We have some NFL size Offensive Lineman...hopefully Coach can
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This from Frost preview on UCFKnights.com regarding OL:
"I think we made some great strides on the offensive line over the spring," Frost said. "I was really impressed with some of our younger guys. I think our depth is going to be a lot better. We need to get better at that position. We were young and not very deep last year. If we can run the ball well on everybody I think that helps open up a lot of things. Our offensive line looks the best it has looked since I've been here."
Somehow this quote doesn't make me feel at peace. Also, somebody 'xplain to me why we don't have competition at every line position after the last football game (the bowl) that I watched. See article below.
http://ucfknights.com/news/2017/7/19/football-preview-offensive-line.aspx
"I think we made some great strides on the offensive line over the spring," Frost said. "I was really impressed with some of our younger guys. I think our depth is going to be a lot better. We need to get better at that position. We were young and not very deep last year. If we can run the ball well on everybody I think that helps open up a lot of things. Our offensive line looks the best it has looked since I've been here."
Somehow this quote doesn't make me feel at peace. Also, somebody 'xplain to me why we don't have competition at every line position after the last football game (the bowl) that I watched. See article below.
http://ucfknights.com/news/2017/7/19/football-preview-offensive-line.aspx
We have basically missed on a few recruits, lost Hiers and Dowdell who were very very highly rated, and had both serious and nagging injuries.
This has left us with only a little more depth and still only 1-2 injuries from being only a little improved or the same as last year
I'm not expecting a major breakthrough in the offensive line this year. Basically the QB and RBs are going to have to make plays where there isn't one. That's not unheard of.
The way I read it, Frost says "we're getting better but we're not there yet." Next year, however, he has no excuse but the fact he didn't get it done.
That being said, I expect a very different OL than last year.
That being said, I expect a very different OL than last year.
I think having Jordan Johnson (6'2" 275) at center vs Jason Rae (5'10" 275) will make all of the difference. Jordan is very strong especially in the lower body and he's not going to get pushed around the way Rae did last year. Hopefully the GOL recruits Luke Palmer, Wyatt Miller and Chavis Dickey step up.
I didn't see Luke Palmer mentioned in this article and there were some of Frost's highly touted OL recruits from last season that weren't mentioned either.
I guess what I'd of rather heard the coach say for the benefit of the development of the OL is we're going to plug and play our OL in fall camp until we get this thing right. Instead, he makes it sound like we already pretty much have our starting line figured out. I know there is ALOT of beef on our OL roster. When our line looks like patty cakes, I wonder if more beef isn't being given a chance to prove their mettle.
I guess what I'd of rather heard the coach say for the benefit of the development of the OL is we're going to plug and play our OL in fall camp until we get this thing right. Instead, he makes it sound like we already pretty much have our starting line figured out. I know there is ALOT of beef on our OL roster. When our line looks like patty cakes, I wonder if more beef isn't being given a chance to prove their mettle.
I was feeling the same way after I read it also. "we need to get better at that position".........more like.......we had zero O-line last year and Milton ran for his life.....so this year we did ____________________(fill in the blank)
Hate to say it but 6-2 is not that tall any more. 275 is high school weight. Really, Offensive lineman must be 6-3, 300+ to be highly effective (at the wild knight)
But yeah, 5-10 is just crazy.Jordan weighs in at 309 now per the roster. He bulked up a lot in the off season.
Yeah the roster weights are from last year. We need to update the roster.
I know ALOT of these guys got bigger and understand there's always the element of having some sort of leadership on each group BUT as far as I'm concerned it's like the Blake Bortles situation in Jacksonville, keep the flame burning underneath until you get the performance you need. Both Blake on the Jags and our OL at UCF have no excuses not to execute at this point or you simply replace them.
Seasons like this I wish they would scrimmage more to figure out who really has what it takes. Nowadays, colleges often play through September trying to figure out what they really got when the hitting from competition gets fierce.
6'2" for a center is fine. You want 6'4"-6'6" for guards and tacklesHate to say it but 6-2 is not that tall any more. 275 is high school weight. Really, Offensive lineman must be 6-3, 300+ to be highly effective (at the wild knight)
Wish that we could get 3 teams on campus for a weekend to scrimmage during spring break. High school football does it well.
The Frost offense relies on brief openings in the line for quick backs to shoot through. It's not about holding your blocks and pancakes while runners patiently wait for a lane to open. So 300 is better than 330, agility and footwork more important than sheer strength and size.
Yeah dont need an excessively large center at all. The only thing he needs to be is smart and vocal which jason rae was not in the football sense, nor could he move well. Jordan Johnson from what i hear can be all of those things.
