George O'Leary, Blake Bortles, and Storm Johnson all went for a ride of a lifetime during their 2013 season. Going 12-1, the only loss coming against an SEC opponent, beating the favorite for the Conference title in Louisville, who has now joined the ACC, winning the American Athletic Conference title in it's inaugural season, and then beating an offensive juggernaut in the Baylor Bears in the Fiesta Bowl is probably exactly how they all would have drawn it up. The Knights were not even thought about before the season last year. They were given a total of two points in the USA Today preseason coaches poll, which would have put them right at forty-eighth. Technically, that is more points than Auburn had at that time, but that is another story. The season was just a mysterious magic carpet ride for the Knights, who struggled mightily on the road, but played much better on their home turf in Orlando. Here is a complete look at the 2013 results for the UCF Knights:
There were many good wins and many games that should not have been close for the Knights. They beat Louisville by three, but also struggled to defeat Temple, South Florida, and SMU as well. They were pretty close to going undefeated as well though, because they played South Carolina very close for the entire 60 minutes. But the past is in fact just that, the past, and it is time to shut that door to see what the Knights can bring back to the table in the 2014 season and if there is many more magic under their helmets.
Offense
Blake Bortles absence leaves a huge hole in this offense for the Knights. He was absolutely fantastic last year and there was not a lot of room for error. When a smaller school like UCF has a player go number 3 overall in the NFL Draft to the Jacksonville Jaguars, there are other players doing things right too. The man in the driver's seat to take over the quarterback position for 2014 is sophomore quarterback Justin Holman. He appeared in three games for the Knights last year, completing 9 of 14 pass attempts for 75 yards with one touchdown and one interception. But he was able to run as well, getting 40 yards on 7 rushing attempts. He is more of a dual threat than Bortles was and is still a big sized quarterback in his own right. Holman will have some freshmen to fight off, but is the likely quarterback for the long haul in Orlando.
However, it was not just the passing game that was successful for the Knights last year, it was also the running game. The best player for the running game was none other than Storm Johnson. Johnson, surprisingly, was also drafted by the Jaguars, although it was in the seventh round, and he is working hard to backup Toby Gerhart this upcoming season. The man to fill in Storm's shoes is sophomore running back William Stanback. He was the secondary option in the running game last year and racked up a grand total of 443 yards and 6 touchdowns rushing the ball. He has a great opportunity to capitalize on for the Knights in the 2014 season, as long as he shows the promise he had in his freshman season.
The good news for the Knights is that not all of their skill position players graduated from the team. They bring back talented senior wide receivers in Ranell Hall and J.J. Worton. Hall was the primary man to catch the ball last year grabbing 57 receptions for 886 yards and 5 touchdowns. Worton is also a similar possession type receiver with his 47 catches going for 721 yards and 7 touchdowns. These two give good hands to the offense and hope to keep the team from falling in 2014. But there is one more receiver to keep an eye on as well and that is junior Breshad Perriman. He is 6 '3" 214 pounds, which makes him bigger than both Hall and Worton, and his 39 catches went for 811 yards and 4 touchdowns. Yes, Perriman is the deep threat that every team looks for and should continue to be able to play in this role again in 2014.
Defense
Defensively, the Knights shut down more teams than they were expected to in 2013, but they were also involved in their share of shootouts. If they are expected to do just as well in 2014, then they will have to raise their game on defense. That all starts up front with the defensive line, which is anchored by redshirt junior defensive end Thomas Niles, who led the team in sacks last year with 4. He also had 8 quarterback hurries, which was the most for any Knight this previous year. With his 6' 2", 270 pound frame, he brings just the right amount of size and speed at defensive end and he is definitely looking to get more than just the 30 tackles he had last year.
The key to the entire defense though is their senior middle linebacker Terrance Plummer. He was the defensive MVP of the Fiesta Bowl and he recorded a total of 110 tackles in the Knight's games last year, while adding 2.5 sacks and 2 interceptions to go with 6 passes broken up and 8 passes defended. Plummer is looking to have a stronger end to his collegiate career though, before he goes back to his hometown of Orange Park, Florida, presumably to look the Jaguars. If he can get the same number of tackles this upcoming season, he will start to get on NFL team's radar for a potential draft pick.
It is not very often that anyone in the secondary has over 100 tackles. Clayton Geathers did not quite do that this past season, but he reached exactly 100 tackles, and he had hit triple digit tackles in 2012 as well. The strong safety out of South Carolina is a big safety at 6' 2" and the Knights will continue to use him as a mismatch opportunity every time they get. The other man in the secondary is redshirt sophomore Jacoby Glenn. He had 52 tackles, 2 interceptions, and 15 passes defended in 2013. At 6' 0" and 186 pounds, he is bigger than most college cornerbacks and he will continue to thwart opposing wide receivers on his side of the field in 2014.
Special Teams
Senior place kicker Shawn Moffitt looks to build on his 2013 season. During 2013 he placed 21 of 23 attempts through the uprights on field goal attempts, and he also hit all 49 of his point after attempts. Redshirt senior Sean Galvin should continue his work on kickoffs as well.
The punter for the Knights returns as well from last year, in redshirt sophomore Caleb Houston, who to put it simply has a great name. He could be much better though, as with 41 punts in 2013 he only put 12 inside the opponent's 20 yard line and had 5 touchbacks. Cutting down on touchbacks is simply the punter's job and Houston should improve this season.
2014 Season Outlook
It is difficult to project exactly what will happen for the Knights in 2014, just because they played so many games so close and are losing considerable offensive talents to the NFL. So first, let us take a closer look at their schedule and go from there.
They start the season off across the pond in Ireland against Penn State, which will be an exciting game simply because of the location, and George O'Leary has to have some Irish heritage in him. Missouri in the second game is their only ranked opponent of the entire season as well, which is somewhat disappointing. It is all going to come down to their conference play, but if yours truly here had to guess how the Knights will fare in 2014, he would put them closer to 7-5 than anything else, simply because they have to fall back from where they were last year.