March 17, 2008
2008 Spring Football Roster | Spring Depth Chart
Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF football team will return to the gridiron this Wednesday at 9:20 a.m. for the beginning of spring practices. The Knights are coming off a 2007 season in which the team captured the Conference USA Championship and won 10 games in a campaign for just the second time in program history.
Returning from the school's first conference championship team are 37 lettermen. The Knights will have nine starters back on defense from a unit that ranked third nationally in interceptions with 24 and first in C-USA with 39 sacks. All of the players who recorded the 24 interceptions return, including cornerbacks Joe Burnett and Johnell Neal, who each shared the league-lead with six.
Offensively, UCF returns five starters from a unit that averaged 35.9 ppg and scored a school record 62 touchdowns. In all, 83 players will be on the Knights' spring roster that will feature three new players from the signing class of 2008. Defensive end Jarvis Geathers, linebacker Josh Linam and defensive back Chad Keys will all see their first action for the Knights starting Wednesday.
The NCAA allows teams to practice 15 times during the spring semester and the Knights will take advantage of all of those with morning sessions scheduled periodically over the course of the next four weeks.
Weekday practice sessions will begin at 9:20 a.m. and run through 11:30 a.m. The squad will practice each Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from March 19-April 11.
Saturday practice times are scheduled for 10:05-12:15 p.m. on March 22 and March 29 and on April 5, the team will practice from 1-3:10 p.m.
The Knights will hold its first spring football game inside Bright House Networks Stadium on Saturday, April 12. UCF Football Spring Football Fan Day will feature an intrasquad scrimmage that will begin at 3 p.m. and be a focal point of the first UCF Athletics Hall of Fame Weekend that will have activities taking place on each of the three days.
General Admission tickets for the spring game are $5 and can be purchased in advance by calling the UCFAA Ticket Office at (407) 823-1000; online at UCFAthletics.com; or in-person at the west side box office at Bright House Networks Stadium. Current UCF students will have complimentary admission with a valid student ID card. Children under two are free. Any spring game ticket can also be used for free admission to that evening's home baseball game vs. Memphis at Jay Bergman Field.
Following the conclusion of the game, fans will be invited to meet the players and coaches on the UCF practice fields adjacent to the stadium beginning at 5:30 p.m. for an autograph session.
All practices are tentatively scheduled for the UCF practice fields and all sessions are open to the public. Fans are reminded that photography is prohibited during the entirety of spring football practices.
For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pics
2008 UCF Spring Football Practice ScheduleWed., March 19 9:20-11:30 a.m.Fri., March 21 9:20-11:30 a.m.Sat., March 22 10:05-12:10 p.m.Tues., March 25 9:20-11:30 a.m.Wed., March 26 9:20-11:30 a.m.Fri., March 28 9:20-11:30 a.m.Sat., March 29 10:05-12:10 p.m.Tues., April 1 9:20-11:30 a.m.Wed., April 2 9:20-11:30 a.m.Fri., April 4 9:20-11:30 a.m.Sat., April 5 1-3:10 p.m.Tues., April 8 9:20-11:30 a.m.Wed., April 9 9:20-11:30 a.m.Fri., April 11 9:20-11:30 a.m.Sat. April 12 (Spring Game) 3-5:10 p.m. -UCF-