KNIGHTS VS. 'NAUTS: 5 things to watch during UCF spring football game

ORLANDO — UCF's first major intrasquad dress rehearsal as a Big 12 football program is set for Friday night.

The Knights — and the Citronauts, for that matter — will take the field at FBC Mortgage Stadium for the annual spring game. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m., moved an extra hour to accommodate the school's baseball team, as well as a certain dual-sport athlete.

Offensive players will wear the space-themed Citronaut uniforms, while defensive players don the traditional black and gold Knights colors for one half of competitive scrimmage action, followed by fan-friendly activities, coach Gus Malzahn said Tuesday.

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Of course, the bigger priority is seeing how UCF looks from a competitive standpoint. The Knights sputtered down the stretch in their American Athletic Conference swan song, losing three of their last four games including the league title game to Tulane with a Cotton Bowl bid on the line, and the Military Bowl to Duke. Alec Holler's miraculous touchdown reception salvaged what would have been a meltdown in the final War on I-4 as UCF edged rival South Florida, 46-39, on Thanksgiving weekend.

Both coordinators left in December; Chip Lindsey to North Carolina, and Travis Williams to Arkansas. More than a dozen players exited, too, via the NCAA transfer portal, headlined by linebacker Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste (Ole Miss), wide receiver Ryan O'Keefe (Boston College), cornerback Davonte Brown (Miami) and center Matt Lee (Miami).

There will be no weak links in the Big 12, a nine-game gauntlet beginning in mid-September. TCU reached the College Football Playoff final, Kansas State captured the conference crown in an overtime thriller over the Horned Frogs and both Oklahoma and Texas will want to make one last statement before a lucrative, early departure to the SEC. Eight of the 10 incumbent members qualified for a bowl game in 2022, as did fellow newcomers BYU, Cincinnati and Houston.

UCF's players have echoed throughout the spring that they plan to compete for a championship out of the gate. Progress this spring could go a long way to determine whether that's all talk, or a legitimate possibility in a few months' time.

Let's take a look at five things to watch for as the Knights and 'Nauts battle head-to-head in exhibition action.

1. Double duty for JRP

As he's done throughout the spring, quarterback John Rhys Plumlee will split his obligations Friday night between UCF's baseball and football teams. The redshirt senior plans to pull double duty as the Knights host Memphis in baseball at 5 p.m. to kick off a three-game American Athletic Conference series.

For the baseball team, Plumlee has started 32 of 33 games, hitting .302 with five home runs, seven doubles, 21 runs, 12 RBIs and nine stolen bases.

"We're planning on John Rhys helping our baseball team to victory Friday … When he gets done, he'll come over here and finish this thing out," Malzahn said.

Plumlee, Thomas Castellanos and Timmy McClain should have ample opportunities to push the ball down the field as Knights fans get their first look at new offensive coordinator Darin Hinshaw's offense. Hinshaw, a former UCF quarterback, has made it known that he wants to attack vertically in the passing game.

Hinshaw praised the group's improvements, particularly in footwork, following Saturday's practice.

"We were all over the place with understanding drop technique, where we're supposed to be, not shuffling up in the pocket too fast where we're getting ourselves in trouble, not running out of the pocket the minute somebody's not open and going through progression reads — trusting the O-line, trusting the receivers and knowing where they're going to be — and … reading coverages," Hinshaw said of the early days of spring camp. "I'm excited where we are at the quarterback position. We've made a lot of great plays and worked ourselves out of a lot of bad habits that we had. And we're now creating good habits."

2. Connecting on vertical passes?

For all the talk about going deep, let's see how much success the Knights have in connecting on those attempts.

With RJ Harvey, Johnny Richardson, Jordan McDonald and others returning to the fold, UCF shouldn't have much concern about the running game after averaging 228.4 yards per game last season, good for ninth in the Football Bowl Subdivision. But the Knights ranked a pedestrian 57th in passing offense (241.2 yards per game), averaging roughly 7.5 yards per attempt.

Of greater concern is Plumlee's performances against Power Five opposition. In UCF's games against Louisville, Georgia Tech and Duke, he completed 53.6% of his attempts for 362 yards (4.3 per pass) with no touchdowns and three interceptions.

Plumlee, Castellanos and McClain should be scripted opportunities to take their shots to connect on big plays with Javon Baker, Kobe Hudson and the rest of the receiving corps. It'll be a test not only of the QBs, but also of an offensive line with three new full-time starters to provide ample time in the pocket.

