UCF tight ends coach and special teams coordinator Brian Blackmon met with the media following Tuesday's fifth practice of spring. He spoke about his tight end room, led by sixth-year senior Alec Holler, the kicking battle, returning punter Mitch McCarthy and the competition at long snapper.
"We're pleased where we are," Blackmon said. "Not a lot of change in terms of what we're doing offensively. We've changed some terminology. Giving some young guys some opportunities. I think that's what spring is about. Spring is about development. We've got some veterans on this team. We know who they are. They've played a lot of football for this university. We've got some new pieces. If you get freshmen to come in early and transfers from the portal, you can find out what kind of player they are and how they gel with the team.
"I'm pleased with my tight end unit. We've got a couple veterans. Obviously Alec Holler has played a lot of football. Zach Wojan is out this spring. He's nursing a knee injury. He'll be fine and be back soon. But that's an opportunity for these young guys. We've got a lot of freshmen in that room. Grant Stevens is a redshirt freshman. Randy Pittman is a true freshman. Just graduated high school in December. Thomas Wadsworth, a walk-on from Melbourne. Local guy. Redshirt freshman. Some opportunities for them. Then you've got Max Holler and Garrett French who have been around. It's a great opportunities for those guys to get some reps. Really find out how they fit in the whole puzzle."
How big was it for Alec Holler to come back for another year?
"I absolutely love coaching Alec Holler," Blackmon said. "I think he epitomizes everything that is right with college football. He won the locker room. He's a great teammate. But he's a great player. Every time you need a play, every time that we've had to have a play since the day I got here, he's been able to make that play. I think back to trying to run the clock out against Boise in my first game here. We go to him and he makes the first down on the sideline. You think about the play against Memphis in our four-minute offense, he makes the play and sacrifices his body. You think about the last play, everybody knows, in the South Florida game. He's proven it on the biggest stage and in the biggest moments. Obviously for this university, it's huge. For me personally, I just love being his coach."
What was his perspective of the "Holy Holler" catch against South Florida?
"My first thing was is he in bounds? Because it was on the far side. When I saw the official raise his hands, I knew even if he went to the review, tie was going to the runner. I was pretty excited. It was a point in time we needed a play. That's a play that's been very successful for us. We had used it several times during the year. Go all the way back to the first game of the year. Same exact play, Kemore Gamble laid out for a touchdown against South Carolina State. It was a play that we knew we had executed a bunch of times. When we had to have it, he made the play."
Freshman tight end Randy Pittman has really been impressive early. Blackmon spoke about his recruitment and what they saw in him coming out of Mosley High School.
"When Coach Malzahn and I started talking, the thing about Randy, is he doesn't really look like a tight end. Not the typical long body tight end. But he's got a really long wingspan. Really big arms. When I went to watch him and evaluate the first time, the guy doesn't come off the field.
"He's a football player. Is he a tight end? I don't know. But he's a football player. He played every snap at linebacker. Every snap at tight end. He played with his hand down. He played split out. He was returning punts and backed deep on kickoff returns. He played every single snap. When I watched him in the spring, he was the best player on the field and there wasn't a close second. He played a good caliber of football. His coach does a great job of having him prepared.
"At that point, he became a priority to us. This is a guy who can come in and make our team better. He has all the intangibles. He's very driven right now. He studies the playbook relentlessly. I get late-night texts. What does this mean? What about this.
"For him, to have Zach at practice every day. Zach's job right now is stand right beside Randy to make sure he knows what to do on every play. To have Alec to talk technique and fundamentals, that's a gift I think he's trying to take advantage of. He's going to be a great player here for a long time."
Zach Marsh Wojan caught just one pass last season - which was for a touchdown - but he played in a huge role in every game as a blocking tight end.
"He's a veteran," Blackmon said. "He and Alec are in their sixth years. They're old guys that have been around for a long time. We probably played 60 percent of our snaps in 12 personnel with two tight ends last year. Zach played a lot. He's that tough guy. He's that guy that sets the toughness for our room. He's a dirty work guy and he doesn't mind it. He embraces that role. He puts his hand in the dirt. If it means he's going to block a 300-pound defensive tackle, he's going to give him everything he's got. He's a very strong kid. We're very comfortable with who he is and his role, what he brings. His role is just bigger than what he does on the field for us. His role right now is to be a mentor to these young guys as we try to bring them along."
Blackmon then talked about redshirt freshman Grant Stevens, who redshirted last year after suffering a shoulder injury.
"Going back to the recruiting process, Grant was a wide receiver in high school with a big body. He had wide receiver skills. The question when we recruited him is how is he going to translate that to getting your nose bloody and being a little dirty down in there. As we go through spring, that's what we want to see. I know the guy can go out and run routes. He's gotten bigger. He's gotten stronger. He's probably 245 pounds right now. He hasn't lost his speed. He's still running really well especially for a guy his size. He's got really good hands. He's making some big plays out there. For us in the development process, it's about developing him as a blocker in the core, a blocker in the perimeter. The things that guys that are young overlook."
Shifting to the specialists, Blackmon talked about the kicker competition while Colton Boomer recovers from a sprained ankle.
"Everybody is comfortable with Colton," Blackmon said. "We know what he's capable of. He came in last year and immediately made an impact on our football team. I look at this as a blessing. I think it's an opportunity for Ryker Casey and Grant Reddick to get live reps. Maybe some reps they wouldn't have gotten. When you have guys on your team that have experience, spring is the time to bring the young guys along. For Grant, a high school guy that comes early, you want to take advantage of that. You want to put him in the fire. We've been able to do that. I've been really pleased with the progress those guys are making."
UCF found punter Mitch McCarthy last year out of Australia, bringing him in last summer. The rugby-style punter eventually took over starting duties.
"In the words of Herb Hand, he didn't know if there was air or feathers in the ball," Blackmon said. "He is one of the most talented guys I've ever been around at that position. Just to see the maturity and the growth. He is a hard worker. Very driven. He came in as a 25 year old freshman. For him, he's a consummate pro. He works at his craft. He's still trying to learn the American game. But he is very talented. One of the most talented I've been around. He's also a mature guy. There's some youth in that room. Colton is young. Grant is young. He's got life experience to help kind of guide those young guys along."
How does one replace the best long snapper in the nation in Alex Ward?
"We took a long snapper transfer out of Arizona State, Gage King. He has come in and done a tremendous job for us. Then we've got two young guys. Aiden Fedigan, a guy we took two years ago. Same class as Colton. Local kid here. A state of Orlando kid from DeLand. He's getting better. Really fast snaps. All of them are working to be more accurate. A young man, Chris Bowerfind, which is a great story. He came here and walked on as a running back. He was a dirty work guy in the running back room. He decided he wanted to learn to long snap about this time last year. Alex Ward took him under his wing and taught him how to snap. He had no idea how to hold the ball. He wasn't a guy who came through the camp circuit like a lot of these guys do these days. He learned how to snap from Alex Ward last year. He works at it relentlessly. We've got those two young guys. Feel really good about where Gage is. When you lose a guy like Alex Ward, who I think is the best, hopefully he'll have a special day here coming up soon and be drafted. When you lose a guy like that, you're going to feel it. I will say this. I think Gage is coming in, he's a junior in the classroom so an older guy. That's what we were looking for, an older guy with experience to fill those shoes. He's got work to do to fill those shoes, but we feel confident that he can."
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