Newman eventually beat out approximately 115 participants in the longest throw competition and then the punt return contest to snatch up both prizes Thursday.

“I was showing off at the end, especially on that diving catch,” smiled Newman, who caught three difficult punts from the machine to cap off the night. “I didn’t really need to do that but I was showing off a little. (For next year) I am going to train ahead of time for sure, kind of like getting ready for a marathon so I can win everything, and hopefully they will add more competitive sports and then I can win more.”

After everyone registered, they gathered for some introductions of the football staff led by head coach George O’Leary. Offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe explained offensive formations, snap counts and personnel, while defensive coordinator Jim Fleming taught defensive gaps, zones and mechanics. The group eventually went inside Nicholson Fieldhouse and separated into different positions, such as receiving, kicking and throwing. One of the players helping out was senior wide receiver Jeff Godfrey.

“It is very fun to see everyone compete, who can throw the ball the farthest and how they are catching punts. It’s really exciting out here. It’s a great turnout tonight,” Godfrey said.

麻豆原创 Athletics Hall of Fame member and wide receivers coach Sean Beckton agreed.

“Tonight was a very good event,” Beckton said. “Everyone got to see a lot of the different aspects of how a football program is run, and they had a chance to get out and interact with some of our players and learn some of the skills to help them understand the game even more.”

At the end of the event, the two big competitions took place with Newman stealing the show.

“I think tonight’s fantastic,” she said. “I was a late add-on to come with a friend and I love it. I would recommend it. It’s been great.”

Plan your game days this fall with the Knights, and experience one of the best schedules in program history. Season tickets start at $99. Order today at or call 407-麻豆原创-1000.

The conclusion of those workouts over the course of a few weeks was Saturday’s annual spring football game at Bright House Network Stadium. With weather that made it feel more like November than April, the Knights hit the field the final time before gathering later this summer in preparation for the season opener at Akron.

There were some highlights during Saturday’s play that included some nice runs, catches and interceptions by players coming back from injuries. There were some dropped balls and penalties, but for the most part, 麻豆原创 Head Coach George O’Leary seemed pleased with what he saw.

Here’s a list of things to note from the game:

Blake Bortles looks and plays the part: At 6-foot-4, the sophomore quarterback has the walk and talk of a confident team leader. Bortles does not lack confidence and seems to have settled in his role at the starting signal caller. Bortles was 27-of 45 for 239 yards and one touchdown in Saturday’s game. He used a variety of receivers and showed his ability of being patient in the pocket and his strong arm as well.

麻豆原创 has talent at the wideout position: Despite the unusually high number of drops in Saturday’s game, the spring was a good one for this group. Freshman Breshad Perriman has the look of someone who can and will make a big impact this fall. At 6-foot-2, Perriman can take a hit and appears to be someone Bortles will look for. Sophomore Josh Reese was a big target for Bortles in the second half of the season in 2011 and should be again this fall. Senior Quincy McDuffee and sophomore Ranell Hall provide great speed and incoming freshmen at this position make things bright this fall and for years to come.

Options in the backfield: With the arrival of Storm Johnson, 麻豆原创 can go four-deep at running back. Returnees Latavius Murray and Brynn Harvey provide a great combo and the addition of Johnson gives offensive coordinator Charlie Taffe a new weapon because of Johnson’s breakaway speed. Don’t forget redshirt freshman Cedric Thompson who can also run the ball well. How 麻豆原创 uses this group in the fall will be interesting. 麻豆原创 did not show it this past Saturday, but the Knights might use a two-back set where Murray plays more of a H-back role in passing situations.

Defensive line features flexibility: Bruce Miller started the trend by being used as both an end and tackle. Few players did it was well as Miller, but 麻豆原创 will move players from inside out in certain situations. Victor Gray is the guy to watch as Gray moves inside out. 麻豆原创’s interior of the line appears to have some depth with E.J. Dunston, Josh Wofford, Jose Jose and Thomas Niles. Defensive end Troy Davis believes the line will be better at sacking the quarterback, something 麻豆原创 struggled with last season.

Plummer fits the middle just fine: Terrance Plummer played a lot during his freshman year, but now he will play an even bigger role as he has moved inside. Plummer shined throughout the spring and credits new defensive coordinator Jim Fleming, who Plummer said just simplified things for him in many areas. Depth at this position is something 麻豆原创 will still work on but Plummer, Jonathan Davis and Ray Shipman handle the outside spots quite well.

