Tim Harris Jr., UCF's co-offensive coordinator who oversees the running backs, appeared at Saturday's press conference following the 11th practice of spring.
It was a nice change of pace to hear from some fresh voices as the last time we spoke with Harris was about a year ago, shortly after he was hired and once more in that first spring.
I started off by asking about how special it is being able to work with so many talented running backs.
"It's great. It makes my job a lot easier having these guys. They all bring something different to the table. It's been a blessing for me this spring to watch them continue to develop. Last year, they came into the season with not a lot of experience. Getting them all back for a second year, it's just been refreshing. It's been a pleasure to coach them all."
It was mentioned that Isaiah Bowser is limited this spring, part of Gus Malzahn's plan to treat him like a pro. That's allowed other backs to get more reps.
"You watch Johnny Richardson's development and what he's able to do now, last year at this time we probably wouldn't have put him in different positions. That's helped him. Mark-Antony Richards is coming on even more. You watched him last year and midseason he won some games for us. The young guys, I've been pleased with Trillion Coles who is a veteran himself. Anthony Williams, Jordan McDonald. Getting Jordan here early and those older guys taken some reps off has allowed Jordan to accelerate. I've been very pleased with that. I'm excited to watch them continue to grow. This next week is gonna be fun. I told them after practice. Spring has been good, but next week has to be our best week. Those guys have an answering that bell when I've challenged them."
Harris talked about the work his guys put in during the offseason, noting how the strength coaches raved about their development.
"It's bled over into spring ball. I'm seeing it myself. We root for each other. We compete with each other, but we want the group to do well. What we talk about is no drop off. No matter who is in the game, no matter who has the opportunity, we feel comfortable as a group that whoever is out there is going to succeed."
He loves hearing the older guys coaching up the younger guys.
On Johnny Richardson's development:
"Protections is probably the biggest thing for him. You guys saw us last year. Johnny was very effective with the ball in his hands. What my challenge was to him after last season was playing without the ball. That's pass pro. Being able to operate the offense. Being able to do more than just carry the football. When you're able to do that, you become more of a dangerous player... He's answered that challenge. My biggest thing with Johnny is how he's taken coaching. That's what I've been most impressed with. Him being a young player last year and me being new, not knowing me, I coach hard. He didn't always respond the right way. Now you see him wanting to be coached that way. That's helped him continue to get better."
Harris spoke about recruiting Jordan McDonald. He said that was a lot of fun. Jordan is very observant, listens.
They are doing a little bit of experimentation with two-RB sets.
"We understand as a staff that we have a backfield of guys that have different skill sets. We can put more of them on the field together. We're experimenting with that. It'll be good for our guys too. They get excited about it. You can tell they want to be on the field together. That's been really good for us."
Asked to talk about the defense/linebackers, Harris complimented Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste.
How valuable is it to have Isaiah Bowser?
"You can see, when he was on the field for us last year, we were a different offense. Running the ball downhill, his running style fits exactly what we want to do as an offense. Having him healthy and at his best, our offense is ultimately at its best then too. With Isaiah, what we're doing with him this spring is going to help him in the long run. Keeping his body fresh. Isaiah does a good job off the field away from us with what he does to help his body. He does a lot of yoga. A lot of guys, we bring that here for them but he was doing that stuff before Coach (Malzahn) started doing it. He understands how important it is this year for him to be healthy. I'm really excited about how he's progressed this spring."
R.J. Harvey probably left last spring as UCF's No. 1 running back and appeared like he would share co-starting status with Bowser until injuring his knee last August.
"He's done a great job this spring. He's non-contact, we're being safe with him. Having him back out there, flying around, R.J. is fast. We tested him during the offseason. He was still in his knee brace and he was probably our fastest running back. That shows you his ability that he brings. When we looked at where he was before the injury, we can be nothing but excited about getting him back. He's progressed well this spring with everything we have him doing."
I asked for Harris to comment more on Mark-Antony Richards' development.
"Mark has gotten better every single day. He probably had his best week yet. He had been progressing to that point. I've been very pleased with Mark. I love coaching him. Mark takes coaching very well. Building a relationship when I first got here last year, his confidence was a little broken from injuries he had at his last place. I watched him every day develop. I was coaching him hard and he responds to it. Mark wants to do well. Watching him this spring, I'm really excited about his development. You guys are gonna be excited when you see him get opportunities this year."
How was the scrimmage on Thursday?
"We threw the ball more than the first scrimmage. Watching our guys get into the pass pro stuff, the route running and all that. Identifying things like defensive fronts to make protection calls. Make sure their eye discipline is good. That's what I want to see as a running backs coach. That's so important during the course of the season, being able to protect. We got to see a lot of that the other day. Challenging those guys to play without the ball in their hands. That's super important. It gets lost sometimes at our positions. People only want to pay attention when we're running the ball and scoring touchdowns. Being good at pass pro, catching the ball and blocking for their teammates. I want to see effort. That's what sets guys apart."
Harris loves the versatility of his running backs. They've got guys to execute different things. He also wants to see guys being physical. They want to run the ball downhill, break tackles.
"When I see guys not afraid to run into the defenders and beat guys going north and south, I love it. That gets me going more than anything else. My guys have done a great job of responding to that. They know what we're looking for. Mark-Antony Richards had some runs in that scrimmage the other day. It wasn't always him. You saw some of his runs last year when he's trying to get to the edge. Nah Mark, you're big. Run at people. He's doing that now. It's making his game so much cleaner."
