First test for Knights’ QBs
Thursday’s scrimmage could see one signal-caller break out.
As UCF enters its second week of preseason camp, the coaching staff hopes to begin identifying some of the key contributors for this upcoming football season. That includes at quarterback, where close attention has been paid to a three-man competition among Brandon Wimbush, Quadry Jones and Dillon Gabriel.
The battle to replace injured starting quarterback McKenzie Milton could shift when the Knights host their first scrimmage Thursday.
“It will be big for the quarterbacks, but it will be big for us offensively and as a football team,” UCF quarterbacks coach Jeff Lebby said following practice Monday. “We need guys to get the game situations and get out there and get a good feel for it so we understand what we’re going to get every single game day.”
UCF coach Josh Heupel said he’s been impressed with the competition so far, but he needs to see more out of the trio.
“Good and bad out of all of them,” Heupel said of what he’s seen through the first five practices of preseason camp. “We’ve got to eliminate the bad. They’re attentive. They want to be perfect. So they’re continuing to grow.
“We’ve got a long ways to go until naming a guy. We have a long ways to go before a guy’s able to claim it, in my opinion.”
With Milton expected to miss all of 2019 while recovering from a devastating knee injury that nearly cost him his right leg, the competition to be his replacement began with Wimbush, Jones, Gabriel and Darriel Mack Jr. pushing each other throughout spring workouts.
But Mack suffered a broken ankle in July that will sideline him for all of preseason camp and perhaps longer.
Lebby said the coaching staff is taking it day-by-day when it comes to the quarterback competition, but he believes this week’s scrimmage could tell them a lot.
“Being able to put them through game situations through all of those snaps will be a big thing,” Lebby said of the competition. “It will be very, very important. That will be the thing as we go through these first two scrimmages to tell us where we’re at from a situational standpoint.”
All three players have made huge strides during the offseason, according to Lebby, with each player embracing the nuances of playing quarterback in the Knights’ fast-tempo offensive system.
While Wimbush is the most experienced player among the three, having started 16 games while at Notre Dame, that expertise doesn’t necessarily give him the inside track to start when UCF hosts Florida A&M during its season opener on Aug. 29.
“You can’t buy experience, you’ve got to live it,” Lebby said. “That’s the biggest thing. He’s got it. That’s a big part of it, but it’s not something that at the end of the day is going to make the decision.”
But the second-year coordinator did say that Wimbush has grown tremendously over the summer.
“He’s really just totally different. Fundamentally, he’s a lot better. He’s been able to get himself in better body position, creating more consistent throws and he’s night-and-day from the spring game to today,” Lebby said.
Gabriel also spent the summer honing his skills after arriving on campus in January as an early enrollee. That experience is already paying off for the true freshman.
“He’s just got it,” Lebby said while explaining what makes Gabriel special. “He’s got great confidence in himself. He’s got great leadership ability without having to say a whole lot. That’s something for an 18-year-old to be able to come in and jump in with a bunch of older guys and fit in immediately. That says a lot about who he is and what he is.”
Jones’ familiarity with the offensive system makes him another viable candidate despite seeing limited action while redshirting last season. He’s gained 25 pounds during the past 18 months, which has caught the eye of the coaching staff as well.
“Physically, he’s in a really good spot, and mentally, he’s in a really good spot. He’s a guy that’s going to continue to make it hard on us,” Lebby said of Jones.