Ishmael leads with his play: It’s hard to imagine, but Kemal Ishmael is a senior. He has seen fellow secondary players jump to the NFL and others suffer season-ending injuries, but Ishmael remains the constant. He still hits as hard as anyone and always seems to be around the ball whether it be run or pass. Ishmael welcomes the return of cornerback A.J. Bouye who suffered the season-ending injury last year. Bouye had two interceptions in Saturday’s game. While Ishmael gets a ton of attention, no one should underestimate redshirt sophomore Clayton Geathers, who appears poised to become a leader on defense following in Ishmael’s footsteps.

Field goals are not a bad thing: One of the loudest crowd reactions from Saturday’s game came on the last play. The last play saw sophomore kicker Shawn Moffitt connect on a 49-yard field goal. Both Moffitt and Sean Galvin had solid springs and O’Leary believes the position is as strong as it has been in years. Galvin kicked off a couple of times into the end zone which is a big deal this fall. The new kickoff rule has the ball teed up at the 35-yard line and any touchback comes out to the 25-yard line instead of the 20.

Focused on adding more depth at the quarterback, wide receiver and offensive line positions, 麻豆原创 signed 19 players on Wednesday on National Signing Day. O’Leary was pleased with the size and with the quantity of talent in the class.

O’Leary feels that the Knights did well despite losing three players to Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference schools and having a lot of late turnover among his assistant coaches at 麻豆原创. Nearly the entire defensive coaching staff has been remade in the past weeks with Jim Flemming (coordinator), Derrick Ansley (defensive backs) and Tyson Summers (defensive assistant) joining holdover Jim Panagos (defensive line) on the defensive side of the ball.

“I told our coaches with the changes that occurred and the other situations I thought we did an outstanding job of securing talent,” O’Leary said. “I think everyone will find that this class will end up being one of the better 麻豆原创 classes. There are no sexy names, but the history is that most of those (five-star and four-star recruits) don’t make it anyway.”

O’Leary was disappointed in losing quarterback Jonathan Wallace to Auburn, Harding Harper to Vanderbilt and Beau Hankins to Georgia Tech, but the coach noted that defections showed “that clearly we are on the path with the right kids.'”

O’Leary said 麻豆原创 acceptance into the BIG EAST helped somewhat, but the true impact of the move into an automatic-qualifier conference will be felt once the Knights are playing BIG EAST games in 2013 and beyond.

“We competed against a lot more BCS schools than we ever have for kids and we won some and lost some,” O’Leary said. “When you go up to the Major Leagues, your batting average is going to go down sometimes. We were cherry-picked by some of the SEC schools and I’m sure we’re not the only ones that happened to. But I just feel like our coaches did a great job securing a great class.”

Foremost among 麻豆原创’s recruiting class is former Missouri quarterback Tyler Gabbert, former Georgia Tech offensive lineman Phil Smith and a trio of promising linemen from Florida.

Gabbert, the younger brother of Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert, joins the Knights to provide depth and another starting caliber quarterback to the roster, along with promising sophomore . 麻豆原创 offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe led the recruitment of Gabbert and likes that the quarterback comes from a family focused on football.

“With our quarterback situation I thought it was important to find an older quarterback with experience if available,” said Taaffe of Gabbert, whose brother was the 10th overall pick of last spring’s NFL Draft. “He’s been in a college program, been on a college field and he can compete with Blake right away. He’s got a strong arm and he’s fairly mobile. I sort of compare him to (former 麻豆原创 quarterback) because he’s a cerebral kid with a very strong arm.”

Smith, a 6-foot-5, 292-pound tackle, spent the previous four years at Georgia Tech and comes to the Knights with one year of eligibility remaining. He will be entering a master’s program at 麻豆原创.

Smith played in 33 games, including 20 as a starter, at Georgia Tech. He was a starter each of the past two seasons for a unit that ranked No. 18 in the country in total offense.

“He was a starter on the (ACC) championship team as a redshirt freshman and he’s a veteran who can help us right away,” 麻豆原创 offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator Brent Key said. “He’s an intelligent player and he’ll be an asset to us as a run-blocker.”

Colby Watson, Kelly Parfitt and Michael Campbell should also be big benefits to the Knights along the offensive line. Watson, a 6-foot-5, 320-pound guard/tackle, was highly regarded by recruiting analyst Tom Lemming, who referred to Watson as “a road grader who dominates the left tackle position.” ESPN.com rated him as the 16th best guard in the country and the 46th best prospect in the Sunshine State.

