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ORLANDO — Returning for his fourth tour of duty as a position coach at UCF, Sean Beckton quickly got the attention of his unproven room of wide receivers early this offseason. He turned on the tape of the 2014 Fiesta Bowl, a landmark 52-42 triumph for the Knights over heavily favored Baylor in which Blake Bortles threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns.
Rather than harp on the moments of glory in the passing game, Beckton instead emphasized the dirty work — when the ball is out of his playmakers' hands. Eloquently and succinctly put, Beckton's message consisted of four words: "No block. No rock."
"I said, 'This is the mentality we have in this receivers' room.' We're going to bring that back," Beckton said following Thursday morning's practice, the Knights' first in pads. "Thus far, I've seen it; not where I want it yet, obviously. We're still young in the spring, but they are getting to understand what I want on every single play."
Recruiting: UCF football expands 2026 class with addition of Georgia O-lineman
The UCF Hall of Famer, a Daytona Beach native, is excited to mold an almost entirely new cast of characters after spending last year in an analyst role under Gus Malzahn. Of the 13 wide receivers on the spring roster, none have caught a pass in a Knights uniform.
Tight end Kylan Fox and running back Myles Montgomery share the lead for receptions among returning players — with three apiece.
It's a group that includes four transfers, two early enrollees and five redshirt freshmen — including a pair of preferred walk-ons who largely worked with the scout team a season ago.
"It takes a lot of pressure off, knowing that I could just come in, be me and play — to go out, compete and show that I'm capable of playing in this conference," said senior DJ Black, a newcomer from Limestone College in South Carolina.
Black and redshirt senior Marcus Burke, who started six times in 2024 for Florida, possess the most experience among the Knights' perimeter options. Black turned in a breakout campaign at the Division II level with 26 catches, 541 yards and seven touchdowns, while Burke scored his first two college TDs among his seven receptions for 69 yards.
Charlotte transfer Duane Thomas Jr. has already made an impression for his day-to-day consistency, as well as his twitch in the slot. The 5-foot-8, 175-pound junior — nicknamed Speedy — said he drew comparisons to New York Giants receiver Wan'Dale Robinson, who played two seasons for Frost at Nebraska.
"It's honestly amazing. I'm kind of back home, I'm in Florida. You don't really see people move up conferences when (your team) has not so good of a year," said Thomas, a Miami Gardens native. "It's a blessing just to be here. The experience that I've had here so far has just been perfect. It feels like I'm made to be here."
Thomas lined up in the slot on 78.4% of his 310 offensive snaps last season for Charlotte, according to Pro Football Focus, and he has 30 career receptions for 307 yards and one touchdown. West Virginia transfer DayDay Farmer, a former UCF commit during his prep days at Melbourne Central Catholic, will provide another potential inside dynamo.
Bredell Richardson highlights the group of holdovers, and Beckton said he might have the best hands on the team. Caleb Rollerson, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound walk-on from Hawthorne, and Jordyn Bridgewater drew praise for their early efforts in camp, as did freshmen Waden Charles and Carl Jenkins Jr., both of whom graduated from high school three months ago.
"(Charles) has been faster than I thought he would be watching him on tape. Pleasant, understands everything. He asks great questions on everything he's doing," Beckton said. "And then Carl Jenkins is very similar. They're both carbon copies. Those guys are going to be the future of this program at the receiver spot. It's just how quick they can pick up and understand all the volume of the offensive scheme."
Beckton was not afraid to trust youth the only other time he could recall when he essentially had to replace an entire unit's on-field production — when he was the Knights' defensive backs coach from 2009-11. In that tenure, previously unheralded recruits A.J. Bouye, Kemal Ishmael and Clayton Geathers blossomed into NFL draft picks.
"All those guys, they were our best players. So they had to play," Beckton said. "We grinded them up at the corner and safety spots, put them in some tough situations in fall camp. The first three games was kind of (shaky). As they figured it out, the rest is history.
"We're going to find the best guys out of that (receiver) group. The only way they can get better is actually doing it. Once we get into situations where we have more team (drills), more scrimmage stuff and we get the feel of that, I think we'll see those guys progress really well."
