Morris (JUCO) and Fred Davis (Clemson) as well as Ja'Cari Henderson.
At safety, UCF brought in experienced transfers between Jireh Wilson (ECU) and DeJordan Mask (Texas State). Quadric Bullard should be back from injury (he didn't participate in the spring). William Wells generated buzz for his play in the spring. There's also Demari Henderson who will be a year older.
Is Nikai Martinez ready to assume the No. 1 nickel (Knight) position? True freshman Braeden Marshall was also practicing there. Will one of the corners that doesn't earn a starting role add to this competition?
Again, I'm very interested to see how this all shakes out during the preseason going up against UCF's offense.
Here's how Big 12 offenses finished in points per game last year. The entire conference (except for Iowa State) finished in the top 50.
9. TCU - 38.8
16. Houston - 36.1
21. Kansas - 35.6
25. Texas - 34.5
27. Texas Tech - 34.2
31. UCF - 32.9
32. Oklahoma - 32.8
37. Kansas State - 32.3
39. Baylor - 32.2
44. BYU - 31.3
49. Oklahoma State - 30.6
49. West Virginia - 30.6
59. Cincinnati - 29.2
114. Iowa State - 20.2
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