March 19, 2010
By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
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ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Considering the way Jeffrey Godfrey threw deep balls with ease, read defenses and found receivers underneath and handled the huddle with poise, he did surprisingly well in his first collegiate practice as a freshman.
And to think, UCF coach George O'Leary said somewhat in amazement, Godfrey was still in high school just a couple of months earlier.
``I was pleased with him. He just has something about him,'' O'Leary said. ``For a freshman -- not even a freshman really because he's still a senior in high school -- he did a good job with leadership. He made some mistakes out there, but if he didn't make any I'd be concerned. He has that quickness and great arm strength and I was happy with the arm strength.''
With UCF opening spring practice on Friday all eyes were on Godfrey, the Knights' prized recruit from Miami who has already been elevated to the No. 2 spot on the depth chart. He graduated from Miami Central early so that he could go through spring drills and compete for the starting quarterback job.
And other than one moment when he momentarily froze in a drill and failed to scramble or throw the ball away, he passed his first collegiate workout with flying colors.
Rob Calabrese, last season's part-time starter, opened spring camp atop the depth chart at quarterback and is vying with Godfrey for the starting job. O'Leary hopes that the spring session will give him a definitive idea on which player should be the starter heading into the summer and fall.
Calabrese struggled early last season under the weight of expectations as the starter, and at times he proved to be ``his own worst enemy,'' offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe said. Calabrese said he learned plenty from last season's starting quarterback, Brett Hodges, about playing with poise and confidence.
``After what happened in the first two games of last season and then watching how poised Brett was in tough times, I knew that was something that I needed to work on. And I definitely learned from him,'' said Calabrese, a junior-to-be. ``I've got to grow up a little bit this time and I've learned from the past two years. I won't let (the emotional swings) happen again. Now it's about controlling myself and not letting my emotions get to me.''
O'Leary likes Calabrese's ability to move around in the pocket and his detailed preparation off the field. But he said it's time for the starter from parts of the past two seasons to convert those talents over to production on the field.
``Rob's a very detailed guy and wants to do everything right all the time. He has a lot of athleticism, but the good quarterbacks make things happen when it's not there,'' O'Leary said. ``He has that ability, but I do think he picked up some confidence from Brett (Hodges). He learned to play with more poise and to have confidence in himself. He's always known the offense, but now it's about execution and production.''
True freshmen aren't allowed to speak to the media, so Godfrey was off limits on Friday. But his teammates did plenty of raving about the 5-foot-11, 176-pounder with the deceptively strong arm.
Godfrey threw several tight spirals and he wisely kept the nose of the ball down to keep it from sailing on him on a windy day. UCF's top wide receiver, Kamar Aiken, said Godfrey's early success isn't by accident. He said the teenager clearly isn't in awe of the task before him and embraced an opportunity to compete for UCF's starting quarterback job.
``He's picked up everything really fast,'' Aiken said. ``I see him go to his room and he studies the playbook. You can see that he's really taking this seriously.''
UCF cornerback Josh Robinson knows a thing or two about making an immediate impact, earning Freshman All-American honors last season with six interceptions. He got his first experience going against Godfrey on Friday and gushed: ``I like him a lot already. He threw some really good balls. He's got a really good future here.''
Nico Flores came to UCF as a quarterback, but he switched to receiver so that he could clear room for Godfrey at quarterback. The two had some legendary battles against one another in high school as opposing quarterbacks, but now at UCF they are roommates. He's tried to give Godfrey advice - not that's he's really needed it so far.
``He's a good kid and my roommate, but he steals my food,'' Flores said with a big laugh. ``Jeff's not nervous at all. He hangs around the older guys, asks me and Kemal (Ishmael) all the time about learning the ropes. I just tell him, `Slow down, don't be in a rush right now and learn as much as you can.' He's just trying to get a good feel for it and he's doing a good job with it.''
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John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFathletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.