UCF has great running backs, but just as important is the blocking that takes place up front. Tight end Jake Hescock, now a starter, has played a big role through the first two games.
I caught up with Hescock after Wednesday's practice. He showed up wearing a Dallas Cowboys shirt, which I had to ask about since Hescock is from Massachusetts.
"Dad," Hescock said. "It's tough not being a Patriots fan with all their success. Everybody is a Patriots fan. I hear about it all the time from friends. Dad was a Cowboys fan so I adopted it."
His favorite Cowboys growing up?
"DeMarcus Ware for sure," Hescock said. "Jason Witten. I got a Jason Witten jersey in a frame at the house."
The Cowboys being the obvious exception, Hescock loves all the other Boston pro teams - the Celtics, Red Sox and Bruins. His favorite among the three is the Celtics.
"I'm a huge Celtics fan. I got to witness the '08 Championship and still a lot of decent years since then. It's been fun. Cowboys, not so much. But we're working on it. This is our year."
Now a starter, Hescock has seen a lot of snaps in the first two games. PFF has graded him favorably as well as he's earned a solid 71.0.
"It's been a lot of work, getting ready to play a lot more snaps," Hescock said. "Physical and mental. I've got to be mentally locked in for 60 minutes and physically too. A lot more preparation. There's some things I could probably get away with last year where there's no way you can this year. Just bringing the other guys along too. This is everybody's first real season with A-Rob (Anthony Roberson) and Bird (Jonathan MacCollister) underneath me. This is their first time playing and this is my first time starting. We're all working together."
Where has Hescock seen the most improvement?
"The biggest part of my game that has grown the most is my run blocking," Hescock said. "Coach Coop (Jon Cooper) has harped on that a lot since I've been here. That's a big part of our role in the offense. The details in that has really been cleaned up. Some route running stuff. Just all around, I've been a better player."
Passes don't always come his way, so he's always grateful when they do. Hescock had two receptions in 2018, one of which was a touchdown. He got his first catch of 2019 at FAU, a 13-yard gain that got UCF down to the four-yard line. Dillon Gabriel ran in for a score on the next play.
"It's always good to get your hands on the ball," Hescock said. "I'm working on the run after the catch. We'll be a little better there."
Speaking of Gabriel, Hescock was impressed by the young freshman.
"I was pleased with everything about him," Hescock said. "He took control. He was confident in everything. That's really all we can ask of him. We trust him and he trusts us. He trusts himself and I think he'll be great this year."
Hescock said it's awesome being part of an offense that puts up such big numbers.
"It's awesome, just to see the game plans," he said. "We've got plays for this guy to get the ball and that guy to get to the ball. There's so many different things you can do when you have that many weapons. It's fun to see what they can do. I love watching Jacob Harris go make plays, Gabe and Tre and the RBs, even the o-line when they're dominating. The energy builds off of everybody else."
The challenge becomes much greater this weekend when UCF hosts Stanford.
"They're big, they're fast and they're disciplined," Hescock said. "That's Stanford Football. We've been studying them hard. We're going to be ready for them, I can tell you that."
Though rain might be creeping into the forecast, a hot and humid day, or in other words typical Florida September weather, could aid UCF.
"We're going to use it to our advantage," Hescock said. "We've been practicing outside the whole summer. We're used to the heat. If we can get that humidity, we'd rather have that than a cloudy day. We know Knight Nation is going to come out in full force and pack the stadium. It's going to be fun."
Hescock and many of his teammates have said all week they want to see an energy like they did for last year's game vs. Cincinnati.
"I'm hoping it's going to be a lot like Cincinnati," Hescock said. "That kind of atmosphere, that kind of team coming here. The game holds that much weight. It'll be just like Cincinnati. The noise level, everybody getting into it. It'll be fun."
And Hescock's handlebar mustache? It's here to stay, at least for now.
"It was initially going to be a camp thing," he said. "I did trim it up a little bit. I'm going to keep it for as long as I can. Girlfriend doesn't like it, mom doesn't like it. We'll see. We'll keep winning."
