Dec. 29, 2010
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By Marc Daniels
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Ask senior linebacker Derrick Hallman when he knew 2010 was going to be a special year for UCF and he remembers the exact moment.
"When Jeffrey Godfrey stepped on campus in January," said Hallman. "Then when I saw him throw a football, I just knew we were in for a special season."
Ask Miami Central High football players when they knew they could beat south Florida powers like Miami Northwestern and compete for state titles, which they won this season, and they too will tell when Jeff Godfrey taught them to believe they could.
Ask fifth year senior offensive tackle, Jah Reid, who is the calming influence in the huddle no matter the down, score or importance of the next play.
"Jeff has a presence about him that is hard to explain," said Reid. "He just makes you feel like we know what we need to do and now let's go do it."
Reid remembers what Godfrey said to his offense after Houston scored a second straight touchdown in the third quarter to grab a 24-23 lead in Houston in early November.
"He told us in the huddle, we are going to go down the field and score," said Reid. "And there wasn't one person who did not believe we would score."
And so the tale of Jeff Godfrey's first season goes. Not bad for a kid no one else wanted to play quarterback and who chose to graduate early and enroll at UCF last January. Why? He wanted to be there for spring practice and be ready for the fall to help his team.
Godfrey did more than help his team. He became one of the top quarterbacks in the country. What? Did I just say he became one of the top quarterbacks in the country? Didn't I mean one of the best freshman quarterbacks in the country? No, I meant one of the best quarterbacks in the country.
Want some numbers to back that up?
How many true freshmen quarterbacks in the history of the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) guided their team as a starter to a conference title? One. Jeff Godfrey. Rex Grossman, Drew Weatherford and Sam Bradford are among a group of seven quarterbacks who won a conference title as a redshirt freshman.
And when comparing Godfrey's numbers to Daunte Culpepper, maybe the greatest Knight of all, the "kid" more than handles his own.
Godfrey bests Daunte's numbers when it comes to rushing yards for a quarterback (546) and rushing touchdowns for a freshman quarterback (10), He sits two rushing touchdowns behind Culpepper for rushing touchdowns in a season and Godfrey has one more game to play. He will pass Daunte on Friday when it comes to passing yards as a true freshman, needing 30 yards. In fairness to Daunte, all of his numbers did come in an 11-game season while Godfrey will play his 14th game of the year Friday.
But look at Godfrey's numbers this season and the freshman more than held his own. He sits eighth in the country in passing efficiency, right behind Stanford's Andrew Luck, who many believe will be the first pick in the NFL Draft in April.
Godfrey ranks sixth in the country in completion percentage at 68.4 percent. The all-time FBS record for completion percentage for a freshman is 69.4 percent set by Boise State's Kellen Moore in 2008.
In UCF's last six games, Godfrey threw two interceptions. They both came in one game, against Southern Miss. If you take away the Southern Miss game, then in the six other games in the second half of the season, he threw a total of 22 incomplete passes. That's 22 incomplete passes in six games!
In fact, after the Southern Miss loss, UCF won three straight to end the season with wins over Tulane, Memphis and SMU. Godfrey was 35-of-44 for 552 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. His passing efficiency for those three games was 222.43. No quarterback in the country played the final three games of the season with those numbers.
Yet Jeff Godfrey is more than numbers. He has said repeatedly it is about the team. After UCF won the conference title and he was asked what it meant, his answer was what you'd expect from a fifth year senior.
"We set this goal at the beginning of the year and I wanted to make it happen for the seniors and the team," said Godfrey.
Now Godfrey knows there is one goal left for the seniors. It is to win a bowl game. And while there are likely more bowl games for Jeff Godfrey, does anybody doubt that Godfrey will be ready to play the next big game of his life? Why? Because the same guy that has been the calming influence for his team knows his importance. The small field general has risen to higher ground in his first year as a Knight. Ask his teammates and they will tell...in Godfrey they trust.
Knights notes and more: UCF faces a tough Furman team in the opening round of the UCF Holiday Classic tonight. The Paladins just beat South Carolina and are well coached, disciplined team. Speaking of hoops, Conference USA may have several quality teams for NCAA consideration by season's end. Aside from UCF's run, Southern Miss, UAB and Memphis have been strong out of the gate. UTEP and Marshall have been solid also to start the year...Final thought: My cats have the life. Both of them never have to worry about what to wear. They are fed throughout the day. They can sleep for 20 hours a day and never have to work the next day. How do you beat that?
Marc Daniels' From the Press Box runs several times per month on UCFAthletics.com. Listen to Marc during UCF football, men's basketball and baseball radio broadcasts on the UCF Sports Network. Each weekday, Marc hosts "The Beat of Sports" on ESPN 1080 in Orlando from 9-11 a.m.