ORLANDO (UCFKnights.com) - The UCF Football team held its seventh practice of the spring Monday morning, marking the halfway point to the Spring Game presented by DEX Imaging.
The Knights worked out in shorts, jerseys and helmets after going through a full-contact scrimmage on Friday. Head coach Josh Heupel spoke to the media for the first time in a week. There was a great deal of interest in hearing the coach's assessment of Friday's scrimmage.
"I liked what happened in the scrimmage," Heupel said. "It was physical. At times, it was really clean on both sides of the ball. Then, like you would expect ... there were mistakes on both sides of the ball. It's a great learning opportunity. That was Practice 6. Today was Practice 7. When we come out on Practice 8, it's going to be critical that we make a big jump."
Since before spring practices opened, Heupel has preached competing from snap to whistle. He said he's starting to see even more of that as the spring has progressed.
"We're starting to see some competition from within," he said. "We're seeing it on the scrimmage days. I really like the way they've competed, how they've learned from mistakes. We talk about it being ok to make a mistake, but it's not ok to repeat the same mistakes. If we continue to learn from day to day, rep to rep, we'll have a chance to be a high-end, quality football team. Through the first six days, those guys have done that for the most part."
Heupel said there was a big emphasis on special teams in Monday's workout. Wednesday will see the team back in full pads and he wants to see the intensity ramped back up.
"What type of jump did we make from Friday?" Heupel said about the upcoming workout. "If we make the right type of jump, then we're headed in the right direction."
Play of the Day
It wasn't exactly a play, but Dredrick Snelson showed off his hands during a drill. Returners were being tossed balls that emulate a punt and were asked to catch multiple balls. No. 5 hauled in 5 footballs! It was pretty impressive. Check out the embedded tweet below.
?? for 5?? pic.twitter.com/9EpFVBg3kL-- UCF Football (@UCF_Football) April 2, 2018
What's Next
The Knights will hit the practice field again Wednesday morning for a practice in full pads. By the end of practice, spring ball will officially be more than half over. UCF will continue to prepare for its annual Spring Game. See the next section for more details.
Pics From Practice - Click For More
UCF Spring Game Tickets
The UCF Football Spring Game presented by DEX Imaging is set for April 21 at 6 p.m. inside Spectrum Stadium. General admission tickets are free. There are premium seats available for the Spring Game at the following prices: Tower Club - $20; Stadium Club - $10; Carl Black & Gold Cabana - $5. Students are always admitted free to UCF Football, with a valid UCF Student ID. Click here (http://ucfknights.com/news/2018/3/6/football-spring-game-ticket-information.aspx) for more details on obtaining tickets to the UCF Football Spring Game presented by DEX Imaging.
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