July 2, 2011
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By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - UCFAthletics.com writer John Denton recently sat down with head coach George O'Leary for a question-and-answer session that touched on UCF's progress entering the 2011 season, the success of players such as Jeff Godfrey and Kemal Ishmael and the prospects for the upcoming campaign.
Check out part one below. The full story will be featured in the 2011 edition of the Knights Insider UCF College Football Preview magazine which is set to be available later this summer.
QUESTION: You said following the Spring Game that the offseason months would be a big determining factor on what kind of season UCF has this season. How have your players approached the summer months?
COACH O'LEARY: ``When we left spring ball I told them from what I saw on offense, defense and in the kicking game that we have a chance each and every game to win if we do what we're supposed to do. But there's a lot more than that that has to take place for a team chemistry-wise. One thing is the development of leadership. We don't have a big senior class, and I usually always put everything on the seniors because you are only as good as them. Last year's group did an outstanding job of showing everybody, `This is the way that we do it at UCF.'
``This group I still don't see it yet and it concerns me from a leadership standpoint. As far as a talent standpoint, I think we've upgraded each year in all phases. There's no question that we have three or four freshmen that I'm already looking at to play from a talent standpoint if everything else is right. They can help us this year, especially on defense.''
QUESTION: Beating Georgia in the Liberty Bowl is considered by most to be the biggest victory in school history. How did life change for UCF football after that game and what did that win do to raise expectations?
COACH O'LEARY: ``There's more confidence around here now. I really think that success and confidence go hand-in-hand. The kids have plenty of confidence in themselves right now, but me as a football coach I'm always focused on making sure they don't lose sight of where we are. You get better or worse, but you don't stay the same. The only way to get better is through working. We're not where we need to be yet as a program, and that's my message to the kids when I talk to them. We still have a long ways to go. It's hard to get to the Top 25, but it's even harder to stay there. And we'll never be satisfied - and the assistants and the players understand that. We'll tell them that talking doesn't get it done; working gets it done. That's been the emphasis of this 12-week session of Summer (School) A and B.''
QUESTION: Last season will go down as the best in school history with the 11 wins, the first national ranking, another C-USA title and the bowl win against Georgia. During your downtime this summer have you been able to reflect and put into perspective what was accomplished last season?
COACH O'LEARY: ``I've been coaching a long time and I've learned that anytime that you get double-digit wins in a season that's a heck of a year. I know we had three losses, but all three of those were basically because of self-inflicted wounds. How you get better is you look closer at the losses than the wins. Getting an 11-win season is nice, but you can't rest on your laurels and the key now is staying at that level with consistency. We don't want anymore up and down type of things and keep getting better. But any level of college football, you win 10 or 11 games that's a heck of a season to really be proud of.''
QUESTION: This season's schedule features marquee non-conference games against Boston College and BYU and the six road games come in pairs of twos. Do you like how the schedule is arranged?
COACH O'LEARY: ``I've always been a big believer in playing all of the non-conference games in the month of September. I like to go after them first and then go after our conference games. The non-conference games have become bigger and bigger situation with our program, and I really think you've got to win those games. That's what sets the tone for the season and it shows an ability to come out of the gate the right way in September. Those games allow us to pick up momentum and it carries over throughout the rest of the season.
``We've got to come out of the gate this season ready to go with a good non-conference schedule. Charleston Southern runs the option and a lot of play action and all it takes is one missed responsibility and it's going down the field. We've got our work cut out, and then we've got Boston College, a perennial team that always does well. FIU is a great game for both teams being in state and then we go out to BYU on a Friday night. I'm really looking forward to the month of September as a coach. Nothing changes - it's still 12 one-game seasons and that's the way I look at it. The most important game is the first game.''
UCF 2011 football season ticket packages can be purchased or renewed online at UCFAthletics.com or by calling the UCF Athletics Ticket Office at (407) 823-1000. Home games include Charleston Southern [Champions UKNIGHT (Sept. 3)], Boston College [Hall of Fame Weekend (Sept. 10)], Marshall (Oct. 8), Memphis [Alumni UKNIGHT - Homecoming 2011 (Oct. 29)], Tulsa (Nov. 5) and UTEP [Senior Day (Nov. 26)]. Should UCF host the C-USA Championship Game for the fourth time in seven years, it would be played on Saturday, Dec. 3 and season ticket holders will receive the first shot at the best seats.
John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.