April 7, 2010
By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
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ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - A couple of seconds after Rob Calabrese dropped back into the pocket the protection broke down and there was one and then two defenders in his face.
What Calabrese did next, however, was telling of his growth as a quarterback. The UCF junior-to-be wisely moved forward to avoid the blitzer off the edge and then rather than bolting upfield for yardage, he shuffled out to his right to keep the play alive.
Calabrese ultimately found fullback Billy Goivantetti for a 15-yard gain that moved the chains and kept the Knights' drive alive in the second scrimmage of the spring.
The player who started at quarterback parts of the past two seasons likely would have tucked the ball and ran and tried to make whatever he could. But a year after watching Brett Hodges play with great poise, there's a newfound maturity and development to Calabrese's game.
``Coach (Charlie) Taaffe and Coach (George) O'Leary have been stressing making more plays when the protection breaks down and not just to take off running,'' Calabrese said. Billy Giovanetti did a good job working back to me and we found a seam. I just feel much more mature now because I know the defenses and I know our playbook. I just need to be more consistent and accurate.''
Calabrese has been splitting time with the first unit with freshman phenom Jeffrey Godfrey at quarterback this spring. O'Leary hopes to come out of the spring with a named starter who can lead the drills throughout the summer. Though he's just been a part-time starter, Calabrese has the edge in experience and O'Leary likes the growth that he's made as a person who can take charge on the field.
Taaffe, UCF's offensive coordinator who greatly improved the offense last season, said at times last season that Calabrese ``was his own worst enemy'' because his emotions often spiked too high and too low. The hope now is that another year of seasoning will help Calabrese relax - and also thrive as a playmaker.
``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.''
It appears the competition with Godfrey, amongst UCF's most celebrated freshman recruits ever, has pushed Calabrese this spring. After all, there was a time when he was the host-shot freshman who fans wanted to be UCF next quarterback. He took over for Michael Greco at midseason two years ago and seemed to have the upper hand on being UCF's quarterback of the future. Calabrese said he and Godfrey have pushed each other to be better this spring.
``It's good competition and it pushes me to be better and he's trying to play well too,'' said Calabrese, a native of Islip Terrace, N.Y. ``We push each other and we help each other out to make each other better, too.''
Calabrese started the first two games last season, but was pulled in favor of Hodges, the senior transfer from Wake Forest. He played well against Texas (10 of 19 passing for 76 yards) and left the coaches with a good offseason impression by coming through in the bowl game loss to Rutgers. After relieving an injured Hodges, Calabrese had a 29-yard run, passed for 45 yards and led UCF on a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter.
Teammates have raved at the growth Calabrese has made this spring. He is much more of a believable leader and assertive in the huddle. And, most noticeable, is that Calabrese is no longer the wide-eyed freshman who was far too excitable in the past when calm and cool was needed. He stressed that he's learned from the past and will be better for it come next season.
``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,'' Calabrese said. ``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.''
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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.