Opening Statement:
“Good Tuesday coming off a bye. I think our players did a really good job of handling the bye week – it’s kind of odd to have it that early. We take full advantage of that when we can get it. We worked on a lot of things, had a lot of things we had to improve on coming out of the first two games, as a team, that we’ve identified for our guys. They took the right approach last week. We had some really good practices, got better, couple guys that may be dinged up here or there, took advantage of the treatment and rest time. Now we’re into a game week, we got Central Florida coming in here at home this weekend. They’re a really good football team, as everyone knows. They’ve only played one game, due to the weather conditions down there so there’s one game on film. They’re a really talented team, from playing them last year, they’re really well coached, they’re miles ahead of what they were a year ago when we played them. As are we. We expect a great challenge here this weekend, our players are looking forward to it.”
On if this game will be a measure of progress, compared to last year playing UCF:
“I don’t think of it in those terms. It is a different season, different guys. They have a lot of guys playing that played last year, but those guys are all a year better. As are our guys. With experience, you get better. I know their quarterback is doing a really good job, he looks like he feels really comfortable running their offense. We’ve been able to watch a lot of film on them since the time we played them a year ago because that was early in the season. I don’t know about measuring or what not, I do know this, they are an extremely talented team. They’ll be one of the most talented teams that we can play. We’ll just prepare like we know how and understand that we have to come out ready to play, and play our best ball game. We want to get better every week. We’ve had two games and we want this one to be the best one we’ve played.”
On the similarities between UCF’s and Maryland’s football programs:
“I think, just watching them on tape, Scott [Frost]’s doing a tremendous job there. You can tell the team plays really hard. They’ve got good athletes, they play fast, they play hard and you can tell they’re bought into what’s going on – I think in all three phases of the game. There’s not… when you watch offense, defense, special teams, it shows up everywhere. Those guys are really playing hard, they know what they’re doing, they’re sound. Yeah, it’s a great challenge for our guys in all three phases. It’s good, as a competitor, as a team, I think you want that. You want those types of challenges. We know we’ve got to have a great week of practice and be on our game on Saturday.”
On what makes WR D.J. Moore so good:
“As you watch it, you can see his talent and his ability. That’s pretty clear, that’s a big part of it. What makes him special to me is how he works and just what he does. You guys are all familiar with our Champion’s Club, he’s been a champion every quarter since we’ve been here. He’s the only guy on the team that’s been in the Champion’s Club every single quarter. That, to me, in our terms, as we define a program, speaks to his level of work ethic, accountability, all the things we talk about as a program. He’s the model guy for that. That’s where you see that carry over and why he’s able to play at the level he plays.”
On if having an early bye requires any schedule adjustments:
“It is different because if you’ve got a bye midseason to around the third quarter of the season, there’s usually more snaps on guys, so there’s more time they need rest, take something off them. We’re not in that spot right now. It was an individualized plan. There were certain guys that we felt needed that, from where they are, so we managed their reps the right way. But as a team, we need to keep practicing and getting better and improve. Our guys, they did a good job of that. They understood it, we explained the ‘why’ to them, why we’re doing what we’re doing, I think they understand.”
On if he’s faced a team that had two weeks off like UCF:
“No, never been. That’s a unique situation – not been. Probably a lot like going into your first game again, in training camp, getting ready for your first game.”
On Andrew Isaacs moving from tight end to defensiv eline:
“Andrew’s done an excellent job, changing positions. It was something we approached him about, really, late last season. He came over and did a little bit, not in games. Kind of just looking forward, we really felt like Andrew’s a guy that works really hard, he’s accountable, he’s about all the right things. We thought it was his best opportunity to get on the field and help the team. He embraced it, to his credit, and has done really good job throughout the spring. His reps, I think, will keep going up as we go. He’s very accountable to his assignments, what he’s supposed to do, and wants to be good – and he works hard at it. Any time you have a guy like that, they just keep improving the more coaching they get.”