The Knights are hoping to have as much success with Watson and defensive end Luke Adams as they did with 麻豆原创 great , who was also a Pensacola native. Sitton, who starred at 麻豆原创 from 2004-07, won a Super Bowl championship ring with the Green Bay Packers last year while starting at guard.

“Colby just told me that he is going to be the next great one to come out of North Florida for 麻豆原创,” Key said. “He’s a big, strong kid who is really tough. I’m stoked about getting him and the other linemen that we have in the fold.”

麻豆原创 also added some much-needed size to their receiving corps after relying mostly on a smallish group last season. Dareen Owi (6-3), Drico Johnson (6-2), Breshad Perriman (6-3) and Taylor Oldham (6-1) give the Knights a group of big, physical receivers who can go up into traffic and haul in passes.

Owi, a product of Miami Norland, was tabbed by The Miami Herald as the top receiver out of South Florida. Oldham, a Daytona Beach native, impressed the 麻豆原创 coaching staff last summer in a seven-on-seven passing camp, and they liked what they saw after watching footage of him all season. Orlando’s Johnson was a star on the small-school level, while Perriman sat out last season while getting his academics in order.

“The thrust of our recruiting was to get bigger at receiver,” 麻豆原创 receivers coach Sean Beckton said. “We had size prior to last season and we wanted to get back to that. We want those bigger guys like Dareen who can go up and make the tough catch on third down and someone who you can just kind of throw it up and let a kid make a play. We’re seeing more and more teams with these big receivers and we know that bigger, stronger guys are better most times.”

According to Rivals.com, 麻豆原创’s recruiting class averaged 2.92 “stars” – the highest such average among schools in Conference USA. But O’Leary warned against fans getting caught up in the ratings systems by various recruiting analysts. After all, some of the best talent ever to go through 麻豆原创 – namely , , Sitton, and Paul Carrington – all came to 麻豆原创 while flying below the radar as two-star recruits.

Rather than relying on the evaluations of the recruiting analysts, O’Leary likes to judge talent with his own eyes. He has a checklist that grades players based on height, weight and speed and seven other basic categories based on their position on the field. And O’Leary likes what he sees in the 2012 signing class.

“We’ve always had speed here, but we needed to get bigger. And we needed size with speed and I think we got that,” O’Leary said. “I’d say there are six to nine guys in this class who can be three-year starters for us, maybe even more. Then, you surround them with some good, solid football players and you’ve got yourself a good team. I see some really stout guys and I think we’ve done well with this class.”

John Denton’s Knights Insider appears on 麻豆原创Athletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.

Now key contributors to 麻豆原创’s offense as redshirt freshmen, the bond between Bortles and Worton is paying huge dividends for the Knights’ offense.

麻豆原创 launched its comeback on Saturday night against Southern Miss after Bortles took over exclusively at quarterback and he immediately started feeding the ball to his favorite target. And when Bortles found Worton on a 25-yard touchdown pass on the final play of regulation, it allowed the Knights to dream of upsetting No. 22 Southern Miss.

The potential game-winning two-point pass was ultimately batted down, resulting in a 30-29 loss for 麻豆原创. But the vibe emerging from the game for the Knights was about the enormous promise for their young quarterback and wide receiver.

“J.J. just goes out there and keeps making big plays. And Blake really stepped up for the team and did a great job again,” 麻豆原创 tailback Latavius Murray gushed.

麻豆原创 (4-6 overall and 2-4 in Conference USA play) heads into the final two games of the regular season with a decision to make at quarterback. Sophomore Jeff Godfrey was C-USA’s Freshman of the Year last season and has had his moments this season. But it’s Bortles who has had the hot hand of late and could very well be the starter on Saturday when the Knights face East Carolina (4-6 and 3-3) in Greenville, N.C.

麻豆原创 head coach George O’Leary is expected to announce his starter later in the week, but the likelihood is that both quarterbacks will play against the Pirates. 麻豆原创 must win its two remaining games – the finale is at home against UTEP – to get to six wins and qualify for a bowl game.

O’Leary alternated Godfrey and Bortles at quarterback in the first half against Southern Miss, but stuck exclusively with Bortles in the second half. O’Leary felt that the 6-foot-5 Bortles gave the Knights a better chance at working the ball down the field against the Golden Eagles defense.

