Jan. 23, 2012
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By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Football is never far from fans minds in Florida - not even in the dead of a 70-degree winter. So with football still fresh on the brain for most in Florida, and more specifically UCF, we're going to take a peek ahead to spring drills and next season with the Knights' football team.
Over the course of the next few weeks until spring drills begin, we will be highlighting a returning UCF player and what fans can expect next season.
UCF head coach George O'Leary is hard at work on adding some new talent to the roster through recruiting. But the veteran coach is also excited about the core of returning talent to next year's squad and feels the Knights have the pieces in place to potentially author another special season.
Here is a closer look at one of the key players returning for next season for the Knights:
NAME: Kemal Ishmael
POSITION: Strong safety
HOMETOWN: Miami, Fla.
NUMBER: 18
HEIGHT, WEIGHT, CLASS: 5-11, 211, senior
2011 STATS: Ishmael led the Knights in total tackles for a second consecutive season. He had 39 solo tackles and 42 assists for 81 total tackles. That was good enough to earn him Honorable Mention All-C-USA honors. He also had 2.5 tackles for loss and three pass break-ups. He forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.
BEST MOMENT: Ishamel had double-digit tackles in four games - 10 against BYU, 15 against UAB, 12 against Southern Miss and 11 versus East Carolina - but his finest performance of the season came against BYU. He knocked a BYU receiver out of the game with a big hit on a pass break-up near the goal line and he was dominant in stopping the running game all night. Ishmael's play allowed the Knights to stay in the tight game all the way to the end. Ishmael will enter next season with 244 career tackles. He needs just 35 more tackles to crack the Top 10 in school history.
WHAT LIES AHEAD: About to be a four-year starter and one of the most productive defensive players in school history, Ishmael is easily one of UCF's most respected players. He'll most likely be voted a team captain because of his leadership, toughness and dependability. A proven tackler in the run game, the Knights need Ishmael to be more of a factor in the pass game this season. His football IQ is off the charts and the Knights need him to be more of a factor in breaking up passes and intercepting them. Ishmael's big-hit ability and toughness will most certainly allow him to play professionally in the NFL, but an improvement as a pass defender could cause his draft stock to soar.
John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.