March 28, 2008
Orlando, Fla. (www.UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF football team concluded its fourth practice of the week on Friday as the Knights were in full pads for the second-consecutive session. Head Coach George O'Leary was pleased with the progress his team made through the opening week of spring drills.
"I thought the offense picked (the tempo) up a little bit, but still the experience is showing on defense," O'Leary said. "I thought the offense executed a little better today with the installation. It takes longer for the offense to get things going, especially the passing game. We hit better landmarks today and the timing was better in the passing game. Defensively, we are running well to the ball and we will continue to work on that."
The workout mirrored Thursday's first full pad session with segmented contact work ending with live action 11-on-11 team work. The No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 offensive and defensive teams all got extensive work in against a combination of the opposing squads.
The final team work periods followed continued installation of the passing game where the offense connected on several deep passes, while the defense also made a number of nice break-ups.
The Knights also worked on the punt game for the first time during the spring during Friday's workout.
"We worked on punt protection and we will continue to work on those areas," O'Leary added. "We were running four strings today to get guys work at it, so they can work on the fundamentals of punt coverage and protection. We will always cover all the special teams in practice. This is the time to work on it and let the coaches, coach it and iron all the kinks out."
The Knights will return to the practice fields on Sunday for their first scrimmage of the spring. That session is set to start at 2 p.m. and will be open to the public.
UCF will hold its annual spring football game on Saturday, April 12 as part of the 2008 UCF Hall of Fame Weekend. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. and the game will be played for the first time in Bright House Networks Stadium.
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 pictures.
-UCFAA-