3. Competition among offensive tackles

Malzahn said UCF expects to get starting left tackle Tylan Grable back over the summer, leaving the door open for a pair of longtime Knights and a high-profile newcomer to gain extra reps.

Paul Rubelt and Edward Collins have predominantly worked with the first unit in open portions of practice, bookending the interior trio of Marcellus Mitchell, Bula Schmidt and Lokahi Pauole. Collins, who turned 23 last week, started 10 games during the 2020 season and impressed co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Herb Hand during last Thursday's scrimmage.

Collins, whom Hand referred to as the unit's "glue guy", made it clear he wants to get back on the field and make an impact in the Big 12.

"I'll play any position. (During the first scrimmage), I played a lot of left and right guard. Started out at tackle, but I just want to get on the field," Collins said. "Everybody wants to play, but I have to show that's what I am able to do."

Rubelt, the 6-foot-10, 330-pound native of Frankfurt, Germany, was deployed as an extra linemen in short-yardage situations last season. He's seen reps at both left and right tackle over the three weeks of camp.

Then there's Alabama transfer Amari Kight, a consensus four-star talent and top-100 national recruit out of Alabaster's Thompson High. The 6-foot-7, 318-pound redshirt senior served as the Crimson Tide's No. 2 left tackle last season, logging more than 80 snaps.

As Kight becomes acclimated to the group and familiar with the scheme, he could prove a vital addition.

4. The somewhat new-look secondary

It's time to shift focus from those trying to make the passing game a success to those attempting to thwart it.

UCF's secondary is one of the position groups with the most turnover from a season ago. Safeties Divaad Wilson and Koby Perry are pursuing pro careers, top boundary cornerback Brown joined forces with his younger brother at Miami and starting slot cornerback Justin Hodges was kicked off the team after a January arrest for home invasion robbery.

Portal additions Jireh Wilson (East Carolina) and DeJordan Mask (Texas State) have impressed first-year defensive coordinator Addison Williams throughout camp and appear to be starting candidates on the back end, especially as Quadric Bullard continues to rehab a knee injury suffered in a November win at Memphis.

"Obviously, Jireh's a bigger guy (6-foot-3, 219 pounds) so he's a guy that come down, fit the box and cover tight ends. But he's pretty fast in the 40, too," Williams said. "DeJordan is more of your athletic safety that can go down and play nickel."

Nikai Martinez, UCF's top 2022 recruit, is penciled in as the replacement in the slot. He recorded 18 total tackles with a sack and two pass breakups in 13 games. True freshman Braeden Marshall — hailing from nearby Lake Mary — is running with the second unit and gaining reps at safety as well.

On the perimeter, Corey Thornton and Brandon Adams have combined to make 60 appearances. Fred Davis, Ja'Maric Morris and Ja'Cari Henderson are among the Knights' other options at cornerback, with each hoping to prove they belong in Williams' best five.

5. Hometown Hero debuts

Factoring in early enrollees from the 2023 freshman class and additions out of the transfer portal, nearly two dozen players will make their first significant appearance Friday in front of what should be a large, enthusiastic crowd. That includes a number of Malzahn's "hometown heroes," prized recruits within an hour or so of the university's East Orlando campus.

Timmy McClain, who guided Sanford Seminole to the Class 8A football crown in 2020, and former Mr. Football Demarkcus Bowman redshirted last season and spent the year on the scout team. McClain made nine starts for South Florida as a true freshman in 2021, throwing for 1,888 yards with five touchdowns and seven interceptions. Lakeland grad Bowman, who has made prior stops at Clemson and Florida, has logged 23 career college carries for 113 yards.

The hype surrounding Bowman only increased last week when he hurdled freshman defensive back Jason Duclona during UCF's second scrimmage.

"(Duclona) was standing straight up, and he cleared him," fellow running back and Polk County native Richardson said. "He was trying to get up the sideline, the corner popped down and he jumped over him."

Additionally, defensive tackle John Walker — UCF's highest-rated recruit ever, according to 247Sports — will make his anticipated debut. Walker should make an immediate impact, bolstering an interior group headlined by two-year starter Ricky Barber and redshirt sophomore Lee Hunter, who had 15 tackles and a sack in his first season after transferring from Auburn.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: College football: 5 things to watch during UCF football spring game