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF Knights football: Which wide receivers will emerge in spring camp?
Continue reading...
Rather than harp on the moments of glory in the passing game, Beckton instead emphasized the dirty work — when the ball is out of his playmakers' hands. Eloquently and succinctly put, Beckton's message consisted of four words: "No block. No rock."
"I said, 'This is the mentality we have in this receivers' room.' We're going to bring that back," Beckton said following Thursday morning's practice, the Knights' first in pads. "Thus far, I've seen it; not where I want it yet, obviously. We're still young in the spring, but they are getting to understand what I want on every single play."
Recruiting: UCF football expands 2026 class with addition of Georgia O-lineman
The UCF Hall of Famer, a Daytona Beach native, is excited to mold an almost entirely new cast of characters after spending last year in an analyst role under Gus Malzahn. Of the 13 wide receivers on the spring roster, none have caught a pass in a Knights uniform.
Tight end Kylan Fox and running back Myles Montgomery share the lead for receptions among returning players — with three apiece.
It's a group that includes four transfers, two early enrollees and five redshirt freshmen — including a pair of preferred walk-ons who largely worked with the scout team a season ago.
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"It takes a lot of pressure off, knowing that I could just come in, be me and play — to go out, compete and show that I'm capable of playing in this conference," said senior DJ Black, a newcomer from Limestone College in South Carolina.
Black and redshirt senior Marcus Burke, who started six times in 2024 for Florida, possess the most experience among the Knights' perimeter options. Black turned in a breakout campaign at the Division II level with 26 catches, 541 yards and seven touchdowns, while Burke scored his first two college TDs among his seven receptions for 69 yards.
Charlotte transfer Duane Thomas Jr. has already made an impression for his day-to-day consistency, as well as his twitch in the slot. The 5-foot-8, 175-pound junior — nicknamed Speedy — said he drew comparisons to New York Giants receiver Wan'Dale Robinson, who played two seasons for Frost at Nebraska.
"It's honestly amazing. I'm kind of back home, I'm in Florida. You don't really see people move up conferences when (your team) has not so good of a year," said Thomas, a Miami Gardens native. "It's a blessing just to be here. The experience that I've had here so far has just been perfect. It feels like I'm made to be here."
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Thomas lined up in the slot on 78.4% of his 310 offensive snaps last season for Charlotte, according to Pro Football Focus, and he has 30 career receptions for 307 yards and one touchdown. West Virginia transfer DayDay Farmer, a former UCF commit during his prep days at Melbourne Central Catholic, will provide another potential inside dynamo.
Bredell Richardson highlights the group of holdovers, and Beckton said he might have the best hands on the team. Caleb Rollerson, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound walk-on from Hawthorne, and Jordyn Bridgewater drew praise for their early efforts in camp, as did freshmen Waden Charles and Carl Jenkins Jr., both of whom graduated from high school three months ago.
"(Charles) has been faster than I thought he would be watching him on tape. Pleasant, understands everything. He asks great questions on everything he's doing," Beckton said. "And then Carl Jenkins is very similar. They're both carbon copies. Those guys are going to be the future of this program at the receiver spot. It's just how quick they can pick up and understand all the volume of the offensive scheme."
Beckton was not afraid to trust youth the only other time he could recall when he essentially had to replace an entire unit's on-field production — when he was the Knights' defensive backs coach from 2009-11. In that tenure, previously unheralded recruits A.J. Bouye, Kemal Ishmael and Clayton Geathers blossomed into NFL draft picks.
"All those guys, they were our best players. So they had to play," Beckton said. "We grinded them up at the corner and safety spots, put them in some tough situations in fall camp. The first three games was kind of (shaky). As they figured it out, the rest is history.
"We're going to find the best guys out of that (receiver) group. The only way they can get better is actually doing it. Once we get into situations where we have more team (drills), more scrimmage stuff and we get the feel of that, I think we'll see those guys progress really well."
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF Knights football: Which wide receivers will emerge in spring camp?
Continue reading...
