The spring game left me with a lot more questions than answers than I would have liked. The unorthodox system by which the teams were assigned certainly didn't help but it was hard to distinguish whether the offense's relatively low number of big plays was indicative of poor play by the offense or superb play by the defenses. However, the spring game revealed plenty of positives as well, most notably on the defense and the receivers.
QB Outlook:
I primarily was looking to see how the offensive line and QB interacted to make the pre-snap adjustments which Blake Bortles would make in his time here. Unfortunately, Joey Grant's inactivity due to injury makes it difficult to judge from a fan's standpoint how the new starting QB will perform next season so UCF nation will have to wait until after summer camp to see. That said, Holman is my bet to be the starting QB, in part due to a bit better athleticism and a stronger arm as well as he was the more consistent between himself and DiNovo. Odds are Tyler Harris will recieve a redshirt as DiNovo did the year before so that he has a year to work out with the team and learn the system better; a year with our coaching staff will work out any kinks and rough edges to his game and he will be in a better position to be the starter of the future.
WR Corps:
Quote me on this: the receivers will carry this offense, Stanback will be explosive but the receivers will be what causes defenses to have to worry about the pass. On multiple occasions we saw receivers make spectacular catches in traffic from passes that were not necessarily the most accurate (cough, cough; JJ). We saw our receivers use their legs and put moves on the defense to fight for more yardage (often significantly more yardage). JJ Worton is undeniably the star of this offense and it certainly shined bright with his performance. Taylor Oldham looked good with the touches he received and adds to the depth of an already deep receiving corps. This receiving corps will be instrumental in the development of the quarterbacks in the coming season.
DB Performance:
The first group I have to applaud on the defense are the DBs. Yes, the passing game was a bit spotty throughout the spring game but that in large part was due to the DBs shutting down the receivers in most 1v1 situations. Coverage was generally solid and we return 4 starters at all 4 defensive back positions. Going into camp, the defense mentioned how a lack of communication resulted in a lot of the big plays allowed last season. If the spring game is indicative of what is to come, there is a notable difference in the defensive performance.
Front 7 Performance:
Until the long William Stanback TD run, there was effectively no run game. Some of that may have to do with the overmatched 2nd string O-line facing the disruptive starting D-line, a lot of that has to do with linebackers throughout the depth chart making plays in the backfield. I particularly remember seeing Mark Rucker make several tackles for loss throughout the day and other linebacker Jared Henry returned a wayward pass for a TD.On the defensive line; Thomas Niles stood out spending much of the day in the backfield, blowing past the tackles and getting to the quarterback 5 times. The D-line overall held their ground much better than the year before, opening holes for the linebackers to get into the backfield and clogging the running lanes. As impressive as the front 7's performance was, their successes must be taken with a grain of salt in consideration of some of the mismatches between 1st and 2nd string offenses and defenses.
The offense gives me some reason for concern, especially the passing game's inconsistency. Hopefully in offseason camp, Coach O'Leary and the rest of the coaching staff can get the quarterbacks' consistency to where we want it to be, ideally eliminate the overthrown and under thrown passes. William Stanback spearheads a solid running game that will lead the UCF offense but the QBs need to develop enough consistency to at least be able to manage the game.
