Red-shirt freshman wide receiver, Tre’Quan smith is currently having a very productive year. The freshman receiver got national recognition for his incredible catch against Tulsa; Smith jumped over a Tulsa defender to snag an under thrown pass in mid-air.
“It was a big catch, it was an all-out effort to go up there and catch that ball and it really gave us a little bit of momentum,” said senior H-back Joseph Puopolo. “Just seeing him do that really encouraged the rest of us to go out there and give our all-out effort because we knew he was doing the same for us.”
Smith leads UCF in receiving yards and he is having a record-breaking year for a freshman receiver. He is tied with J.J Worton in most receptions by a freshman receiver with 41 catches, second behind Kamar Aiken in receiving yards with 572 and tied for six in receiving touchdowns with three this year.
“He’s stepped up and made some plays for us throughout the year,” said UCF interm coach Danny Barrett. “Obviously when you can tie a freshman record going into your last two games, that says a lot.”
Smith needs one catch, 12 receiving yards, and three touchdowns to beak all the UCF freshman receiving records.
There has been an obvious chemistry between Smith and Junior Quarterback Justin Holman from the first game of the season against FIU when Smith recorded nine receptions for 104 yards.
Smith recorded his second 100-yard game of the season with 131 yards against Tulsa, a career high, due to Holman’s improved play at quarterback. Holman seems to be getting his rhythm back after coming back from his hand injury, and he looked sharp last week.
“I think right now he’s probably at his best [Holman], than where he’s been all year, mentally and physically,” said Barrett.
With Holman’s improved play and the offense clicking on all levels for the first time this season. It is almost a forgone conclusion that Smith will break the UCF freshman receiving records and go on to have stellar college career.
“[Smith] is a guy that if we can keep healthy is going to have a very good career here at UCF,” said Barrett.