On improvements on the offensive line:
“It was important to get the freshmen some snaps in there, because a lot of those guys are teetering around the two-deep. Either solidly in the two-deep or around there, so that’s why those snaps become very valuable, get them game snaps. It’s a long season, you need to stay healthy. We’re really pleased with their progression. To be a freshman and play on the offensive line at the line of scrimmage, that’s hard. That’s probably the hardest place to do it. Those are grown men up there. I think we definitely recruited the right guys. We have guys that we feel really good about, that can do that for us right now. I think they’ll just keep moving forward.”
On UCF QB McKenzie Milton:
“He’s a dangerous player, he can beat you throwing it and running it. Last year we played him, it was his first start, first start in college. So he’s got a whole season of games under his belt now, I think he’s a different player that way of understanding their offense, what they want to do. He’s elusive, he scrambles, he’s hard to get down on the ground, and when he scrambles, he keeps his eyes down the field as well. A lot of his big plays come from scrambling out of the pocket, kind of broken plays or buying time, and launching the ball down the field. We’ve got to do a great job of managing that, with how we handle it up front, and also staying in coverage down the field – because that’s, a lot of what they do, come off of big plays that way.”
On the offensive line improvements protecting the quarterback:
“They’ve played terrific so far. We’ve got to keep improving, getting better. In terms of pass protection, they’ve been really good. We have faced a lot of different defenses, even in two games. There’s been a lot of stuff thrown at us and they’ve done a good job with it. It’s god those guys are an experienced unit, they’re all guys that have played together. Sean Christie is one new starter that wasn’t really in the mix in the offensive line that much last year. He’s done a great job playing in there. We put a lot on those guys, we’re going to lean on them for sure. I think that’s where the game is won or lost – on the line of scrimmage.”
On D.J. Moore’s ability to avoid tackles:
“D.J.’s just… he’s a physical guy. He’s built big for a receiver and still has the ability to run and change direction. Athletically, you don’t see many guys like that. It’s about his determination, his work ethic, he’s a competitor. When he catches that ball, he wants to do something with it. That’s a mindset. Some guys catch the ball and want to get to the ground. He doesn’t. He wants to catch the ball and gain yards and make something happen with it. Certainly a lot of work has been put into that by him, I think he’s earned all that. We’re going to keep trying to get him the ball.”
“Good Tuesday coming off a bye. I think our players did a really good job of handling the bye week – it’s kind of odd to have it that early. We take full advantage of that when we can get it. We worked on a lot of things, had a lot of things we had to improve on coming out of the first two games, as a team, that we’ve identified for our guys. They took the right approach last week. We had some really good practices, got better, couple guys that may be dinged up here or there, took advantage of the treatment and rest time. Now we’re into a game week, we got Central Florida coming in here at home this weekend. They’re a really good football team, as everyone knows. They’ve only played one game, due to the weather conditions down there so there’s one game on film. They’re a really talented team, from playing them last year, they’re really well coached, they’re miles ahead of what they were a year ago when we played them. As are we. We expect a great challenge here this weekend, our players are looking forward to it.”
On if this game will be a measure of progress, compared to last year playing UCF:
“I don’t think of it in those terms. It is a different season, different guys. They have a lot of guys playing that played last year, but those guys are all a year better. As are our guys. With experience, you get better. I know their quarterback is doing a really good job, he looks like he feels really comfortable running their offense. We’ve been able to watch a lot of film on them since the time we played them a year ago because that was early in the season. I don’t know about measuring or what not, I do know this, they are an extremely talented team. They’ll be one of the most talented teams that we can play. We’ll just prepare like we know how and understand that we have to come out ready to play, and play our best ball game. We want to get better every week. We’ve had two games and we want this one to be the best one we’ve played.”
On the similarities between UCF’s and Maryland’s football programs:
“I think, just watching them on tape, Scott [Frost]’s doing a tremendous job there. You can tell the team plays really hard. They’ve got good athletes, they play fast, they play hard and you can tell they’re bought into what’s going on – I think in all three phases of the game. There’s not… when you watch offense, defense, special teams, it shows up everywhere. Those guys are really playing hard, they know what they’re doing, they’re sound. Yeah, it’s a great challenge for our guys in all three phases. It’s good, as a competitor, as a team, I think you want that. You want those types of challenges. We know we’ve got to have a great week of practice and be on our game on Saturday.”
