Inside The Knights Confidence Level for Boise State, Offensive Skill Players

UCF provides the firepower to move the football against most defenses. Against Boise State, the Knights will certainly be challenged to do just that.

Brian Smith | Aug 31, 2021

Inside The Knights Confidence Level for Boise State, Offensive Skill Players /

Few Group of Five teams possess the defensive skill talent and overall talent that Boise State possesses. When the UCF offense hits the field, it will need to be mentally and physically ready for a Broncos defense that will likely show multiple fronts and pass coverages.

More importantly, Boise State will bring several really good defenders with them from the state of Idaho to Florida. Here is a look at the confidence for the UCF skill positions.

Running Backs - Confident

This may surprise some people, but considering the talent UCF received via transfers with Isaiah Bowser and Mark Antony-Richards, there’s simply a running back room that’s ready to compete from top to bottom. The returning Knights like Damarius Good and/or Johnny Richardson will make an impact this season as well, and could do so against the Broncos. The speed of Richardson alone makes one wonder about how the UCF offensive staff will attempt to place the football in his hands.

Could Johnny Richardson (#25) make a big play with a screen or jet sweep against the Broncos? / Brian Smith, Inside The Knights

Bottom line, UCF’s running back room has speed and size. It's a smorgasbord of good athletes at the disposal of the UCF offensive coaching staff.

From the high school film, to the college film, this is a position that’s probably the easiest to judge talent of any in football. Even without a scrimmage to watch, one also needs to consider UCF Head Coach Gus Malzahn’s fantastic history with running backs. That alone elevates the grade.

Look for the UCF running backs to rotate some during the game, but if a running back really performs well, he could receive 20 or more carries. Coach Malzahn’s history has shown he will reward performance with more rushing attempts.

Tight Ends - Wait and See

With Coach Malzahn now at the controls, the tight end room will be much more important for UCF than ever before. He’s always relied on tight ends to play major roles as receivers and blockers. With that, tight end is a position UCF has not been particularly good at during its football history. There is some experience and talent returning though.

With Jake Hescock, there’s certainly a sense that he can get it done, but he's never been counted on quite the way he will be this season. Hescock is a proven blocker, but e only caught nine passes last season, however. Will he be ready if the Knights need to consistently throw the football to him?

Jake Hescock, Tight End, UCF — Jake Hescock leads a tight end unit that few really know what they are capable of heading into the Boise State game / Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Hescock will certainly get his chance, starting with Boise State.What about the depth behind Hescock?

Will other tight ends emerge? Will the UCF tight ends be able to handle edge defenders like Shane Irwin, a defensive end that’s proven capable of getting into the opponent’s backfield? Running the football requites tight ends to be blockers that truly take on and move defensive ends. That will be a challenge against Boise State. That’s a good unit returning.

It’s hard to answer any of the above questions without the ability to see UCF scrimmage this fall camp. To the point, there’s nothing more than guessing about the tight end depth chart because it’s relatively unproven compared to say quarterback or inside linebacker for the Knights. For this reason, there’s a need to simply wait and see before heaping praise onto an unproven UFC tight end depth chart.

Sure, there are rumblings about different young tight ends, as well as Zach Marsh-Wojan returning. Perhaps another tight end stepped up during fall camp. Need to see it, in an extended full contact situation, before having any truly glowing assessment. Nobody honestly knows how good they are, or just how much Coach Malzahn will rely on them for the Boise State game. Those are very important details. After the Boise State game, this position will be much easier to grade.

Wide Receivers - Very Confident

This could be the best matchup of the game. Boise State’s starting cornerbacks are 6’0” and 6’2” respectively, and they also return one of the most talented nickel cornerbacks out West with Kekaula Kaniho, an All-Mountain West selection in 2019 and second team All-Mountain West selection in 2020.

With that being said, UCF’s speed at wide receiver will give most secondaries concerns about being beat over the top, Boise State included. That will aid the Knights’ rushing attack because the Broncos will be placed at high risk if they put seven or eight defenders near the line of scrimmage. It’s also a reason that the confidence level is very high. Aiding the rushing attack is part of the job description for a wide receiver room. The Broncos defensive staff will have choices to make about coverages.

Look for Boise State to really attempt to slow down Jaylon Robinson, possibly double teaming him for much of the evening. If not, there will be multiple deep shots between him and quarterback Dillon Gabriel. There’s a more likely scenario that will probably play out.

Gabriel has several talented wide receivers to pass the football, and he will distribute based on the player that's open, plain and simple. This is a savvy quarterback and he just wants to win. Still, there's one player to keep an eye on.

Pick to Click: With an emphasis towards stopping Robinson, look for Ryan O’Keefe to provide the biggest impact. He’s a burner and will likely be in one-on-one situations for most of the game. Even if he only catches three or four passes, there’s a good chance one of those receptions goes for big yardage.

O’Keefe averaged an impressive 19.6 yards per catch average in 2020. Look for him to get a couple of deep balls thrown to him as well as be a part of the UCF screen game. He’s dangerous in space just like he is dangerous during a post route.

Ryan O'Keefe, Wide Receiver, UCF / Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

Overall, the jersey number that Gabriel passes the football to will not matter, with O'Keefe possibly being the exception because of his speed and one-on-one matchups down the field. The junior signal caller from Hawaii will find five or six wide receivers during the evening for competitions. This balanced approach will allow UCF to dictate its passing attack to Boise State because it will be hard to project where the football will be headed.

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