Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Focused on details
UCF defense credits sharper attention to the small things for improved play
It’s been obvious during the past few weeks that something has changed for UCF’s defense.
The Knights no longer look like the group that allowed nearly 500 yards to East Carolina or got gouged for 670 yards and 40 points by Temple last month.
What has clicked for them? There wasn’t a singular “Eureka!” moment. They don’t point to some magical panacea. The Knights say they have just been sweating the small stuff.
“The simple things, that’s all it comes down to,” linebacker Nate Evans said about how the defense has improved. “Having the right fit, taking the right step, stuff like that. We haven’t really been busting too many plays. It’s just been the little things.
“The little things are going to fix the big things and when you get that corrected, we’re on a roll.”
The Knights have employed a sort of bend-butdon’t-break style all year long, where yards are permitted but points are much tougher for opponents to accrue.
Case in point: UCF is in middle of the pack among American Athletic Conference teams in yards allowed per game, but thanks to a red-zone defense that is at the top of the conference, the Knights have allowed
just 19.5 points per game. That’s second-best in the American and within the top 20 in the nation.
However, UCF’s defense really held its ground during the past two weeks versus a ranked Cincinnati team and against South Florida in the War on I-4 matchup. The Knights gave up a total of 17 offensive points in those contests and an average of 344 yards per contest.
“The defense, we have stepped our game up these few weeks,” Evans said. “I just want to say that we just want the respect on defense. We kind of gave up a lot of pass yards, a lot of rush yards early in the season. We just wanted to fix that, so we just got in the film room, got together as a defensive unit and got it corrected.”
Defensive coordinator Randy Shannon, spoken like a true coach, said he wants his players to improve on “everything” heading into Saturday’s American Athletic Conference Championship Game against Memphis. But he acknowledged his defense has definitely cured some ails.
“They’re continuing to grow,” Shannon said. “Just keep telling those guys to just keep growing each week and stay the course. Don’t ever, ever relax. Once you relax, that’s when bad things tend to happen.
“Guys [have] got to stay fundamentally sound. Keep working hard on the small things and not worry about the big picture.”
UCF has specifically excelled in run defense through the past fortnight. They held Cincinnati’s Michael Warren and USF’s Jordan Cronkrite, players who rank among the top 25 nationally in rushing yards per game, to a combined 111 yards on 28 carries.
The test becomes only more difficult during this week’s rematch with Memphis and its star running back, Darrell Henderson, who ranks second in the country in rushing yards (1,699), yards per carry (8.58) and rushing touchdowns (19).
“He’s got a lot of speed, great vision, physical,” defensive end Titus Davis said of Henderson. “He runs great behind his Oline. He waits to see when the crack comes and he hits it as fast as he can . ... He’s just a good all-around back. Any team in the NFL would be lucky to have him.”
The Knights have tape on Henderson as well as the confidence that they can slow him down, as they did when he gained only 27 yards on 10 second-half carries when these teams met in Memphis on Oct. 13.
Shannon said the value of that first look is reduced by the fact the Tigers are a “totally different” team now, one that uses more two tight end sets than ever before.
The Knights’ defense is different, too. Tackling, coverage, filling the right gaps, knowing and following their assignments — those are all areas the Knights say they have fortified with the help of little fixes that have made a huge difference.
Still, they are aware that memories of their past errors remain in the minds of many who judge UCF’s defense. The Knights are looking forward to changing more opinions during Saturday’s game that kicks off at 3:30 p.m.