“I told (offensive coordinator) Charlie (Taaffe) that I thought (Bortles) gave us the best chance because he could see more of the field because they had some good sized linemen up there. We’re going to play both of them (in the future). Bortles did a good job, and now we just have to grow from this game and get the next two.”

The growth of Worton this season has been undeniable. A preferred walk-on from Homestead last season, Worton shined on the scout team while catching balls from Bortles. He impressed coaches during spring drills and early this season, earning him a steady role on the team despite his redshirt freshman and walk-on status.

Worton had a stellar game at SMU earlier in the season, catching five passes for 32 yards and his first career touchdown. Against Tulsa, he had 87 yards, another touchdown catch and a key 25-yarder late in the game that put the Knights in scoring position.

And on Saturday against Southern Miss, the 6-foot-2, 193-pound Worton established himself as 麻豆原创’s go-to receiver. He had catches for 9, 4, 4 and 4 yards as the Bortles-led offense worked its way down the field. And facing a fourth-and-two play with two seconds remaining, Worton went high into the air to haul in a high, 25-yard strike from Bortles to draw 麻豆原创 to within one point of the lead.

Said O’Leary: “That was a great catch. Those kids (Bortles and Worton) played their hearts out and I have nothing but great praise for them.”

Despite starting the season as a reserve, Worton now leads 麻豆原创 in receptions (36), receiving yards (452) and touchdowns catches (three). And in his eight games, Bortles is completing a whopping 70.4 percent of his passes and his 150.5 efficiency rating would be second in Conference USA if he had enough pass attempts to qualify.

Clearly, the future is now with 麻豆原创’s two redshirt freshmen.

In some respects, last Saturday’s open date came at a good time for a 麻豆原创 team battered and bruised physically and spiritually. But the bye week also came after frustrating losses to FIU and BYU, meaning the wait to get the season back on track has been interminable for several of the 麻豆原创 players.

With the Knights sitting at 2-2, emotions of late have spanned the entire spectrum – anger, frustration, sadness and finally acceptance that there is still plenty to play for this season. 麻豆原创 practiced three days last week, helping the team shift the focus from the BYU defeat to the highly anticipated showdown against C-USA rival Marshall (2-3).

“We had been grinding for four weeks, so it was good to take a week off. But we’re so ready to get back on the field now against Marshall,” 麻豆原创 senior tight end Adam Nissley said. “We can still get to what we want to be. We feel like in our conference we determine our own fate by going out and winning games. That sets us up at the end of the season to be champions, so we can’t wait to get back at it.”

麻豆原创 certainly has some experience of being in this situation. In 2009, the Knights were 2-2 following an early-season loss at East Carolina, but they rallied to an 8-5 finish and a spot in the St. Pete Bowl. And last season, 麻豆原创 shook off a 2-2 start to author the finest season in school history. 麻豆原创 won five in a row and nine of the last 10 to climb to C-USA champions and winners of the Liberty Bowl.

“After that (BYU) loss we had a team meeting and coach told us that we were in the same position last year and 2-2 going into conference play. We just have to buckle down now and get ready,” senior wide receiver A.J. Guyton said. “Our goal now is to win Conference USA and it starts on Saturday against Marshall.”

As defending C-USA champs, 麻豆原创 is the hunted team in a conference full of squads looking to dethrone the Knights from the top perch. Foremost amongst those teams is Marshall, arguably 麻豆原创’s biggest and nastiest rival in C-USA’s East Division. The two schools have met each of the past nine seasons – with 麻豆原创 winning the past six games. The Knights smashed Marshall 35-14 last season in a nationally televised game, and 麻豆原创 knows what to expect with the Herd rolling into Orlando following a 17-13 defeat of Louisville.

“We don’t really have a rival game, but I guess if we had to pick one because of the length of the (series) that 麻豆原创 has played Marshall from the MAC, this is the one we’ve played the most,” 麻豆原创 coach George O’Leary said. “We’re anxious to tee it up with them. We’ll find out what (Marshall quarterback Rakeem Cato) is about and they’ll find out what (麻豆原创 quarterback Jeff Godfrey) is about.”

