UCF Depth Chart Thoughts: Week 2 vs Louisville
The first game of the UCF Knights 2022 season was a success with a 56-10 victory over the South Carolina State Bulldogs. From that game, several UCF starters played well, but so did some reserves.
Here’s the actual depth chart that UCF released this week prior to the Louisville contest:
Heading into the game against Louisville, thoughts about a few players that could see action on offense or defense that were not necessarily well known prior to the Sep. 1 opening game, or still might not be household names.
Starting on offense, there’s quite a bit of curiosity with how much and when running back RJ Harvey will play. For those that remember, he was the leading candidate to start at running back coming out of the 2021 spring practices.
During the 2021 fall camp, Harvey injured his knee and missed the 2021 season. Now that he is back (and he looks like he’s absolutely ready to go!), perhaps Harvey could make an impact against Louisville even if it is just one big play. His speed could lead to any play being 20 or more yards.
Also, wide receiver Kobe Hudson did not catch a pass against Louisville. He started, but signal caller John Rhys Plumlee quickly developed a repertoire with wide receiver Javon Baker. The former Alabama player ended up with five catches for 84 yards and a score.
Louisville might begin to shade coverage towards Baker, or perhaps last season’s primary receiver, Ryan O’Keefe. If that happens with Baker or O’Keefe, Plumlee could look to beat one-on-one coverage with Hudson. Defensively, there are more options.
UCF rotated quite a few defensive players, with fresh faces at defensive tackle like Matthew Alexander and Kervins Choute each performing well. Alexander had two tackles, while Choute provided two tackles of his own.
Defensive end K.D. McDaniel was one of the most efficient players against South Carolina State. Look for him to make noise against Louisville, too. He’s a player with the ability to play a major role against the Cardinals.
Do not forget about edge defender Dallaz Corbitt either. He had some nice moments during that first game. Now, can he take the next step and make a true impact versus Louisville? He’s likely to get his chance.
Now that they are a part of the rotation, there’s a chance that any one of the defensive linemen mentioned above could make a difference against Louisville’s rushing attack, as well as slowing down talented quarterback Malik Cunningham.
At linebacker, the one possible change could end up being Walter Yaites III playing more. Depth charts aside, and not that they are updated much during a season, Yaites led UCF with seven tackles last week. He might be on the field even more against Louisville.
Within the UCF secondary, it’s a talented and deep group of players. That’s why it is impressive that true freshman Nikai Martinez played as much and as well as he did at the Knight position. Martinez recorded one sack, 1.5 tackles for loss, and two tackles overall.
Reserve cornerback Jarvis Ware also did quite well in coverage, as he produced two pass breakups and a tackle. Having a player as talented as Ware coming off the bench is a huge edge for the Knights against the Cardinals.
There could be other names that emerge in this game as well. That’s a prime reason why college football is unique; each week presents a new opportunity for players to emerge. UCF Head Coach Gus Malzahn and his coaching staff now have the overall talent to go deeper into the depth chart than in 2021.
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