 "Photo: Rami Rotlewicz")
George O'Leary is a lifelong Yankees fan. Growing up in Central Islip, New York, he became familiar with Bronx Bomber history, as does any good pinstripe-diehard in training. One particular bit of New York baseball trivia mirrors the quarterback situation O'Leary is about to encounter as he enters the 2010 season.
Enter the classic Yankee tale of Wally Pipp and Lou Gehrig. Pipp had been the starting first baseman in New York for ten years and on June 2, 1925, he sat out of the game with a headache. He would be replaced by the rookie Gehrig and never reclaimed his job again, as Gehrig went on to start in 2,130 consecutive games.
Rob Calabrese is Pipp: the solid, safe player. Jeffrey Godfrey is Gehrig: exciting, oozing with confidence and portraying an aura of greatness. While there is no forewarning that Calabrese will have to sit due to ailment like Pipp, it's almost inevitable at this point that his fate will be the same.
At the end of the day, this change to come is not about Rob Calabrese. There is widespread belief that the junior has become more comfortable, smarter and a stronger leader in the huddle during the spring and summer.
Sometimes getting better just can't hold a candle to the rush of potential.
In recent weeks, the post-practice commentary of Coach O'Leary has slowly but surely crept the door open wider for Godfrey. He's mentioned the memorable nature of plays the freshman creates, and offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe has said there is no doubt that the Miami Central-product has closed the gap.
So when the Knights take the field against South Dakota, expect to see the guy who has 15 career games under his belt for the Black and Gold behind center. Just don't get used to it.
When you're UCF, you don't get one of the most prolific passers in Dade County history away from programs like FSU, Miami, and Georgia without some assurances. Godfrey has known he was going to play from the onset and we are all just starting to realize how much time he'll get.
Sit back and wait for the moment, Sept. 4, when everyone will witness the Godfrey era at UCF commence.
In fact Sept. 4, 2010, could be his Gehrig day: his breakout.
Whatever the case, sooner or later, it will be Godfrey's team. When the two signal callers have been described as 1A and 1B throughout the waning weeks of camp, how do you not go with the younger option that has the higher ceiling for what can be accomplished? If they are so close, then it can be surmised that experience is all Godfrey needs -- so give it to him.
O'Leary is a smart coach, despite what many naysayers might voice. He has transformed the Knights football program for the better in numerous ways. Still, he lacks that season, moment, or team that cements his legacy.
The main reason for his absence of a moment in the sun while at UCF boils down to the quarterback position.
Most would tell you it has been one of the most upbeat fall camps they have seen from O'Leary. The coach has been loose, positive and even gave the teams two off-days during the month, a rarely seen occurrence.
You can say that the reason for all the goodwill is because of his veteran team, favorable schedule, or just plain softening with age, but I tend to not fully embrace any of those three reasons. I think as he has watched Jeffrey Godfrey grow through the spring and into the fall, he knows that he's the one player needed to take UCF to a new stage.
O'Leary had his finest seasons at Georgia Tech with another electrifying, athletic quarterback in Joe Hamilton. Hamilton saw action right away and it paid dividends for the Yellow Jackets throughout his four-year career. You cannot look at Godfrey and not see some of the same things Hamilton did on the field.
Daunte Culpepper made UCF Football a Division 1 program and Kevin Smith helped the Knights become a respectable C-USA team. Jeffrey Godfrey is here to take it to the next level.
If he does all that, to borrow a line from the legend Gehrig, George O'Leary will consider himself the luckiest coach on the face of the earth.
