2016 will be a mulligan for UCF Football

I for one am not into college football previews. Yes, this includes Phil Steele's previews. I find college football to be too unpredictable to really offer a good preview. Especially following the disastrous 0-12 season that UCF had last season. I had predicted the Knights to finish competing for a share of the conference last season so to say I was off is an understatement. Most predictions have the Knights having a losing record anyways. So I have gotten out of the prediction game. Instead this article will try and attempt to unwrap what UCF fans can expect out of this season and in the long run. 

There are several questions heading into the upcoming UCF football season. After all Scott Frost is a first year head coach. His staff, namely the coordinators, are inexperienced at their position. A staff that has massively overhauled the identity of the football program and brought new changes. Of course many have questions regarding about the effects the changes will have on the program and how long it will take for the changes to truly take hold in the program. That is why this season the staff should get a mulligan. The staff needs time to rebuild and mold this program in their image. It will be a slow and tedious process and there will be plenty of speed bumps, but if this staff is given the time they need, man oh man does UCF have the possibility of being special.

So what immediate changes will UCF fans see this season? Well this team will be faster. Under his tenure as offensive coordinator at Oregon, the Ducks had a top 20 offense in terms of pace/tempo. Contrast that with UCF's offensive tempo last year(120), and it only makes sense that the offense will be faster. The offense will be more explosive than last year. Frost's offense at Oregon last year ranked 5th in explosive plays, UCF's was dead last. Expect that to change. Of course I am not saying top 10 in explosive plays this season, but top 40 is a reasonable projection. There will be a complete change in offensive scheme. UCF will not be the ground and pound team that they were known to be under O'Leary. Instead this offense will rely heavily on misdirection and getting the defense back on their heels.  Do not expect to see the traditional I-Formation/single back like UCF used to run out of. UCF will be running a variety of options, especially the Straddled Triple Option, which Frost favored at Oregon mostly in short yardage situations. For the receivers expect the relievers to be asked to run medium to short routes then try and gain yards after catch. That was a staple of the Oregon offense. Both Frost and Troy Walters come from the PAC 12, a conference that glorified the YAC statistic. Needless to say the offense will vastly improve this year as opposed to the mess Brent Key created last year.

The biggest changes though will be felt on defense. UCF used to be known for its aggressive,  to the ball style of defense. Well that image took a hit last year under he who shall not be named. The defense looked slow, unmotivated, and out of position on a constant basis. Every game it felt like the defense would fall apart. In fact the defense was emailed 122th in the country last year. That is not a UCF style of defense and thank good that Chuck is gone. But that is about to change. Erik Chinander, the former linebacker coach at Oregon, brings a toughness that this team missed last year. He will also bring a change of scheme. UCF will switch from the old 4-3 to a more athletic 3-4. The 3-4 will allow UCF to blitz more and keep up with the hurry up tempo of teams like Houston and Tulsa and now Memphis. Of course Chinander has never called a play as a defensive coordinator before so there will be moments that make fans scratch their heads especially early in the season. But as he gains more experience, Chinander will get better.

One of the biggest concerns last season was the fitness level of the team. While there were some freak injuries(Holman), several players seemed to get hurt due to a lack of fitness. In addition this team played so slow. Offense, defense, special teams, this team was seemingly stuck in the mud. Enter the biggest game changing decision that Frost has made. That was bringing in Zach Duval to be the strength and conditioning coach. Duval brought an impressive resume including being a master of Strength and conditioning. Oh and while he was at Buffalo he helped build the machine k own as Khali Mack. Duval has overhauled the program at UCF. He is having the players work smart and not overextend themselves. He has changed their workout techniques and schedule. The benefits of which can already be seen. Look at the changes to Justin Holman's physique. He was always bugger for the position, but now he looks like he is a linebacker rather than a qb. One of the biggest criticisms of O'Leary towards the end of his tenure was that he allowed players to snack and did not put an emphasis on the value of nutrition. That has changed with Frost and Duval who enrolled players in Nutrition 101 so the players can better treat their bodies. Frost is utilizing a major resource at UCF: the medical program. This team will not be the slow, injury prone team like last year. This version will be stronger, faster, leaner, and more agile when they take the field.

There will of course be hurdles this team will have to overcome. The staff is inexperienced.  The players are coming off of the most miserable season in UCF history and looked terrible. UCF is the 3rd youngest team in the country. Scott Frost has been known to take head scratching risks that even upset Oregon fans at times and will bring that over to UCF. Needless to say, this season will be the year of transition. In fact lets call a spade a spade: this year is about rebuilding every aspect of the program.  A year in which UCF fans need to exhibit patience. If UCF fans  are able to be reasonable and let the changes seep into the program, they will be rewarded with a successful future.