Brian Blackmon, who oversees UCF's tight ends and special teams, talks to UCFSports.com about his position groups.
At tight end, Florida transfer Kemore Gamble joins forces with Alec Holler to give UCF a formidable 1-2 punch at tight end. One could make the argument Alex Ward is the best long snapper in the country. At kicker, Daniel Obarski had a solid ending to 2021 and will be pushed by freshman Colton Boomer. Andrew Osteen should have a solid grasp on the punting job, though the Knights brought in an intriguing talent in Mitch McCarthy, a 25-year-old rugby punter from Australia.
Here's our conversation:
You've got some players at your disposal this year at tight end. Alec Holler is coming back. You've got Kemore Gamble coming in. What's it like having two experienced players?
"The thing is with both those guys is they've got a lot of game reps under their belt. Kemore obviously at another place. Having both of those guys in the room, it's about using each one and what they both do best. We've got another kid, Zach Marsh-Wojan, he's improved a lot. Jordan Davis is another guy in that room who's gotten better and is coming along. I'm excited about where the room is."
Alec Holler was a walk-on and not a lot of people knew who he was prior to last season. A local guy who grew up following UCF. How fun was it to see him develop game by game?
"First of all, Alec Holler is a great human being. An unbelievable person. I always pull for the underdog. He's a guy that didn't get attention in high school. Came to the school that he absolutely loved. He plays with a chip on his shoulder. Every day he's trying to prove himself. I think that's what makes him a good player is he always, no matter how much does right, he still feels like he's got something to prove. All he does every day is show up. He does what he's supposed to do in practice. Coach Malzahn says it all the time. He's a guy that you put him on the field and you feel confident. He knows what to do and he's going to get it done."
Kemore Gamble has a lot of experience coming from Florida. What are your expectations and what kind of role will he have?
"He's very talented. Athletic. He's got some skills that are really hard to find in a body that big. Really good with the ball in his hand. Does a great job running routes. For him, it's still about mastering the overall offense. When you get guys that come from different places, terminology means different things. Sometimes they get those things confused. He's really come in and molded well with the team. I really enjoy coaching him. He's a guy that has big-play potential for us. Coach Malzahn is all about the different weapons. That's his offense and his M.O. He's a guy that we're going to find ways to put the ball in his hand. He's physical enough to be a good blocker for us as well."
You mentioned Zach Marsh-Wojan. I know he was banged up a little bit last year. How is he coming along?
"He's doing really well. Zach is that big, fast, strong, physical presence that we needed. He's a guy that doesn't mind doing the dirty work. He'll put his hand in the dirt and do some blocking for us. Just watching him grow and the improvement he's made. He's a guy that we feel very confident that if you put him on the field, he's going to do a great job for us."
Coach Malzahn the other day complimented Jordan Davis. I know he was rehabbing his knee last year. He could be the future?
"I really believe in Jordan Davis. I think he's a guy that athletically is as good as anybody we've got. Still a guy that's trying to get the confidence factor. Those guys that deal with knee injuries, a lot of times it's about overcoming it more mentally. That's really the struggle Jordan went through last year. He's come out and done a lot of really good things for us. I thin he's a guy you're going to see playing a lot of special teams. He's a guy that continues to improve. Like you said, I think he's a guy that in the future is going to be a really good player at UCF. Local kid. Wants to be here."
Talking about special teams. That's your other responsibility. Is there a kicking battle? Daniel Obarski has been here. You've got a new guy in the mix. What's that competition like?
"The kicking position. Daniel has been here and has a lot of game reps. He finished the season going 3-for-4 in the bowl game against Florida. He's a big reason we won that game. We believe that competition makes everybody better. That was our goal, to bring somebody in to push Daniel. Make him better. Colton Boomer came in the spring and did a great job for us. We're going to have a battle. The good thing about kicking is it's cut and dry. You either make it or you don't. There's no subjectivity to it. The numbers are what they are. Those guys are out there and they're competing. One thing about this place is all of our guys it's healthy competition every day. They pull for each other. There's nothing where Colton is pulling against Daniel or Daniel is pulling against him. Let's be the best version of ourselves and make it happen."
How hard is it to replicate pressure for a kicker? The game could be on the line. Is that hard to replicate especially for a freshman like Colton Boomer?
"There's no way to put him in the end of the game, win or lose scenario, in practice. I'll say this. Coach Malzahn does a tremendous job. He's the pressure coach. He stands behind them every day in practice. He's a guy trying to rattle them a little bit. Put some pressure on them. We like to get a few live kicks in the scrimmages to put them in those situations. You try to do the best you can to simulate that. As far as lining up with the game on the line, that's one of those things you have to do."
Punter wise, I know Andrew Osteen has a lot of experience. You brought in an Aussie punter which could be a unique look. What's that competition looking like?
"Andrew is our starter right now. We brought in some guys to compete against him. Andrew is a guy that we have high expectations for. We're trying to mold our punt a little bit more about his skills and talents. Then we brought in a punter from Australia. Mitch McCarthy. He's doing a great job. He's just trying to acclimate to himself to the United States. A guy that's older. He's almost 25 years old and he's a freshman. He's been playing professional Australian Rules ball overseas. Coming in, he's still got to learn the game. He has a very talented leg. A guy that is doing a great job for us. Then Garin Boniol has done some good things in camp."
Mitch is a rugby punter. There's been some really good rugby punters and a lot of them come from Australia. How did that come about, finding him?
"Coach Malzahn at Auburn had an Australian punter. I think he had a couple that were very good. We started identifying. What it does is it gives you opportunities to change the launch point where they're not always rushing the same spot. If you always sit and punt from the same spot, then people dial up their rushes against you. Just having an opportunity to do that. He does punt from behind the center as well. Obviously his strong suit is rolling out because that's what he's done his whole life."
How reassuring to have a long snapper like Alex Ward? To say he's the best in the nation isn't hyperbole, he really is.
"He really is. Not just because of what he does on the field. He's the unquestioned leader in the specialists room. He's a guy that makes our punters better. Makes our kickers better. Makes our holder better. Does everything you ask him to from a coverage aspect. I think he's one of the better leaders on this football team. Again, a guy that you trust. As far as his position, I don't think there's anybody in this country who is close to as good as him."
You look at the success UCF is having on the recruiting trail. Hometown Hero. You're recruiting a lot of these guys. What has the response been?
"That was our focus when we got here. The challenge Coach Malzahn gave us is we're going to spend time with our Hometown schools. It's important to us. I'm an old high school coach, so I have a lot in common with these guys. I know what they're going through on a day-to-day basis. We're recruiting schools locally even if they don't have players who can play for us right now. They're important to us and they will. Our goal is put a program and a quality product on the field that every kid in what we call the State of Orlando wants to stay at home. Wants to play here. That's been our challenge since the day we got here with Coach Malzahn. It's been a lot of fun. The reception has been great. I think all of our high school coaches in this area do a great job. The schools I visit, they're talking about UCF now in the same sentence as some of the other schools in this state."