Only Johnson doesn't mess up his snaps like he did in the spring game. Milton did that to Rae as well during his first game! Also, a short center seemed to be a particular disadvantage with a short QB. Rae was more effective with Holman in previous years.
When you don't have height (5'11") you can't carry any real weight and still be mobile. Maybe 275lbs, but certainly not 290-300 plus.
I'm still only predicting 6-6 because of the O-line, in 2017. I'll give them until 2018 to improve. But I think we have inflated hopes this year, as a fanbase.
Having high hopes is MORE than fine. That's best case scenario/ideal outcome. However, I do think our expectations are a little too high. We should always hope for an defeated season. But we should expect a 7-5; 8-3 at absolute best.
could be right.....FIU should give us an indication. THEY WILL BE BRINGING IT!!!!!!!!! Their defensive line will be bringing it hard. They'll know we were soft at OL. Any team will know...so they are already smelling the blood in the water....now they'll come after the meat! (see what I did there) LOL just kidding
We'll only get as far as our fragile QB. He was out much of his senior year of high school also. Opponents know to force him to run until he slows to a hobble. Without that option, Frost's offense implodes and the defense can just bring the house. I think UCF got spoiled with durable Bortles and a Holman who'd take 10 sacks in a game but bounce up every time.
We have a young O-line. I don't think we'll be as good on offense, regardless of QB. They need time to develop. I'm not big on us doing much other than likely meeting 0.500 again with the losses on defense.
I refuse to have inflated expectations this year, and put pressure on the kids or coach in only his 2nd year.
you're 100% on this. Unless Milton turns into a miracle QB (and he may).....the line will need time to develop.
Fragile QB? You mean to tell me Holman was super durable? 2015 he lasted 2 games, 2016 he lasted 3 before getting hurt.
2014 was the last time we had any semblance a line and Holman barely got touched all year. AAC didnt exactly have amazing defenses that year.
Bortles had a stout O-line and minus a game or two was never on the ground that often.
You cant compare that to a kid who was supposed to redshirt to put on weight and get comfortable then is thrown in the 3rd game.
For a prof, i think youd be able to do better research/come up with a more educated response at times. Then again football and academia dont work the same at all from a logic standpoint. Much more emotion involved that clouds judgement.
In 2014, we shared the division championship, thanks to an impossible hail mary. But Holman was a punching back and pin cushion all season (including that ECU game). Sack after sack after sack. The 2015 injury was a freak hand injury (not a sack!) that he never fully recovered from. The 2016 injury was also not related to any of his sacks (it was at the end of his very long run). Holman was clobbered more than any UCF quarterback -- mostly due to the OLine and lack of any run game, but also because he was lousy evading the rush and slow on pulling the trigger. My only point was that MM could never have survived those dozens of full on hits (few people could).
Understood, you could argue quite a few of the hits he took at Maryland and Houston wouldve put alot of qbs on the sideline for a while too. Hard to say.
I think Holmans problem was he liked to hold the ball way to long instead of running or throwing it away like you said. I remember times pulling my hair out waiting for him to make a decision.
Holman was running for his life also. He never had protection his last year and the year before.
And thats when he got hurt. Moral of the story, recruit good o-line, keep QB on his feet=keep fans happy lol
Blake had a decent line but he could also throw, run and do some amazing things in a matter of milliseconds!
No, he was 42 yards down field and pulled up without being hit. Related note about Slantinel today in their front page story: Ileana and others have been filling in (must have canned Shannon?). Discussing our QB issues, she said Holman injured last year on his hand (that was TWO years ago).
True but the jags are proof that no matter how good your qb, you cant succeed with a bad line.
No offense to Holman, but that injury to me really looked like a "im tired of getting destroyed, let me hobble off" injury. I've seen many times, its called hurt pride. When players know they are getting crushed, no chance of winning, they pull up with hurt ankles or pulled hamstrings etc, seen it first hand. Then it just so happened he wasnt hurt the whole rest of the season and no more bad hammy.
Man, we're really hurting for football season to start if we're bashing a former student-athlete who isn't even here any more, let alone the subject and insinuations are questioning his honor and integrity.
I'm extremely far more likely to believe an UCF student-athlete who has been in our program, especially during the GoL years, but even Frost as well, than about 99% of our fanbase.
I'm extremely far more likely to believe an UCF student-athlete who has been in our program, especially during the GoL years, but even Frost as well, than about 99% of our fanbase.
What? He was playing Michigan with 100+K cheering. He did pull something and was a game time decision the next game until nearly kickoff. That was a great run, one of the longest of his career. Michigan couch was fit to be tied about all the run yardage we got against them, despite the score. One of our best ground games of the season, and really made their blitzer pay. If it weren't for their untested QB in the zone passing day, we could have made it closer.
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