First I will start off by apologizing for not doing a write up last week. I had a flight booked on Allegiant at Noon before I knew the game time. I ended up not being able to watch any of the game until I returned back to town but with the short week I figured better to focus on hate week. Allegiant should get the slow of the week for not having an internet option. Has no one told them it is an alternative revenue stream?
Playing usf is one of the things I look forward to most during the year. This game I got caught up with a high fever and three sick kids (two with strep and one with bronchitis) but I Dayquiled it up and got my ass out there. At our tailgate I made a point to read the article to our group that joe henderson wrote for the tampa bay tribune in 2008 just prior to our final 4th game against usf. It was posted on the board earlier this week in case anyone wants to check it out titled “never forget”. I remember reading this article when it was written. My main usf fan friend sent it to me to rub my nose in the dirt. I remember being so frustrated and I cannot help but feel many of the UCF fans today that are newer to the program weren’t intimately involved back then and remember how ****ed up usf was toward UCF which always defied reality. I still firmly believe it is better for both schools if both schools are good. To ever be so warped to think they would start a rivalry with UF or FSU or they were an auto lock at realignment for bigger and better things was just foolish. This article is GREAT. It has aged soooo poorly. Even one point the writer says they were one play away from “making” the Fiesta bowl. Nevermind since then we have been twice and one once. I highly recommend everyone on this board reads that article and makes it a tradition to read each year at their usf tailgate, preferably infront of usf fans if you can find them.
UCF Fast: Clearly a lot to go around here, everyone had a solid game, bools almost looked like they quit at half.
· AK: Going to miss this guy. His speed is game changing and in my opinion will by far be the biggest loss from our Senior class. I know we have a stable of guys at RB but AK is so much faster and he can run inside, catch out the backfield, return kicks, really dynamic. Otis is our closest comparable and thankfully we still have a year left with him.
· Dillon Gabriel: Another great game. I think everyone looks at this kid and judges him like they would a junior or senior QB. Folks forget he is a true freshman teenager. It is just amazing how good he is playing and should be the biggest hope for all of us that the next 3 years we will almost certainly be above average because as your QB goes the team goes. My usf friend that was sitting with me as is our tradition said as much. Imagine if usf had a Gabriel. We would all be hating life for the next 3 years. I would also point out the DG’s freshman season he is way beyond KZ or quinton flowers was as a freshman. KZ had the worst line ever in front of him and not the same supporting cast but still, it is evident.
· Gabriel Davis: Sometimes he looks like a man amongst boys out there. That first TD catch wasn’t even fair. Great throw by DG to give him a chance but that was just Davis being better then the CB and you see that time and time again. I really hope he stays for his senior season to play with his brother. I think he will be good in the NFL but the lack of top end speed may put him in the mid to late rounds, especially with such a stacked WR class. May make sense to stay. One can at least hope. Wouldn’t blame him though if he left.
· Defense: Everyone on the defense played well tonight, how can you complain about 7 points let up. LBs in particular were strong, Clarke was solid as always, Collier with a big stat line with the pick and sack.
Senior Class Breakdown: I don’t really have a slow for this week that I can think is slow enough to write it down so instead I was going to give my thoughts on the Seniors we are losing and what impact I think they will have. Overall I don’t see any major losses that should significantly derail what we can do next year. This team is very Junior heavy…
· AK: I noted above I think he is the biggest loss on offense. Of course, not counting KZ.
· Jordan Johnson: Probably the 2nd biggest loss on offense, was a staple at center. He is also a great guy. Every time I bring my son to practice he would come over and say hi and talk with him. Other guys would just run by and he always takes the time. Truly great guy, hope he gets a shot at the next level.
· Jake Brown: Lots of experience, thought we had lost him before so seems a bit anti climatic and the offensive line didn’t play as well as they should have this year but still hurts to lose a senior starting tackle.
· Clarke: I think he is the biggest loss on the defense and probably our highest pick in the draft. He has great size, is competitive, was really looking forward to him and Bam shutting everyone down all year but either way he is going to be tough to replace. Hopefully Bam fully recovers and Gowan keeps progressing and other folks step up. A Rob has been playing great, he may get that starting spot.
· Evans: The good thing is Mitchell and Gilyard are coming back so finding someone to take over for Evans isn’t replacing the entire unit like we had to a few years back. I think his passion though will be missed. At times I thought he was one of the only guys really showing it, not always constructively but still you need that in offensive line man and line backers in IMO.
· Hayes: A very solid player but not a transcending type player that I do not think we can replace. Don’t get me wrong, love to have him another year but I think we have the depth on this one and personally would like to see more speed off the edge.
· Barnas: Did an admirable job this year filling in for a veteran, only missed two FGs and hit a big 50 yarder. We didn’t actually need him all that much but still was great to know he was there if we did.
Juniors that Might Leave Early: The only one I think we lose to the draft is Gabriel Davis. I explained in my point about him above I think he should and could stay but I could see him going. Outside of him I don’t think we lose anyone else to the draft. Of course, transfers, etc… can happen but draft I don’t see that likely. Maybe Grant but I think he should have had a better year, probably played better last year and not sure that helped his stock.
