Breaking it down: Positions

Here is a position-by-position breakdown of the Knights offense, defense and special teams unit going into the season. Starters are in bold.

OFFENSE

QUARTERBACK

Jeff Godfrey

Blake Bortles

Ronnie Weaver

Rundown: The Knights have an interesting situation at quarterback. Starter Jeff Godfrey is a fan favorite and, by most accounts, he has matured greatly between his freshman and sophomore seasons. That maturity plus his ability to make plays will make him, once again, fun to watch. Bortles has had a great preseason camp, and he is slowly but surely becoming a very good quarterback leading the second-team offense. Due to an injury to Rob Calabrese, the Knights' best third-string option is using the "Wild Knight" formation, utilizing Weaver as their third-string option in an emergency.

RUNNING BACK

Ronnie Weaver

Latavius Murray

Brynn Harvey

Rundown: The Knights will be taking advantage of the depth here. Though Weaver worked his way to the top of the chart and won out, displaying a knack for picking up extra yards, the coaching staff has never shied away from the fact that all three ball carriers will get reps.

WIDE RECEIVER

A.J. Guyton

Quincy McDuffie

Josh Reese

Khymest Williams

J.J. Worton

Rundown: Guyton will bring a lot of experience at the wide receiver position. On the other hand, McDuffie is someone coach O'Leary has mentioned more than once needs to get the ball in his hands due to his great speed. The Knights are very fast at wide out.

HALFBACK/FULLBACK

Dontravius Floyd

Brendan Kelly

Billy Giovanetti

Rundown: Although the Knights will predominately utilize running backs, Floyd had a strong preseason showing. Giovanetti, at fullback, may not have gotten the ball a whole lot last season but has played a big role for the Knights helping clear holes.

TIGHT END

Adam Nissley

Justin Tukes

Rundown: Nissley's receptions were down last year from the year before, but with Godfrey hopefully staying in the pocket more and letting plays develop, his number should go way up this season. Nissley is a senior and one of the leaders on the team.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Left tackle: Chris Martin, Torrian Wilson

Left guard: Justin McCray, Jordan McCray

Center: Jordan Rae, Rey Cunha

Right guard: Theo Goins, Cliff McCray

Right tackle: Nick Pieschel, Tony Jacob

Rundown: In the past, the Knights' offensive line has always been an area of concern, but this year the linemen have two things going for them. There is a good amount of experience and a good amount of depth on this line. With such strong running backs and two very dynamic quarterbacks, it will be up to the line to hold it down and let talented skill position players create.

DEFENSE

DEFENSIVE LINE

Defensive end: Darius Nall, Troy Davis, Toby Jackson, Cam Henderson

Defensive tackle: Victor Gray, E.J. Dunston, Barry Snider, Jose Jose, Josh Wofford

Rundown: Even though there are quite a few new faces on the defensive line, it shouldn't be too much of an adjustment for the Knights. Nall, known for being a fighter, brings experience and should bring leadership to the defense. Davis has had a phenomenal offseason and should carry momentum over into this season. The recruiting department did not slack this year, filling pass-rush holes that were left by Bruce Miller graduating.

LINEBACKERS

Outside linebacker: Jonathan Davis, Leilon Willingham, Troy Gray, Ray Shipman