On what makes WR D.J. Moore so good:
“As you watch it, you can see his talent and his ability. That’s pretty clear, that’s a big part of it. What makes him special to me is how he works and just what he does. You guys are all familiar with our Champion’s Club, he’s been a champion every quarter since we’ve been here. He’s the only guy on the team that’s been in the Champion’s Club every single quarter. That, to me, in our terms, as we define a program, speaks to his level of work ethic, accountability, all the things we talk about as a program. He’s the model guy for that. That’s where you see that carry over and why he’s able to play at the level he plays.”
On if having an early bye requires any schedule adjustments:
“It is different because if you’ve got a bye midseason to around the third quarter of the season, there’s usually more snaps on guys, so there’s more time they need rest, take something off them. We’re not in that spot right now. It was an individualized plan. There were certain guys that we felt needed that, from where they are, so we managed their reps the right way. But as a team, we need to keep practicing and getting better and improve. Our guys, they did a good job of that. They understood it, we explained the ‘why’ to them, why we’re doing what we’re doing, I think they understand.”
On if he’s faced a team that had two weeks off like UCF:
“No, never been. That’s a unique situation – not been. Probably a lot like going into your first game again, in training camp, getting ready for your first game.”
On Andrew Isaacs moving from tight end to defensiv eline:
“Andrew’s done an excellent job, changing positions. It was something we approached him about, really, late last season. He came over and did a little bit, not in games. Kind of just looking forward, we really felt like Andrew’s a guy that works really hard, he’s accountable, he’s about all the right things. We thought it was his best opportunity to get on the field and help the team. He embraced it, to his credit, and has done really good job throughout the spring. His reps, I think, will keep going up as we go. He’s very accountable to his assignments, what he’s supposed to do, and wants to be good – and he works hard at it. Any time you have a guy like that, they just keep improving the more coaching they get.”
On improvements on the offensive line:
“It was important to get the freshmen some snaps in there, because a lot of those guys are teetering around the two-deep. Either solidly in the two-deep or around there, so that’s why those snaps become very valuable, get them game snaps. It’s a long season, you need to stay healthy. We’re really pleased with their progression. To be a freshman and play on the offensive line at the line of scrimmage, that’s hard. That’s probably the hardest place to do it. Those are grown men up there. I think we definitely recruited the right guys. We have guys that we feel really good about, that can do that for us right now. I think they’ll just keep moving forward.”
On UCF QB McKenzie Milton:
“He’s a dangerous player, he can beat you throwing it and running it. Last year we played him, it was his first start, first start in college. So he’s got a whole season of games under his belt now, I think he’s a different player that way of understanding their offense, what they want to do. He’s elusive, he scrambles, he’s hard to get down on the ground, and when he scrambles, he keeps his eyes down the field as well. A lot of his big plays come from scrambling out of the pocket, kind of broken plays or buying time, and launching the ball down the field. We’ve got to do a great job of managing that, with how we handle it up front, and also staying in coverage down the field – because that’s, a lot of what they do, come off of big plays that way.”
On the offensive line improvements protecting the quarterback:
“They’ve played terrific so far. We’ve got to keep improving, getting better. In terms of pass protection, they’ve been really good. We have faced a lot of different defenses, even in two games. There’s been a lot of stuff thrown at us and they’ve done a good job with it. It’s god those guys are an experienced unit, they’re all guys that have played together. Sean Christie is one new starter that wasn’t really in the mix in the offensive line that much last year. He’s done a great job playing in there. We put a lot on those guys, we’re going to lean on them for sure. I think that’s where the game is won or lost – on the line of scrimmage.”
On D.J. Moore’s ability to avoid tackles:
“D.J.’s just… he’s a physical guy. He’s built big for a receiver and still has the ability to run and change direction. Athletically, you don’t see many guys like that. It’s about his determination, his work ethic, he’s a competitor. When he catches that ball, he wants to do something with it. That’s a mindset. Some guys catch the ball and want to get to the ground. He doesn’t. He wants to catch the ball and gain yards and make something happen with it. Certainly a lot of work has been put into that by him, I think he’s earned all that. We’re going to keep trying to get him the ball.”