O’Leary gave his team five consecutive days off last week following the 24-17 loss at BYU and then had the Knights practice three times. Rather than harping so much on the negatives of losing two games, O’Leary stressed to his squad that it was still doing plenty of good things, but had to eliminate turnovers and special teams gaffes. Despite its 2-2 record, 麻豆原创 still ranks first in the nation in pass defense, second in total defense, fifth in scoring defense and 15th in rush defense. Offensively, the Knights are averaging 420.2 yards a game.

O’Leary also stressed to his coaching staff to lighten some of the intricacies of the game plan because the team has so many young players filling critical positions.

“There are always areas where you can improve on, but we’re doing a lot of things well, too,” O’Leary said. “We don’t spend a lot of time harping about mistakes because there’s a lot of good. We can’t take those three or four plays out of those (FIU and BYU) games and say that’s the whole season. We have to improve in those areas if we’re going to be successful. In these last couple of days of practice we’ve gotten better.”

Senior tailback Ronnie Weaver, who highlighted last season’s defeat of Marshall with 150 rushing yards on 30 carries, said he’s been particularly vocal with teammates during the week off about there still being plenty to play for this season. He knows that another conference title will dictate which bowl the Knights play in at the end of the season.

“The mood has been up because we’re trying to stick together and keep our camaraderie. We have a working mindset to get back on track. We understand from our background the last couple of seasons that we started off 2-2 and we’ve expressed to the younger guys through team meetings and group meetings that we still have a lot of football to play,” Weaver said. “These conference games are very important to us having a successful season. Our goal from the beginning has been to win the conference championship, and it’s still very much attainable.”

And Nissley’s growth as a dependable and clutch pass-catching tight end has been vital to a 麻豆原创 offense that is short on size and experience at the wide receiver position.

Here’s all you need to know about Nissley’s immense growth as a receiver this season: By halftime of last Saturday’s 17-10 loss to FIU, Nissley had already surpassed last season’s total of six catches for 59 yards. Through three games, the tight end who came into the year with just 17 career catches is tops among 麻豆原创 players with 140 receiving yards and he’s second in catches with nine. Six of his receptions have gone for first downs and the 6-foot-6, 267-pounder is averaging 15.6 yards a catch.

“I knew I had to tighten up some areas of running routes, my speed, quickness and catching balls. I think it’s all paying off for me now,” Nissley said. “I’m pleased I’ve gotten better, but I’m even more pleased to be able to help this offense out. I had four receptions Saturday night and I didn’t even know it until after the game. We were just trying to move the ball and sustain some drives. (Quarterback) Jeff (Godfrey) made some good plays and for me it’s just a matter of hard work paying off.”

Nissley, one of the unquestioned leaders of the Knights, is hoping that a week of hard work will help 麻豆原创 (2-1) bounce back from last week’s disappointment on Friday night against BYU (1-2). The nationally televised game by ESPN kicks off just after 8 p.m. and gives the Knights the perfect stage to prove that they are still a special team. As a senior, Nissley has done plenty of talking to 麻豆原创’s younger players this week, preaching to them the need to stick together and play better on Friday.

“This is definitely when my experience comes into play and I’m able to help out the younger players. We’ve been in this situation before and lost football games before. It’s important to be a leader, get back to work and get back to winning,” Nissley said. “Last week is last week and there’s nothing we can do about it. We just have to put our heads forward and try to beat BYU.”

One way to do that will be to attack the defense down the field. Godfrey was under constant pressure last week against FIU, and for the most part had to settle for underneath routes and slants. The Knights have yet to throw a touchdown pass in three games. While 麻豆原创 head coach George O’Leary is delighted that Nissley has blossomed into a steady receiver on mostly short passes, he wants Godfrey looking for big plays more down the field.

“I’m happy for Nissley, but I’m not happy that the other receivers aren’t getting it. He’s great on catching the ball and blocking, but we need to be getting the ball to the guys who can catch it and get with it,” O’Leary said. “Nissley is catching balls on a lot of key downs for us. He’s a big target at 6-5, but Jeff needs to get the ball down the field because he’s waiting too long.”

Nissley, a Cumming, Ga., native, has had to wait a long time to become a factor in the 麻豆原创 passing game. Because he’s so strong and such a good blocker, he was once moved to tackle during his freshman season. He was converted back to tight end and showed his massive promise by catching 10 passes for 159 yards. He didn’t figure so much into the passing game, but formed a dominant right side of the line alongside Nick Pieschel and Jah Reid, now a member of the Baltimore Ravens after being a third-round pick in the NFL Draft.

