UCF Spring Practice: The Quarterback Battle and the Transfer Portal

UCF Football is attempting to find its signal caller for the 2022 season while bringing in several transfers. What are the obstacles for UCF to overcome?

Brian Smith | Mar 30, 2022

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UCF Knights

ORLANDO - With five quarterbacks among the UCF depth chart, not counting walk-ons, this is a very deep group. Is there a definitive No. 1 guy, however? Of course that’s the common goal for any college football team. Here are the players most believed would battle for the starting job when spring practice began:

Mikey Keene, Sophomore

Joey Gatewood, Fifth-Year Senior

John Rhys Plumlee, Senior

Parker Navarro, Redshirt Sophomore

Thomas Castellanos, Freshman

How do you find that quarterback that raises the level of the team from the above list? Well, it generally starts in the off season when conditioning takes place in January and February, then it’s spring practice, the same time frame that the Knights currently reside in. Prior to fall camp, the summer with more conditioning and weight room work comes into the equation. Complicating the situation is the Transfer Portal.

Not only is Plumlee a potential starter coming from the Transfer Portal via Ole Miss, but there are probably four other offensive starters coming from the Transfer Portal. That’s a lot of moving pieces for the Knights.

Yes, it certainly helps bring in more talent. That’s not in any way being debated. What the Transfer Portal also does is create less continuity. It’s also a situation where if a quarterback, for instance, becomes disgruntled, he’s gone just like that. Same with a wide receiver or any other position. It’s complex to manage, and it has consequences sometimes.

Poof, off to the Transfer Portal. That could be the future of a program leaving (QB, top young WR, etc.) because of how things are progressing just at the quarterback position, which honestly runs just about everything for an offensive unit and therefore impacts the positions around it.

So, how does UCF Head Football Coach Gus Malzahn and his coaching staff balance the unique combination of leadership, talent, and continuity behind center while getting each of the quarterbacks enough repetitions in practice to stick with the Knights into the 2022 season?

UCF Quarterback Mikey Keene — Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports

Can Mikey Keene Fend Off John Rhys Plumlee and the Other QBs?

How Well Will Keene Run in 2022?

Mikey Keene UCF — UCF Athletics - Bright

Plumlee Made Big Plays Versus Florida

There are some key points here about quarterback and what’s possible, as well as the reality of the situation which is where the first point begins.

*Do you really want to keep five signal callers this fall? That’s the first question. UCF needs roster balance and five is a high number. Additionally, there’s preferred walk-on Davin Wydner coming to UCF. He’s a bona fide FBS quarterback coming to play for the Knights from Cocoa (Fla.) High School. Thus, maybe it’s just best to let it rip and quickly dwindle the reps down to no more than three quarterbacks, perhaps even two. If players transfer after that, so be it.

*Off the above point, one of the key components to being a big-time college quarterback is leadership. While the media and general public do not get to see the behind the scenes data from the weight room, nor the players actually going through an entire conditioning workout, the players all know about the quarterback battle.

The players are going to watch every move these signal callers make. They are human. Quarterback is the most important position on the field, and every non-quarterback is going to be at least somewhat curious about which player wins the job. Who stood out and was a true leader in the weight room? Same with those grueling running sessions that all college football programs go through once it’s summer time. The quarterbacks need to lead; all of them. The guys that fail in this area are probably more likely to leave.

*In between weight lifting and summer running, of course it's spring ball. This is a point blank scenario. One of the quarterbacks will likely be “the guy” that consistently makes the big play. That player will have a leg up for the starting quarterback position this fall. That leads into the hardest point to define.

*Dealing with the Transfer Portal. Lots of really good players joined the squad since the end of last season, and it’s probably a good bet there will be at least one more player joining the UCF roster that’s also going to play offense. After spring ball, look for more players to hit the Transfer Portal and the UCF coaching staff could find another fit. Time will tell. Regardless of another transfer, blending the talent so that it works together is important to note.

*Can the UCF quarterbacks find that chemistry with Kobe Hudson, the new wide receiver from Auburn? How about tight end Kemore Gamble who transferred to UCF from Florida? While it might sound simple, a quarterback just cannot have enough reps with his overall targets (WR, TE, and RB). Having a big group of quarterbacks complicates the matter further. In short, the sooner a quarterback is truly the starter, the quicker an established relationship can be found with all of the targets he will throw to in the fall.

*Further discussing this situation of the Transfer Portal and UCF quarterback play, here’s a podcast going into more detail. It’s certainly a fascinating situation to watch unfold and it will greatly impact the UCF won-loss record in 2022.

Here's The Daily Knight podcast further discussing the UCF quarterback situation in conjunction with the Transfer Portal.

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