Hopefully we get a good bowl game. Love to have another great road trip. Go Knights!!!
Playing usf is one of the things I look forward to most during the year. This game I got caught up with a high fever and three sick kids (two with strep and one with bronchitis) but I Dayquiled it up and got my ass out there. At our tailgate I made a point to read the article to our group that joe henderson wrote for the tampa bay tribune in 2008 just prior to our final 4th game against usf. It was posted on the board earlier this week in case anyone wants to check it out titled “never forget”. I remember reading this article when it was written. My main usf fan friend sent it to me to rub my nose in the dirt. I remember being so frustrated and I cannot help but feel many of the UCF fans today that are newer to the program weren’t intimately involved back then and remember how ****ed up usf was toward UCF which always defied reality. I still firmly believe it is better for both schools if both schools are good. To ever be so warped to think they would start a rivalry with UF or FSU or they were an auto lock at realignment for bigger and better things was just foolish. This article is GREAT. It has aged soooo poorly. Even one point the writer says they were one play away from “making” the Fiesta bowl. Nevermind since then we have been twice and one once. I highly recommend everyone on this board reads that article and makes it a tradition to read each year at their usf tailgate, preferably infront of usf fans if you can find them.
UCF Fast: Clearly a lot to go around here, everyone had a solid game, bools almost looked like they quit at half.
· AK: Going to miss this guy. His speed is game changing and in my opinion will by far be the biggest loss from our Senior class. I know we have a stable of guys at RB but AK is so much faster and he can run inside, catch out the backfield, return kicks, really dynamic. Otis is our closest comparable and thankfully we still have a year left with him.
· Dillon Gabriel: Another great game. I think everyone looks at this kid and judges him like they would a junior or senior QB. Folks forget he is a true freshman teenager. It is just amazing how good he is playing and should be the biggest hope for all of us that the next 3 years we will almost certainly be above average because as your QB goes the team goes. My usf friend that was sitting with me as is our tradition said as much. Imagine if usf had a Gabriel. We would all be hating life for the next 3 years. I would also point out the DG’s freshman season he is way beyond KZ or quinton flowers was as a freshman. KZ had the worst line ever in front of him and not the same supporting cast but still, it is evident.
· Gabriel Davis: Sometimes he looks like a man amongst boys out there. That first TD catch wasn’t even fair. Great throw by DG to give him a chance but that was just Davis being better then the CB and you see that time and time again. I really hope he stays for his senior season to play with his brother. I think he will be good in the NFL but the lack of top end speed may put him in the mid to late rounds, especially with such a stacked WR class. May make sense to stay. One can at least hope. Wouldn’t blame him though if he left.
· Defense: Everyone on the defense played well tonight, how can you complain about 7 points let up. LBs in particular were strong, Clarke was solid as always, Collier with a big stat line with the pick and sack.
Senior Class Breakdown: I don’t really have a slow for this week that I can think is slow enough to write it down so instead I was going to give my thoughts on the Seniors we are losing and what impact I think they will have. Overall I don’t see any major losses that should significantly derail what we can do next year. This team is very Junior heavy…
· AK: I noted above I think he is the biggest loss on offense. Of course, not counting KZ.
· Jordan Johnson: Probably the 2nd biggest loss on offense, was a staple at center. He is also a great guy. Every time I bring my son to practice he would come over and say hi and talk with him. Other guys would just run by and he always takes the time. Truly great guy, hope he gets a shot at the next level.
· Jake Brown: Lots of experience, thought we had lost him before so seems a bit anti climatic and the offensive line didn’t play as well as they should have this year but still hurts to lose a senior starting tackle.
· Clarke: I think he is the biggest loss on the defense and probably our highest pick in the draft. He has great size, is competitive, was really looking forward to him and Bam shutting everyone down all year but either way he is going to be tough to replace. Hopefully Bam fully recovers and Gowan keeps progressing and other folks step up. A Rob has been playing great, he may get that starting spot.
· Evans: The good thing is Mitchell and Gilyard are coming back so finding someone to take over for Evans isn’t replacing the entire unit like we had to a few years back. I think his passion though will be missed. At times I thought he was one of the only guys really showing it, not always constructively but still you need that in offensive line man and line backers in IMO.
· Hayes: A very solid player but not a transcending type player that I do not think we can replace. Don’t get me wrong, love to have him another year but I think we have the depth on this one and personally would like to see more speed off the edge.
· Barnas: Did an admirable job this year filling in for a veteran, only missed two FGs and hit a big 50 yarder. We didn’t actually need him all that much but still was great to know he was there if we did.
Juniors that Might Leave Early: The only one I think we lose to the draft is Gabriel Davis. I explained in my point about him above I think he should and could stay but I could see him going. Outside of him I don’t think we lose anyone else to the draft. Of course, transfers, etc… can happen but draft I don’t see that likely. Maybe Grant but I think he should have had a better year, probably played better last year and not sure that helped his stock.
Hopefully we get a good bowl game. Love to have another great road trip. Go Knights!!!
