Thoughts: Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste Enters Transfer Portal
There are sure to be more players hit the Transfer Portal from the UCF Knights roster, but few are likely to impact the defensive side of the football quite like Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste.
The linebacker has one year of eligibility remaining after being a mainstay for the UCF defense. A true thumper in the middle, if one will. Additionally, his leadership will be something that is not easy to replace during the upcoming bowl game or the 2023 season.
— Jeremiah Jean-baptiste💫 (@jeremiahjean11) December 5, 2022
After taking a look at Jean-Baptiste's post, it took a little time to truly summarize what was going on. Maybe that's just for him to know. Hard to say. The short-term impact is certainly great for a team that is coming off a couple of games of absolutely horrible run defense by the Knights.
USF came up with 298 yards on the ground against the Knights, while Tulane's rushing total is not far behind with 254.
Worse, Tulane's 8.2-yard average per carry is just eye-popping. Will the Knights be able to suddenly move forward and do a better job without the talents of Jean-Baptiste?
Not likely.
It does present a chance for the Knights to try new things along the defensive front. Maybe more 3-3-5 defensive looks, or just the opposite, with more 4-2-5 looks. Whatever it might be, the Armed Forces Bowl versus Duke is a chance for UCF to play younger players like freshman linebacker Kam Moore.
The results are likely to be mixed, but it's certainly going to be interesting on Dec. 28. There will also be a need to add linebacker talent from the Transfer Portal. That's a subject that Inside The Knights will be going into detail quite soon.
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