April 10, 2010
By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
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ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Rob Calabrese made the long throws early and the short, on-the-money tosses late in Saturday's scrimmage, giving all indications he the firm frontrunner to win the starting quarterback job for UCF.
The junior-to-be, who was a part-time starter each of the past two seasons, threw a 30-yard strike for a score early in the session against the Knights' second-string defense. And then, after the 60-minute scrimmage session progressed, Calabrese found A.J. Guyton in the corner for a six-yard score. And after a belly keeper play in which Calabrese ran in for a short score, he then tossed a perfect lob pass to 6-foot-6 tight end Adam Nissley for another touchdown.
Calabrese has spent much of the spring competing with freshman phenom Jeffrey Godfrey, but seems to have won over head coach George O'Leary and offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe and assumed most of the first-team reps. And with three practice sessions remaining before next Saturday's Black and Gold Spring Game, the starting job seems to be Calabrese's to lose.
``Ultimately it's up to Coach (George) O'Leary, but I'm just trying to prove some things to them,'' Calabrese said. ``I think I'm doing a pretty good job with being more consistent and accurate. Overall, I think I've done a pretty good job. But of course I still have some work to do.''
That was proven on the final play when Calabrese's third-and-goal slant pass was picked off by UCF standout cornerback Josh Robinson. The Freshman All-American, who had six interceptions last season, stepped in front of A.J. Guyton for an interception that resulted in the offense having to do extra conditioning work.
``(Defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable) put us in the right defense there and having us on the inside press expecting the slant there,'' Robinson said. ``They came with it and I was right there. I wasn't going to let the receiver get inside and then once they threw it, it was an easy play.''
O'Leary and his staff tried getting many of the players out of their comfort zones on Saturday, mixing and matching personnel groupings to see which players can play multiple positions. UCF's veteran offensive line opened some gaping holes for tailback Brendan Kelly, but also had some problems with motion and holding penalties from the Conference USA officials on hand for the scrimmage.
But overall, O'Leary said he couldn't have been more pleased with the pluck and grit that his Knights showed on both sides of the ball.
``We ran 110 plays and got a lot of people equal reps,'' O'Leary said. ``Some of the positions you are still trying to solidify yourself. I was pleased with the competition. The key now is to solidify a few positions. We moved some kids around to see what they can handle.''
Kelly, the 6-foot-3, 231-pound junior-to-be, showed he was able to handle a heavy workload in the backfield for the Knights. Getting his chance to shine because of the knee injury to starter Brynn Harvey, Kelly has gotten most of the first-team reps ahead of projected backup Jonathan Davis. He had a 25-yard bust off left tackle at one point and scored two short-yardage TDs.
``He's a tough runner, but he still has to make that first guy miss,'' O'Leary said. ``That's the key with being a good running back. The good ones break in the hole and not way before it. It's a learning process with him. I've been pleased with his toughness and his shoulder pad level. He's seeing things and understanding what to do to beat people.''
Defensive end Bruce Miller, last season Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year, beat plenty of people on Saturday and had at least three tackles for loss on Saturday. Miller is happy with the progress the defense has made and he thinks the unit has the potential to be among the national leaders against the run again this season.
``We're happy with the way we played. The first (scrimmage) we started kind of slow and didn't play well, but we've made a lot of strides and playing like we should,'' Miller said. ``The place where we have made the biggest strides is our enthusiasm. Everybody is confident in their play and there's so much competition. In the past there has been a lack of (competition), especially this early in the spring. I think we're already where we were midway through the season last year. That's a good sign.''
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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.