UCF OC and QB coach Chip Lindsey talks about the first four days of spring practice, goes in-depth about the QB competition and more.
-Today was the fourth day of practice. Chip says today was "pretty good" in terms of energy, attitude and body language but "not their best day." They need to be better on Thursday. "Any time you challenge this group, I think they rise to the challenge."
-Today they worked on third down for the first time, which comes with new intricacies in terms of different looks, understanding protections, down and distance, etc. Still thought it was a "solid day."
-Lindsey he's pleased overall with the offense, but said again they need to bring more energy on Thursday.
-I asked if Mikey Keene and John Rhys Plumlee had separated themselves to be considered the top two QBs.
"Probably a little early to say that," Lindsey said. "We still rotate Thomas and Parker in there some. Joey some too. Joey is a talented guy who can do different things. We hope to narrow that thing down the further we go through spring ball. One day two guys will get a heavy dose of certain groups and the next day the other day... We want to get that thing narrowed down by the end of spring."
-On freshman QB Thomas Castellanos:
"For a guy that's supposed to be in high school, he's very impressive. He's got a live arm. You see that right out of the gate. He's very athletic for sure... I'm not sure if he's 17 or 18, but think about a high school senior coming in and understanding verbiage. I'll say this. He's studied his butt off. I've been impressed with the way he's transitioning. But there's still some details. You throw a third down in there like today and the defense gives you some exotic looks. You've got to get the protection right and all that. That's part of his growth. Really been impressed through. You can tell he was well coached in high school. Comes from a really good program. So far he's been very impressive. Each and every day it seems he makes a wow play. I think the future is really bright for him."
-On Joey Gatewood moving to WR:
"It's something I think Joey is excited about. He's big and athletic. Obviously from playing quarterback he's got a great feel of what we're doing in the passing game. Joey, over times in his career, I know in high school he split out and did some things. When I've been with him before he's done it some. We'll see how it goes. Definitely a talented guy that I think can do a lot of things for us."
-On John Rhys Plumlee transitioning back to QB after playing WR the past two seasons:
"I think it was 18 months I guess since he played quarterback. The little things with the drops mirroring up with the right route and so forth. But I've been really impressed with him. After I would say practice four today, you couldn't look out there and say he doesn't look like he's been playing quarterback. I think he's getting more and more comfortable."
-On Mikey Keene's development:
"It's funny. I just met him. You can look on film and see golly, he looks a little bigger, a little stronger. The ball comes out of his hand a little better. Mikey is very solid. Very smart. You can tell he's played. He's got that presence. He understands what we're trying to do. Not a lot is going to fool him. I think you can see a difference physically in him. He's very intelligent. I think that's why he had success last year."
-On the WR competition:
"That group is really talented. Obviously Coach (Grant) Heard coming in, he's doing a great job developing those guys. You can see that with the way they approach practice and work after. Obviously we've got guys coming back like (Ryan) O'Keefe, Flash (Jaylon Robinson). Very impressive. You can tell those are veteran guys that have played in a lot of snaps. JG (Jaylon Griffin) has done a really nice job there. He's gotten a lot better from last year. Obviously bringing in Kobe Hudson. You see Amari (Johnson) making some plays here and there. We need that next group of guys to really take the next step to have enough depth for where we need to be."
-On the TE competition:
"Alec (Holler) is impressive. He's a guy very similar to Mikey. Just really smart, intelligent. You can tell he's played a lot. He understands the details of the position. He's physical when blocking. Obviously shows good hands as well. Impressed with him. Kemore Gamble is as talented as anybody in the country. Big 250-pound guy that can run. He's still learning the terminology and the little things. Really been impressed with him. I think Jordan Davis has made a lot of progress. That whole group as a unit, I see those guys continuing to improve. Out of those guys, we've got to figure out who can do what and put them in those positions. It's really been a bright spot."
-Asked about reuniting with Gus Malzahn, Chip said he can really tell Gus is "having a good time" and you can see his enthusiasm. "It's going to be a lot of fun again."
-On the RB depth:
"If you look at it, obviously (Isaiah) Bowser is a guy and getting R.J. (Harvey) back from the injury last year. Johnny (Richardson) is a really talented guy. You've got Mark-Antony (Richards) and the young guys. We've got some bodies that are very impressive. We're gonna need them as the season plays out. Guys get banged up here and there. I think we're in a good spot right now. That's going to help us as we get through the grind of the season."
He said again R.J. Harvey is not cleared for contact, but he's doing everything else. They hope he's 100 percent by the fall.
-On what he wants to see in Saturday's scrimmage:
"I want to see guys play in a live situation. I don't know if we'll go live on the quarterbacks. Coach will decide that. You're not going three and four-play sets where you've got time. We're rolling. Who can get the signal? Who can get us lined up? Not have penalties, false starts. Getting communication down. Training them to be in the operation like a game. I think that's what you see. In practice, it's more of a controlled situation where you can control a lot of things. They've got to quickly process (during a scrimmage). It's a little different in those situations."
-On whether WR Jaylon Griffin stepping up:
"I think so. I wasn't here last year, but I've been impressed with him. We need him to be that and step up. Kind of challenged him in the offseason to take that next step. A lot of that is believing in himself and having the confidence. You can tell his confidence is growing. Been really pleased with him and need him to continue to improve."
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