Nissley, too, could become a high-round draft pick because of his off-the-charts strength, speed and size for a tight end. He’s routinely compared his strength and speed numbers to those of the tight ends at the NFL Combine in the spring, and they have matched up favorably.

The missing piece, it seemed, was Nissley being a factor in the passing game. He worked hard over the summer to improve, catching hundreds of passes a week while also trying to be a better route runner.

“In the past he was inconsistent in his catching and not very detailed in his route running. But he made a conscious effort since the spring and summer to get better,” 麻豆原创 offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe said. “I knew that with us not having as much depth at receiver that particularly early on it would be important for our tight ends and backs to get more involved. Adam has done a nice job. He’s made some big plays and made key first downs. He’s keeping them honest when they double team the receivers and play Cover 2. He’s doing a very good job.”

With smallish receivers Quincy McDuffie (5-10), A.J. Guyton (5-11) and Khymest Williams (5-10) on the outside, the 6-foot-6 Nissley has been a big target for Godfrey, especially on third down. Still, he’s taken plenty of grief from his teammates for letting smaller defensive backs bring him down in the open field, especially following his 45-yard catch in the season-opening rout of Charleston Southern.

Now, Nissley is hoping that his first touchdown catch of the season comes on Friday night against BYU. More importantly, he hopes that the Knights can bounce back from an uncharacteristic loss in which they were their own worst enemies with penalties and turnovers.

“They have to cover everybody on our offense and not just jump out there on the receivers. That’s something that our offense is able to do, get the ball out to every position,” Nissley said. “Jeff being more mature and being able to see other options besides just one receiver is something that he’s really improved upon. So we just want to keep building on that and get better.”

麻豆原创 has spent much of the past week trying to find a third quarterback behind Jeff Godfrey and Blake Bortles following another season-ending injury to senior Rob Calabrese and the announcement that elite recruit DaMarcus Smith wouldn’t be eligible. So in the unlikely event of injuries to Godfrey and Bortles, it’s senior Ronnie Weaver – who seems to have won the hotly contested battle for the starting tailback job – who would operate as the third quarterback in “Wild Knight” formations.

“I’ve made the running backs the third quarterback. Weaver throws it extremely well. Weaver doesn’t do anything great, but he does a lot of things good,” 麻豆原创 coach George O’Leary said. “He’s taking snaps at quarterback running the `Knight’ plays and there are some throwing plays that he can make in case there’s an emergency there.

“That’s the only choice we had right now,” O’Leary continued. “You don’t count on Calabrese getting hurt and you count on DaMarcus (Smith) being here. But we’ll just go with what we have. We’ve worked on some of that stuff this week.”

O’Leary also made it official that standout freshman Leilon Willingham has earned a starting position at outside linebacker for the season-opener on Sept. 3 against Charleston Southern at Bright House Networks Stadium. Willingham, a 6-foot-2, 240-pounder, was regarded as an upper-tier recruit for 麻豆原创 and he has been impressive enough in training camp to earn a starting nod.

“He’ll be able to perform and do what he has to do. Freshmen play because they don’t act like freshmen and have some strength. He’s 6-2 and 240 pounds and he’s a good-looking player,” O’Leary said of Willingham, a four-star recruit by several national publications. “He’s earned the right to take the first-string snaps and we’ll see what he can do.”

麻豆原创 wrapped up the training camp portion of its practices on Tuesday. The team will take Wednesday off from practice and will begin preparations for the Charleston Southern opener on Thursday. Kickoff for the opener is at 7 p.m.

Calabrese was the backup quarterback to Godfrey last season, but tore a ligament in his left knee while scoring a touchdown against Marshall. He returned in the spring and split time between receiver and quarterback. The promising rise of Bortles, a 6-foot-5 redshirt freshman from Oviedo, allowed Calabrese to spend more time at receiver. But a second knee injury came last week on another noncontact play, leaving the Knights with just two scholarship quarterbacks.

O’Leary tinkered with the idea of using senior wide receiver A.J. Guyton as the third quarterback because of his experience at the position in high school. But he ultimately settled on Weaver because of the lack of depth at receiver and Weaver’s ability to handle and throw the football.

