UCF Spring Practice Countdown: #14, Wide Receiver Ryan O'Keefe

One of UCF Football’s most explosive playmakers needs to take his game to yet another level.

Brian Smith | Mar 3, 2022

ORLANDO - Seeing how talented wide receiver Ryan O’Keefe stepped up his game once fellow receiver Jaylon Robinson went down with injury is commendable. He truly moved the needle with his play and helped to elevate the UCF offense despite the other team’s defense knowing that O’Keefe would be a prime target for UCF quarterback Mikey Keene.

To that end, O’Keefe’s skills are well documented. He’s No. 14 on the spring countdown list because he can still improve and help impact the offense in a myriad of ways. Because this countdown is broken down into several components like talent, position, position flexibility, experience, the ability to help new players, and the ability to elevate the play of other players, O’Keefe is a little further back than many might think.

In short, he's already established, which is a good thing. He's still very important though. A few more plays here or there where O’Keefe does more than just be an explosive receiver, as detailed below, will help UCF Football tremendously. Scoring a few more times over the top will help as well.

Ryan O’Keefe

Size: 5’10”, 175-pounds

Position: Wide Receiver

Experience

The 2021 season saw O’Keefe catch 84 passes for 812 yards, and seven touchdowns. His yards per catch was down to 9.7 due to the UCF offense using him as an extension of the running game with several screen passes coming his way. That showed leadership and toughness, as many receivers want to run deeper routes and take fewer hits. O’Keefe just chugged along and kept moving the chains. When he did go deep, like against Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl, he made defenses pay.

O’Keefe’s stat line against the Gators: seven receptions, 85 yards, and one touchdown. That’s the type of performance he and UCF fans will always remember.

Ryan O'Keefe goes deep for the score against Florida / UCF Athletics - Morris

2022 Expectations

With Robinson back in the lineup alone, not to mention additional talent that’s been added at receiver and tight end, O’Keefe’s yards per catch will certainly go up. He’s also going to be involved with the intermediate passing game more as the quarterback room is going to be vastly more experienced than last season. That means more chances to catch passes 10, 15 or even 20 yards across the middle of the field where O’Keefe can make plays after the catch.

Seeing how well he does with receiver technique will help determine if those routes, as well as the deep routes like a post or go route, will dictate if he’s pushing for conference and national recognition in addition to UCF’s overall success. In doing so, O'Keefe should have more explosive plays than he did in 2021, and his touchdowns could very well go up as well.

For UCF to win more, there will be three more prime areas to watch O’Keefe.

Blocking

The UCF running back stable is tremendous. Anytime a wide receiver fends off his cornerback for just that half-second longer, that’s an opportunity for a big play. The same can be said for John Rhys Plumlee when he’s in the lineup. He’s a threat to score anytime he takes off.

Can O’Keefe improve his perimeter blocking? If yes, UCF’s 5.4 yards per carry average could actually improve to 6.2, maybe even 6.3 or 6.4 per tote. That would be excellent news for the UCF offense overall.

Oftentimes it’s just technique with blocking, along with the requisite effort needed, at the wide receiver positions to create those chunk-yardage running plays. Let’s see how O’Keefe does with this during the spring game and beyond.

Leadership

O’Keefe said all the right things last season and that’s great. His next challenge, helping the talented freshmen as well as the transfers adjust to life in Orlando. While this is not something that can be seen by the media or the general public, how the UCF offense operates next fall will in part be about how the players come together.

With tight end Kemore Gamble coming over from Florida and wide receiver Kobe Hudson moving over from Auburn, both need to adjust to everyday life. That’s the same for the three talented wide receivers that were signed as well.

Considering how well O’Keefe played last season, his measurement of success goes beyond yards and catches now. He’s one of the assigned team leaders. One final category to define.

The Big Play

A reverse, a double pass, or even a double move…O’Keefe needs to have that moment in 2022 where he makes a play that cannot be defined as anything else but with defining words like spectacular, phenomenal, and game changing.

The 2022 UCF schedule has plenty of pitfalls, and it will take special plays from O’Keefe to help ensure that UCF maximizes its success. Even finishing 10-2 will be difficult with a tough schedule, but that’s why O’Keefe’s playmaking ability will be counted on numerous times. He’s capable as seen before, and he will be expected to make a few tremendous plays again this fall that help UCF pull out the victory.

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