Defensive backs shine at spring practice

Bright House Networks Stadium was filled with spring football action on Saturday, as the Knights hosted Junior Day and held their first-ever practice open to the public at the stadium.

"We had a good junior day with a bunch of kids [here] and we got to showcase everything," said head coach George O'Leary.

UCF spring football practices are always open to the public, however, the team usually practices either on the outdoor practice fields or inside  the Nicholson Fieldhouse. This was the second time practice was ever held in the stadium. The only other time the Knights practiced inside the stadium was in 2007, before the stadium's opening day, but it was not open to the public.

"I thought that [getting to practice at the stadium] was a nice situation," O'Leary said.

The Knights also held their first scrimmage of the spring football season.

"Well, it was the first real scrimmage, and I thought there were way too many mistakes and penalties,"  O'Leary said. "I thought that the things I look at on defense — DDF (deliver, disengage and finish), weren't there on defense. And I thought that LCS (landmarks, contacts and sustain), weren't there on offense. But the kids came on towards the end of the scrimmage, defensively."

While O'Leary was pleased with how the first scrimmage ended, he expressed his desire for his players to be more engaged into the action.

 "Overall, I think we need more effort and enthusiasm," O'Leary said. "I thought that was lacking."

The defensive unit seemed to have looked more polished than the offensive unit in the scrimmage, winning battles on the line of scrimmage and also in the secondary. But missed tackles by the linebacker corps concerned O'Leary.

"Linebacking is a game of contact and speed," O'Leary said. "And right now I'm very disappointed in my linebackers as far as what I saw out there. Way too many missed tackles."

The secondary stood out the most to O'Leary.

"With Josh Robinson and Kemal [Ishmael] I think we are set back there at secondary," O'Leary said. "I'm now looking for the second-team guys, where they're coming from, and to pencil in some of the younger guys."

Junior defensive back Kemal Ishmael made multiple pass breakups and laid out a few big hits on unsuspecting wide receivers. Most notably, Ishmael laid the lumber on wide receiver A.J. Guyton on a near-touchdown grab, knocking Guyton so hard that he dropped the pass.

"Oh, Kemal is a player," O'Leary said. "He does good things."

The Knights will take the field Tuesday at 9 a.m. for their next spring practice at the outdoor practice fields. The Knights' Spring Game is April 16 at 2 p.m. at Bright House Networks Stadium.