ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – Exactly two weeks until the opener, UCF's coaches treated Saturday's practice just like gameday. The end result featured a lot of smiles from the entire program.
The Knights went through the feeling of a gameday, including meeting in the stadium locker room and conducting their pregame itinerary. They then held their second scrimmage of camp.
First-year head coach Scott Frost had a lot of positives to say after the session.
"Things went really well today," said Frost. "I'm really pleased with these guys, they've been through six straight days of practice and we had a full-go scrimmage. They came out and responded and played really well. If our guys won't be happy with where they are but they keep climbing from the point they are at right now, I think good things are in our future.
"For the first time since I've been here, we basically had 1s vs. 2s scrimmage and the 3s got involved too. But the 1 offense and 1 defense both did really well. The 1s scored a bunch, 1 defense held a bunch. We still got to clean some things up, there were some mistakes on both sides of the ball that cost us drives or cost us big plays on defense, but I saw a lot of big plays being made.
"The effort's always been good. Except for a couple of days when they were dog tired, the effort's always been good. It's the execution while they're tired, being able to be gritty enough to go out there while you're tired and still put it out there and execute and do the right assignment. We had it today. We scored a bunch of points in two quarters of football. We had two simulated quarters, a second quarter and a fourth quarter, and we scored a bunch of points on offense and 1 defense did a really good job."
News & Notes
-During the scrimmage, the defense started strong with a Jeremy Boykins pass break-up on fourth down.
-Moments later, running back Adrian Killins left everyone in his dust with a 63-yard touchdown, then running back Dontravious Wilson used his legs to eventually power a 2-yard rush into the end zone.
-A few sacks were added by Shaquem Griffin, Titus Davis and Wyatt Swanson before quarterback Garrett Kruczek connected with wideout Alex Harris on a 60-yard touchdown strike.
-After a Jamiyus Pittman sack on third down forced a punt, quarterback Justin Holman outran the defense for a 64-yard touchdown.
-Shaquem Griffin collected another sack, and the first part of the scrimmage ended on a short field goal from Matthew Wright.
-The second half of the scrimmage began with the defensive line and linebacker Pat Jasinski forcing a 3-and-out, followed by Shaquem Griffin again causing a stir with a QB hurry to cause an incompletion. Not to be outdone, linebackers Mark Rucker and Errol Clarke earned tackles for loss.
-The offense then found its rhythm again on a 67-yard touchdown run by running back Taj McGowan, but Eric Mitchell recorded a sack and Wyatt Swanson had a break-up on third down.
-Quarterback Pete DiNovo hit pay dirt with a 38-yard touchdown run, while Shaquem Griffin closed out an incredible day with an interception. Following a 40-yard field goal by Wright, Holman eventually needed two kneel-downs to close out the win for his squad.
FanFest
-Thousands of UCF fans swarmed Bright House Networks Stadium Saturday evening.
-View the FanFest photo gallery!
Key UCF Links
-This will be final "Knights Watch" preseason camp report on UCFKnights.com.
-Missed a highlight video from preseason camp? Make sure to visit UCF's YouTube page.
-Plenty of photos from camp can be found on the Knights' Facebook page as well.
-2016 UCF Football Media Guide
Tickets
-Purchase season tickets for the 2016 UCF football campaign now. Call 407-UCF-1000 or visit UCFKnights.com to guarantee your seats for head coach Scott Frost's first season with the Knights.