Weaver, a Wabasso native, emerged as the starting tailback midway through last season and ran for 890 yards and 11 touchdowns. He entered this training camp the likely third choice at tailback behind Latavius Murray – the MVP of the C-USA title game and the Liberty Bowl – and Brynn Harvey – the 2009 standout who missed all of last season with a knee injury. But Weaver impressed O’Leary and offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe with his tough running and ability to pass protect and won the starting job at tailback.

Prior to this week, Weaver said he had no quarterback experience, having played tailback and safety at Vero Beach High School. But after spending the previous four years in the 麻豆原创 offense, he feels he could run the team in a pinch.

“It’ll be a tad bit of an adjustment, but I understand the concepts and I’m getting the hang of it pretty smoothly,” Weaver said. “I’m left-handed, so I guess it brings another dimension with me rolling out the other way. I’ll just try to get the ball out the best I can to the receivers. The package is just designed to help our offense out and give us another dimension as far as the running game goes.”

Weaver hopes that 麻豆原创 gets efficient enough at the “Wild Knight” package that the team will be able to utilize it in the heart of games. It could be another way for the Knights to take advantage of their stable of running backs and get Weaver on the field with Murray and Harvey.

“That’s completely up to coach. The more comfortable I get with it, the more comfortable coach would be with it and try to implement it in,” Weaver said. “Right now, we’re really big in the trial phase of it. I’m not sure how it’ll go implementing it in the game plan, but I’m practicing hard at it and hopefully they’ll have confidence in me.”

Calabrese suffered a torn ligament to the same (left) knee that he injured last October on a touchdown run against Marshall, effectively ending his season again. Because Calabrese was serving dual roles throughout training camp, the Knights are now down a veteran receiver and their third-string, emergency quarterback.

But on Tuesday, the thoughts were not so much about the position shifts as they were for Calabrese, one of 麻豆原创’s most respected players and leaders on and off the field. He’ll soon undergo another surgery to repair the ligament that popped on a non-contact play in which he was simply cutting. He could use a redshirt season and possibly return in 2012.

“He’s a great kid,” 麻豆原创 coach George O’Leary said of Calabrese. “I just feel bad for him. Same thing. He just was stopping and all of a sudden the knee went out again. He tore the same knee, the ACL. He’ll probably want to come back, knowing him. He’s such a great competitor, but that hurts because he had so many roles on the team.”

The Knights lost their top three receivers from last season and are young and inexperienced on the outside. Calabrese was shifted from quarterback to receiver in the spring in hopes of giving the receiving corps more size and a solid athlete.

Now, more of the focus shifts to senior wide out A.J. Guyton and junior speedster Quincy McDuffie. Losing Calabrese could also open up playing time for freshmen Josh Reese, J.J. Worton and Rannell Hall, all of whom have opened eyes in training camp with their sure hands and ability to make plays.

“Losing Rob was real big blow because he was one of the vets who really helped us out with the rotation. He’s also played a big role in motivating our young players as well,” McDuffie said. “It just causes us to step up to the plate, lead by example and make plays. We have to push those young guys and help them push through.”

Added senior tight end Adam Nissley: “We know somebody has to step up now and fill that void. Rob was getting to the point where he was an asset in this offense. He was catching balls and making plays and we were getting used to seeing him out there. We have some guys who can step up. If it takes A.J., Quincy or me stepping up and catching passes, we’ll do it.”

The Knights also have to develop a plan to find a third quarterback behind standout Jeff Godfrey and blossoming redshirt freshman Blake Bortles. One option, O’Leary said, could be using Guyton, a quarterback at Homestead High School during his prep days five seasons ago. The fifth-year senior has already told the coaching staff of his willingness to work at quarterback and he’s confident that he could direct the run-heavy offense from a “Wild Knight” formation.

“I told (offensive coordinator) coach (Charlie) Taaffe during the walk-through today that I could fill in at quarterback and he just looked at me,” Guyton said with a laugh. “But if they need me to get back there just in case something happens to Jeff or Blake, I’d be happy to do it. I love quarterbacking. My junior and senior years we ran the spread offense. I loved quarterback a lot.”

When Calabrese injured his knee last season he impressed coaches and teammates with his willingness to stay around the team and help out as much as he could. He was in most every quarterback meeting and he often suggested ideas to Godfrey, then a freshman, along the sidelines during games. Nissley said he fully expects that Calabrese will do what he can to help out once again.

“It was just a freak accident. He was just running the route, made a plant and it buckled up under him. As a team we feel really bad about it because Rob worked so hard to get back from the last injury,” Nissley said. “But Rob’s a real strong-willed kid. He’ll still have the attitude to help this team win and he’ll be with us in the meetings. He’ll still be an asset and help us win.”

