UCF football head coach George O’Leary, along with players Joey Grant and Thomas Niles, spoke about the youth of the team and the importance of senior leadership at a press conference Monday.
“I think the key is that we like to have more experience in some positions,” said O’Leary. “Obviously, when you graduate your secondary and your receiver corps; you know the young players I think are very athletic, but again so many sunrises and sunsets.”
The Knights are tied for third in the FBS with just nine seniors overall, but this is nothing new for the team as they were tied for second with only eight seniors in 2013.
“I think that’s what I’m more concerned about than anything else is the speed of the game,” O’Leary said. “With the young secondary guys that are playing and the receivers as far as I think they are going against some very good corners from FIU.”
With a large amount of turnover from last year, the two familiar faces stepping into senior leadership roles will be Joey Grant and Thomas Niles.
“Anytime you are a senior you are going to take on a leadership role. [Thomas and I] are guys that have played thirty plus games, forty plus games,” said Joey Grant. “We’ve played a lot of football, we’ve been around a long time and we know how the program works.”
Niles explained a defense that will have a different look after losing seven starters from last season and the addition new defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan. Four of those seven starters were in the Knights’ secondary, which means an all new group of pass defenders will be entering the fold this year.
“I think [the secondary] are all doing a pretty good job, you know to be so young and inexperienced. I think they will get better and better every game,” Niles said.
The Knights will have the opportunity to put all of their youth to the test this Thursday when they take on FIU at home at 6 p.m.
