Who will become UCF's next group of go-to wide receivers? Coach Sean Beckton goes in-depth about camp, the freshmen battling it out and provides an update on the former players looking to make it in the pros.
When I talked with you in the spring, you said you knew it'd be kind of a different season. You had the same guys for pretty much four years. You knew what to expect of them, they knew what to expect of you. A lot of new guys in the mix this year, three freshmen. How different has this camp been?
"The biggest thing for these guys is they're very, very talented. Obviously when you've got a bunch of new faces they have to learn the details of how we do things here. That's the biggest struggle. Trying to get them to do the little things right. Breaking at the correct depth, understanding the perfect alignments. Those are the things I'm struggling with them to learn, but they're coming along. They're a great group of kids to work with. Tremendous kids. I'm really happy to be a part of working with them right now."
I know the two guys who have been here - Jordan Akins is the most experienced, playing a little bit last season, and Tre'Quan Smith redshirted and was one of the top guys in spring - are those the two maybe rising to the top in that group?
"Tre'Quan Smith has tremendous upside. Jordan, fans got a taste of him a little bit last year. He's had an opportunity to be around, take in another spring and summer. He's one of those guys that's really, really stepped up his game. And Tre'Quan has worked extremely hard this summer. Those other guys, Chris Davis has worked hard. We look forward seeing what he can get done. Obviously the three freshmen. I think they've worked extremely hard with Tristan Payton, Cam Stewart and D'erren Wilson. I'm really excited about those guys. The one guy that's really stepped up his game is Nick Patti and Pete DiNovo. I think those guys are doing some good things. The one kid that's also kind of overshadowed a little bit is Blake Tiralosi. We've got a good group of guys we could put out there and put a good product on for the UCF fans."
Last year, a guy like Tre'Quan Smith I think you've said he could have easily played, but with four or five players ahead of him he didn't need to play. Has he been doing the things you'd like to see for a guy that's been in the program? Are you expecting a big season out of Tre'Quan?
"He's taking coaching. He's understanding that now it's his time. Last year he redshirted and kind of watched Breshad Perriman a little bit. Perriman mentored him a little bit last year which I think has helped him with the transition. He's still got a long way to go because he's never taken a snap in a live football game. I'm curious to see how he responds under the lights. But they're all working hard and I'm really impressed with how hard they're working right now."
You mentioned the two former quarterbacks, Nick Patti and Pete DiNovo. How much does that help you and help Justin, having guys that know the offense. Maybe they're learning how to be a receiver, but as far as the ins and outs of the offense, I'm sure they have that down pat.
"I look at those guys as leaders of the group because you've got so many young kids. Patti and DiNovo, those guys have been here in the program. They're older kids, so I give them more responsibility in making sure the younger guys are doing exactly what we coach them to do. As a matter of fact, Patti called a meeting just for the receivers, a receivers-only meeting last night, to make sure those guys understand the importance of continuing to work and continuing to listen to the coaches. They're a very valuable piece of what we're trying to do this year in the offense."
I know you're looking for guys to step up in a lot of positions, in that slot role, I think some of the guys said on Friday that Nick Patti had the catch of practice. Is he doing some things - I don't know what the expectation was with the transition, but it looks like he's got a chance to help the team.
"I think he worked really hard this summer. We had a lot of NFL cut-ups that he got a chance to look at with (Wes) Welker, (Julian) Edelman, those type of guys. Brent Key has done a good job of getting a lot of NFL information in to help a guy like him. I think he's been a quick study. He understands his role. I've tried to tell him, 'You're not a blazer. You got to use your smarts and your wits.' I think he's taken to it, understanding how to maneuver inside now. Obviously we've worked him outside a little bit too, so he could play inside or outside for us."
How are the three freshmen coming along? I know Coach O'Leary mentioned Tristan Payton after the first few days. I know it can be a grind, they haven't gone through a camp this difficult in their lives. Has anybody rose to the forefront or is that still a work of progress to see who's going to be that guy that gets on the travel squad?
"Tristan Payton is a kid that's got the body makeup, the build, speed and strength for a guy to compete. He's done extremely well. He's learned the offense much faster than I thought he would. His biggest thing is playing hard on every snap, which he's working extremely hard towards. Cam Stewart has got tremendous ability. He's just got to get a little stronger, but he's making plays for us. D'erren Wilson is one of the receivers that is kind of underrated out there. He's probably got the fewest drops of all the receivers throughout camp. Those three young kids are really fighting to see who's going to be in the mix as far as traveling. I would pretty much guarantee that Payton right now is probably the head of those other two, with Cam Stewart and D'erren Wilson neck and neck together."
What number, is it seven that's usually on that travel squad?
"Coach O'Leary normally goes with six to seven. If some of those guys can help us out on special teams we could bump it up to eight. He normally goes six to seven as a base rule. If somebody else slides in maybe on special teams that could help us in that area, he'll travel eight."
There's one thing I noticed on UCF's Twitter during the summer, they had the highlights of the game where you threw a touchdown, caught a touchdown and ran a touchdown. Did any of the guys see that and did they finally believe that you were one of the best players that ever played for this program?
"Actually Rob Calabrese came in and showed it to me. He said, 'Coach Beckton, you had a big arm, didn't you?' It's one of those things that some of the kids, they see some of the footage of me playing as a Hall of Fame player, they got a chance to see some of the things I did to help the program grow. That meant a lot to me, whoever put it out there. A lot of my tapes I can't find. It was funny to see that. Kids got a kick out of it. Whoever put it out there made me feel good."
A lot of your guys are fighting for NFL roster spots. Rannell Hall is doing good things down at Tampa Bay, Josh Reese is with Philadelphia and Breshad with the Ravens. Have you had any communication with those guys?
"I try to talk to those guys, the NFL guys, once a week. Breshad is still nursing that knee. I think he could go, but they're just trying to be extra cautious with him. Rannell, I heard the other day he sprained his hamstring so they kind of held him out. But he's doing extremely well. Josh, from all the reports I got, he's come in and worked extremely hard there. Obviously other guys, A.J. Bouye and Kamar Aiken and all those guys, I still communicate with them. They're representing UCF. That's one of the things that we're proud of. The kids come in here, work the program for four to five years and they move on and then have success on that next level because they worked so hard in our program. It really, really motivates these younger guys. We use that all the time. I spoke to the receivers the other night about that. There's a reason our guys get in the NFL and stick with it. They ran the race here, they worked extremely hard. They're having success there because of how hard they worked here."
J.J. Worton, I know he had the devastating injury at the end of last season. Do you know where he is with his progress?
"The word is J.J. is soon to be cleared here in the next week or so. Hopefully somebody will come in and give him a free agent deal. I know his agent told me that he's been in contact with a couple teams. Maybe he'll get a try-out spot if he can clear his knee injury. All he needs is an opportunity. Once he gets into camp somewhere, he's going to thrive. I know the kid that well. He's hungry. He's anxious to get in there and get back. I keep telling him, 'Slow down. Wait until you get your knee completely healed so you can really, really turn it loose.' I think there's going to be some opportunities for him here at least for a try-out to see how well that knee has recovered for him."
