UCF Spring Football Game – Knights double up UCF 34-17

The Knights squad(black jerseys) double up UCF squad(white jerseys) 34-17 in the 2021 UCF Spring Football game.

The highly anticipated public debut of the Gus Malzahn Era at UCF was on display in front of an energized crowd at Spectrum Stadium. There was a definite buzz & vibe in the stadium that had every fan anxious to see what new looks their Hometown Team would unveil, and they wouldn’t need to wait long.

Dillon Gabriel’s first pass completion brought a cheer from the crowd. Not just because it was a completion, but because it was to a tight end. Over the past few seasons under Josh Heupel, UCF had been highly scrutinized for utilizing the tight end position for primarily a blocking role. So for fans, that completion was very uplifting.

Another play that brought cheers was when he Wildcat formation made its way into the mix with defensive lineman, Kalia Davis, taking the shotgun 3rd down snap alongside running back Bentavious Thomspon inside the 10 yard line. Davis fake optioned to Thompson then found a small gap to get the first down.

However, no other play got the fans to their feet in a roar of cheers more than the Dillon Gabriel to Ryan O’Keefe and back to Gabriel pass hookup yielding a 22 yard after the catch gain for Gabriel.

Overall, for only having 4 weeks of preparation in the the new coaching staff’s system, UCF looked very dynamic. The players looked loose & hungry as to what the summer soon holds for progressive growth into a very promising 2021 season.

Post game interview quotes:

Coach Malzahn:

“I’m proud of our team. An outstanding spring. We challenged them. We put it on them physically & mentally. We practiced four days a week for four straight weeks and we got after it. They played hard & they played for each other.”

On having Twitter handles on the back of each players jersey: “We feel like the future of college football is here. This is the new age in personal branding and we’re going to embrace it within the NCAA rules. That’s who we are and that’s who we are going to be.”

“Dillon had an outstanding spring. His accuracy is what stands out to me.”

“Make no mistake, we are a team & we are an extremely close team.” “We’re going to run the wildcat.”

“The thing that stands out to me about our offensive line is we’ve got some depth.”