March 29, 2005
ORLANDO - For the first time this spring, UCF hit the field in full pads under perfect weather conditions Tuesday morning in Orlando. The Golden Knights hit the field for just over two hours with a heavy emphasis on team work.
"I thought for the first day in contact the players practiced well," commented UCF head coach George O'Leary. "You can see the improvement and retention, so that is important. Still, there is still a long spring and they just need to continue to get better and better each day."
The defense and its play stood out on Tuesday, as the Golden Knights were swarming to the ball. During the team periods, the first team offense and defense would scrimmage, with the defense appearing to have the upper hand.
"I saw a lot more contact work from the defense and I hope we continue to show that in practice," added O'Leary. "Offensively, in the running game, we still need to sustain and finish, but there are bright spots on both sides of the ball."
During the first team period of work, UCF's defensive line had several tackles for loss, including one by Leger Douzable and a fumble recovery by Emeka Okammor. Glenroy Watkins also had an apparent sack and also a tackle for loss and fumble recovery working vs. the first team offense.
Randy Dozier had one of the best tackles of the period with an open field take down of Curtis Francis out of the back field.
During the passing skeleton periods, Steven Moffett threw two interceptions, including a terrific pick by Travis Holmes. Ron Ellis also came away with an interception for the first team defense.
In the second team period of the morning, Augustus Ashley came out to deliver a tremendous blow to Goodson Ohaegbulam on a running play as Ohaegbulam attempted to block the cornerback.
Moffett did have two significant completions, including a 15-yard pass play to Antonio Eldemire and a long pass play to Mike Walker. Walker took a short pass pattern and made two defenders miss before breaking a long run up the sideline. Walker was assisted by a perfect down field block by fellow wide out Brandon Marshall.
Practice continues Wednesday morning at 9:20 a.m. Spring drills are open to the public, but visitors must sign in at the Wayne Densch Sports Center before entering the practice complex.