Firstly, comparing results of a QB playing behind the Oline 1's to the results of QBs playing behind Oline 2's and 3's is comparing apples to prunes. Mack and Kingston both displayed serviceable 2nd string skills in their passing and mobility. They should not be blamed for the consequences of inconsistent line play and communication.
Offensive weapons are excellent and plentiful. It shows that there was no need for us to recruit more playmakers in the last cycle. We have no need to add to those rooms at this time as we are stacked at RB and WR for both this season and for 2019 actually. Snelson, Bargnare and Payton all looked well, as did several other WRs. Otis looked good in his transition to playing more WR. Cordarrian , McRae, Bentavious and Taj were all very effective RBs.
TE's are strong at playmaking but it appears could still need some attention to blocking assignments. Hescock and Roberson both made plays nicely.
Oline 1's are awesome at protection and run blocking. When the Oline "reserves" come in, the talent seems to still be there but it seems the communication level can lead to some sketchy results. I believe this is just a gray area that will get worked out as everyone gets more used to assignment changes in the scheme change from last year.
On D, we didn't really see the 4 down lineman look that has been discussed. Probably due to how many awesome LBs we have and how our DL ranks are not that deep at this point. It seems we showed mostly 3 down linemen with one or 2 edge guys (LBs) also on the line. This did seem effective in stopping outside runs and also in pass coverage in both the flats and short-mid range pass routes. However, the achilles heel seemed to be that those 3 down linemen and 2 inside LBs ofter were gashed on runs up the middle, which also was an issue last year with our D.
Charlton, Bacote and Burgess-Becker were constantly wreaking havoc off the edge. If they can play this season like they played last night, opposing QBs may have significant issues trying to get time to throw.
Pass coverage seemed great with our #1 DBs. Aaron Robinson was a shut down guy just as advertised. Nevelle Clark looked good in coverage. Bam Moore is usually in the right place in coverage, especially downfield, but seems to get handsy and physical even when it's not necessary to make a play, thus leading to penalty risks. I hope he can avoid those issues this year.
I think back to last year's spring game and the team did not look polished then either. Of course, we went undefeated from that. So I would not panic as this year we looked much better that last Spring overall. The thing about Spring games is that, the goal is not to show your best team look, but rather to get a decent look at all those under consideration for playing time. In that vein, my overall synopsis looks like this:
* Better playmaking ability and depth at LB, DB, WR and RB than last year. Although many lament the loss of Griffin and Burkett at LB, this is offset by getting Bacote healthy, SBB stepping up, Charlton and Gilyard coming aboard and Jasinski & Luyanda returning.
* Better Oline due to Boudreaux eligibility, Hudanick seemingly returning to good health, another year of experience of returners like Miller, Johnson & Jackson and added depth.
* QB, MM remains awesome and is even more experienced. Mack and Kingston will be just as effective as was Vedral was in potential backup roles.
* DLine, this is the achilles heel at this time. The departure of Pittman and Guerad still must be addressed. We may need at least one of the incoming DLs or the transfer JUCO to step up here in order to avoid a dropoff here. In all other areas, I see no dropoff on this team, and in most areas, moving up a notch. Also, let's not forget that in college football, all teams lose players every year.
So we need not feel we are losing ground just because guys move on. It's more of a matter of which teams adjust to their roster changes the best. It appears that overall, at this time, UCF is about a 8.5 out of 10 on those adjustments. If the DLine steps up better, this can move to a grade of better than 9 out of 10.