Initial Thoughts from the UCF Spring Game, JRP, Keene & Castellanos

UCF’s Spring Game presents an opportunity to see three talented quarterbacks compete.

Brian Smith | Apr 16, 2022

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UCF Knights

ORLANDO - There’s much to like about the UCF Spring Game overall, and quarterback is a major part of that conversation. Here are quick thoughts about each of the three signal callers.

Mikey Keene, Sophomore

The first question, did his arm strength improve? Probably a little bit. That’s important. There are certain throws like a deep out or seam pass where velocity determines whether a quarterback is picked off or a receiver makes a catch (and sometimes a touchdown right afterwards).

Next, mobility comes into play, but the signal callers did not face the opportunity to be hit or sacked because they were down on contact to prevent injury. Thus, only a snippet of what’s real can be evaluated from the spring game.

A few times a defender came through the line and it was just a flat out bust by someone up front. That said, Keene is not mobile enough to avoid those busts and it cost him and the Knights. He absolutely needs to improve his ability to make the first defender miss between now and the fall.

Accuracy did show itself to be quite good. Keene made several really good screen throws even when he was fading away with a defender in his face (so did the other two signal callers), and he hit the mid-to-deep shot when available. He’s frankly a good passer and deserves more credit for that than many provide him.

Overall, Keene’s improvement is easy to see. He still has room to grow and he’s only a sophomore this fall.

John Rhys Plumlee, Senior

Who said this Hattiesburg, Miss. product could not throw? His spot on passes, especially the touchdown to the corner of the end zone with a defender right there, shows that Plumlee is more than accurate enough to lead the Knights this fall. From this entire article, that point is the biggest eyebrow raiser.

Mobility is what one expects: fast and elusive. Several of his runs would go for far more yardage in a live situation. This is a player that can pass for 2,000 and rush for another 1,000. He’s a true athlete.

Finally, Plumlee looks like he’s comfortable. He never once seemed to be out of place or out of sorts with any defensive looks, how he threw a pass, or anything else. His confidence is high. Plumlee looks really good coming out of spring.

Note: Between Keene and Plumlee, they comined for 471 yards and seven passing scores, while throwing only one interception.

Thomas Castellanos, Freshman

Everyone is curious about the hyper-athletic talent from Waycross (Ga.) Ware County because he can absolutely scoot and he possesses a bazooka for an arm. Is Castellanos ready for prime time? Perhaps not yet, but there’s reason for optimism in short order.

He pulled down the football and ran a couple of times, probably a little too early, but even with a potential mistake it turned into positive yards. He accelerates quickly and beats defenders to the spot and just keeps on running. When he's one-on-one, just like in high school, the first defender is going to struggle to tackle Castellanos.

As a passer, his motion is already more consistent than it was just last fall. That was easy to see just from him going through the warm ups.

The question now, how does UCF place this young man on the football field? He’s incredibly talented. He’s the future quarterback, for sure, but how do the Knights get him on the playing field inside the Bounce House this fall with two other experienced signal callers in front of him? That’s going to be interesting to watch.

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