Tearz49ers Presents: Rise and Conquer (NCAA Football '06)

[Tearz49ers]

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Things couldn't have gone much worse for George O'Leary in his first season as the new head coach of the Golden Knights in 2004 finishing 0-11. Even more shocking was how far apart the scorelines were too, the average score was 33-16 and ultimately had this been his third or fourth year in charge of the Golden Knights you wouldn't have been surprised if the program didn't commit to O'Leary for the 2005 season.

Looking ahead to 2005, the Golden Knights started to look and feel like a team that was starting to understand O'Leary's system on both sides of the ball during spring drills. Looking at the roster, UCF is still one of the youngest teams in the nation with just 18 juniors and 13 seniors on the roster, while 54 underclassmen make up no less than 65% of the team.

Previewing the UCF Offense in 2005:

Inconsistency is what best describes the UCF offense from 2004 and no more so than at the quarterback position. Steven Moffett started eight games last season and with Brandon Summer now departed, the competition for the starting role came down to two players heading into spring, Moffett and true sophomore Kyle Isreal whose freshman campaign ended early due to injury. With Isreal re-injuring the same leg that kept him out of his freshman year it was Moffett who took full advantage of the situation and is expected to made starter going into the first game of the season however expect both to see playing time this season.

The Golden Knights enter the 2005 season with a new running backs coach in the form of James Bernhardt but with the Knights all-time leading rusher Alex Haynes' departure it now leaves the team with its most notable loss on this side of the ball. The committee expects that there will be chances for all running backs to get touches this season. Dontavius Wilcox is a shifty runner and brings the most experience. Curtis Francis, a sophomore and the most versitile athlete out of the three running backs is a track standout who has all the tools to push for plenty of playing time.

The Knights have a pair of experienced receivers in the form of senior Brandon Marshall and junior Mike Walker, but they also have plenty of depth at the position with several new faces making waves this spring like JUCO-transfer Javid James. With so many injuries on defense last season both Marshall and Walker moved to that side of the ball with Walker at cornerback and Marshall at safety. Mike Walker could well be the teams best overall athlete. Expect junior sprinter Brooks Turner to be used as the No. 3 and can keep up with both Walker and Marshall in most areas. Senior Darcy Johnson is one of the top tight ends in the conference and is probably the most dangerous receiver the Golden Knights roster carries.

So many young players were forced into action last season along the offensive line and that lead to so many problems in what was a massive learning curve. Dominic Iglenzi, Sean Gilhuly and Dan Veenstra started 11 games together but two of those players in Iglenzi and Veenstra will be at new positions in 2005. This units improvements will only be seen via more wins (Lets just start with one hey?)

Previewing the UCF defense in 2005:

The defensive line returned all its key players from last season, including the teams sack leader defensive end Paul Carrington, the now senior really came into his own at the strong end position in '04 and that has continued to be seen throughout spring. Emeka Okammor and Steve Shologan both started in the middle of the line as true freshman and both players adjusted well to the new strenght and speed seen at the collegiate level. Defensive end Kareem Reid missed the 2004 season as a transfer from Kentucky, but expect him to contribute after showing the coaching staff what type of player he is with both his size and athleticism.

At linebacker this will cause the biggest headache for all those involved with the program and the problems here last season were only highlighted when O'Leary signed no less than eight linebackers in his recruiting class. Senior James Cook is the veteran leader and junior Chris Walsh has moved to linebacker after playing defensive end last season, but a broken hand cut a vast majority of his learning process short this spring.

2004 was a year to forget for UCF's defensive backfield with the team having the worst luck with injuries, luckily the team has made it through spring with only a few cuts and bruises. Sha'reff Rashad returns at safety after breaking his hand on the initial play of his freshman year against Penn State. The Jacksoville product is versatile enough to also play free safety if called upon,
but sophomore Renford Parkes will start there and he needs to continue to improve after showing signs of struggling to adjust to the new speed of division one football in 2004. Ron Ellis returns as one starter at corner while redshirt freshman Johnell Neal parlayed a strong spring into the top spot at the other corner position.

Previewing the UCF Special Teams in 2005:

Senior kicker Matt Prater, who comes into the 2005 season as the fourth all time leader at the position with 33 field goals. Prater has a strong leg, and we expect to see him at the next level. Senior Aaron Horne returns after averaging just over 38 yards per punt in 2004, but he did manage to place no less than 18 punts inside the 20-yard line..

Final Analysis

Lets put it this way, things can't get any worse in 2005 than they were last season. Even if the Golden Knights go on to win just one game this season, that will mark a vast improvement on the previous season. Don't expect miracles anytime soon, but this team is slightly better of this year than they were this time last.


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[LopaKa]

awesome to see another NCAA 06 report over here Tearz, definitely following!

[gsutiger]

I'm with these 06 Dynasties getting reborn I may dust off the old ps2

[Tearz49ers]

Quote: Originally Posted by LopaKa

awesome to see another NCAA 06 report over here Tearz, definitely following!

I've been planning an idea for the last few weeks, yours finally gave me the push to do it!

Quote: Originally Posted by gsutiger

I'm with these 06 Dynasties getting reborn I may dust off the old ps2

It's the best game, and with no new one for the near future then why not! DO IT! DO IT!

[Tearz49ers]

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[Cheese2121]

Yesssss...you know I am super excited for this my friend. I will be following this very closely. I will also be curious to see how the short quarter length works out for you. Good luck man!

[Tearz49ers]

Quote: Originally Posted by Cheese2121

Yesssss...you know I am super excited for this my friend. I will be following this very closely. I will also be curious to see how the short quarter length works out for you. Good luck man!

Always happy to see this face around here, I listened and decided thst a full rebuild would be more fun and more challenging (at least I hope). After a few tests the short 5 minute quarters actually provided the more realistic stats and scorelines.. there is no clock run off it 2006 so 5 minute quarters are more like 9 minute quarters in 2014.

[Hushroom]

Love the recent 06 revival! I am playing a dynasty with Toledo in NCAA 06 on my PC through PCSX emulator. I have it on my regular PS2 too, but the graphics on PC are real nice.