A native of Albany, N.Y., Taaffe led The Citadel as its head coach from 1987-96 and finished with a 55-47-1 record, which ranks as the most victories by a head coach in the school’s history. A two-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year in 1988 and 1992, Taaffe captured the 1992 SoCon Championship and amassed an 11-2 record to tie for No. 1 in the final D-IAA national poll.

Taaffe received 1992 I-AA National Coach of the Year honors by The Sports Network and the American Football Coaches Association, while earning the Eddie Robinson Award as the I-AA National Coach of the Year. Among the programs The Citadel defeated during his tenure were Army (twice), Navy (twice), Arkansas and South Carolina.

Entering his third season with 麻豆原创, Taaffe, who also monitors the quarterbacks, led the Knights to a very productive 2010. The offense boosted its scoring average from 26.2 in 2009 to 32.1 en route to a Conference USA title and an AutoZone Liberty Bowl victory over Georgia. 麻豆原创’s balanced attack finished the year with 187.6 rushing yards per game and 186.4 passing yards per game, and scored at least 30 points in eight contests.

Taaffe molded true freshman quarterback Jeff Godfrey into the C-USA Freshman of the Year in 2010. The Miami native started the final 12 games and led all FBS freshmen with a 66.8 completion percentage and set a 麻豆原创 quarterback record with 566 rushing yards. He also had a 154.31 efficiency rating with 13 touchdowns in the air and 10 touchdowns on the ground.

Taaffe made his way to Orlando after serving as head coach of the Canadian Football League’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 2007-08. He also was in charge of the Montreal Alouettes from 1997-00, and began his coaching career mentoring the running backs at Albany in 1973.

Latavius Murray rushed for 94 yards and scored two touchdowns Saturday to lead Central Florida to a 17-7 victory over Southern Methodist in the Conference USA championship game.

The Knights (10-3) won their second league title and a trip to the Liberty Bowl in their seventh season under George O’Leary, the former Georgia Tech coach who’s led a dramatic turnaround since taking over a struggling program and going 0-11 in his first year on the job.

Jeff Godfrey completed 15 of 19 passes for 167 yards, including a 5-yard TD throw to Murray to finish a long scoring drive in the opening quarter. Murray also scored his 10th rushing TD of the season, breaking a 36-yard run to make it 17-0 in the third quarter.

SMU (7-6), which was trying to win its first league championship since sharing the Southwest Conference crown, scored on Kyle Padron’s 22-yard pass to Aldrick Robinson early in the fourth quarter.

Padron was 18 of 34 for 220 yards passing, but he also was intercepted twice and sacked five times. He drove his team into 麻豆原创 territory in the closing minutes, only to have the Knights stop the threat on downs with their final sack.

麻豆原创 won for the eighth time in nine games, including three in a row since a 31-21 loss to Southern Mississippi ended a brief stay in the Top 25.

The first national ranking in the program’s 30-year history lasted one week, yet accentuates just how far the Knights have come since going 0-11 in 2004 — O’Leary’s first season, and the year before 麻豆原创 joined Conference USA.

SMU’s turnaround in three years under former NFL and Hawaii coach June Jones has been just as impressive. Finally showing signs of recovering from being hit with the NCAA death penalty for rules violations, the Mustangs are headed to bowl games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1983 and 1984.

Fast Facts

麻豆原创 set the tone for a dominating performance, marching 73 yards in 13 plays following the opening kickoff to take a 7-0 lead on Godfrey’s short TD throw to Murray. Nick Cattoi’s 29-yard field goal made it 10-0 on the final play of the first half.

The Knights held the ball for more than 13 minutes of the first quarter, and the combined 10 points for the teams were the fewest scored in an opening half in the six-year history of the Conference USA championship game.

Murray’s second touchdown finished an eight-play, 85-yard drive that extended 麻豆原创’s lead to 17 heading into the fourth quarter.

The 6-foot-3, 221-pound running back was voted the game’s most valuable player. He carried 22 times while sharing the workload with Ronnie Weaver and Godfrey, one of the nation’s top dual-threat quarterbacks.

Darius Johnson had nine receptions for 105 yards for SMU. Zach Line rushed for 94 yards on 18 attempts for the Mustangs.

Source: ESPN,