Notes & Quotes | Avoiding Complacency, Knights Look to Memphis Matchup

(Photo by Adrian J. Hernandez / New Day Review)

Sept. 25, 2017 at Wayne Densch Center for Student-Athlete Leadership

Availability: RB Taj McGowan, OL Aaron Evans, DL Trysten Hill, RB Adrian Killins, LB Shaquem Griffin

• The University of Central Florida is coming off a 38-10 win over the Maryland Terrapins.
• UCF’s win over Maryland is their first win over a Power Five team since the 2014 Knights beat the Baylor Bears in the Fiesta Bowl.

RB TAJ MCGOWAN: “It was a surreal moment, actually, because we’ve been waiting so long just to hit somebody else. It felt like we went to camp, got out of camp and went basically went back to camp. That’s how it felt for us. So, to have the opportunity to get out on the field again and show how great we’ve gotten over camp, it was a special moment.”

 

“No, [we didn’t feel rusty]. By the time we had got to the game, we felt shot out of a cannon. I mean, we had been preparing for two weeks, so we felt ready and willing to go. We weren’t rusty at all. We knocked all the rust off, like, that first day back. So, we were okay.”

 

“Last year, I feel like we were just happy to still be in the game, a big game like this, at halftime, you know, because coming off of that the season before. So we were just be in the game at that moment, but I feel like, this year, we expected to be in it. We expected to be up. So, at halftime, it wasn’t like—we weren’t happy with the results. We just wanted to finish it and basically put ’em in the ground.”

 

OL AARON EVANS: “It’s crazy how much different [the team’s maturity] is. At least from my perspective, I was frustrated a lot last year because you could see—like, when adversity strikes, you can with a less-mature team, the performance dips, and I don’t see that now. And I see actually more drive. Like, you see guys calling each other out. You see—people aren’t getting offended when they get called out. They’re just like, ‘Okay, you’re right, you’re right, you’re right.’ And everyone’s just constantly pushing and constantly trying to get better, and you can’t help but be successful when that happens.”

 

DL TRYSTEN HILL: “You know, with us, obviously last year, you know, we we’re able to, you know, not really play our best at some times, but then again, when we did it was okay. But, you know, with this team this year, you know, we feel we like we have the culture keepers of the team. You know, Shaquem and Aaron and those guys. They’re able to do a lot of different things to be able to speak up and be able to be those leaders that we look forward to and, you know, carry out a game and play all four quarters.”

 

RB ADRIAN KILLINS: “The locker room after the game, the atmosphere was awesome. Going into that game, we expected to beat them No one had any ifs, ands or buts about it. We just went on the field and executed and did what our coaches told us to do. And we won the game and celebrated afterwards.”

 

“The maturity level of this team is great. Everyone going into every game is expecting to win. No one have any doubt of what we need to do. Everyone know what the center has to do, the defensive linemen, the defensive backs, even the kickers. So, as a whole if everyone know what we’re doing, we can win every game and not have no doubt about it.”

 

“Nothing in that game versus Maryland surprise me. ‘Cause I see it every day in practice. Guys making big hits, guys making spectacular catches and making big runs. So, everything starts in practice. I said I see it every day. Jamiyus Pittman beating a guard and taking on the quarterback or the running back, I see it every day. So, everything that happens in a game, I expect it to happen in a game, because it happens in practice.”

 

LB SHAQUEM GRIFFIN: “It’s just—everybody knows what to expect now. You know, coming in last year, you know, we had an idea of what Coach [Scott] Frost wanted. But it was a learning process for everyone. I think, now, everyone is more dialed in ‘cause we know what to expect. And we know if we all dialed in, we know what we can get out of it. And, you know, that showed against Maryland. You know, we stayed dialed in. We got the older guys and the young guys watching film. We was able to go to the game and call out each play before it even happened. And that’s important, you know, having guys being able to call out plays before they even happen. You know, it shows how much they’re dialed in. And I feel like, as this team, now, we’re growing up. You know, we got older guys helping young guys. And the young guys understand how it’s important to watch film and learn tendencies, and it only will help. We tell them all the time, ‘If you know what’s going on, it’ll slow the game down for you.’ And it shows. And that’s the important thing—that everybody’s dialed in. They know what to expect they know what it takes to be a great team.”

• Starting running back Jawon Hamilton left the game early in the first quarter with a potentially significant leg injury.
• In his stead, McGowan and Killins ran for two and one touchdowns, respectively.

RB TAJ MCGOWAN: “At first, I was very upset, obviously, because that’s like my brother. So, at first, I had to control my emotions, but then after that, my coaches kinda like my calmed me down, and, in my head, I was just like, ‘You know what? They’re right. I gotta do this for him. I gotta do this for the team.’ So that’s how I approached the game when I got in. I just wanted to run downhill and aggressive and do whatever I had to do to get into the end zone or do whatever I had to do to help the team win.”

 

RB ADRIAN KILLINS: “It’s never good to see a guy go down on your team. Especially a guy like Jawon. He’s a high-caliber guy. He’s a great guy. Me and him came in together as freshmen, so I love him. He’s a brother to me, but it’s next man up. And we can’t dwell on that. We just gonna keep him lifted up in our prayers, and we just gonna dedicate this season to him.”

• Against the FIU Panthers in Week 1, the Knights ran for just 148 yards.
• In the win over Maryland in Week 4, UCF ran for 250 yards.

RB TAJ MCGOWAN: “I felt like it was a good combination of everything. I mean, I felt like A.K. hit it outside good. I felt like I hit it downhill pretty good, and even K.Z., you know, he shot out out there and had that long run, so I felt like it all meshed together very well, and we’re kinda getting to where we need to be. We’re not there yet, but we can always keep rising, but I felt like that was a good start.”

 

OL AARON EVANS: “All in all, I think we did a good job, but, after watching the film—to me, it’s exciting, but there’s a lot of things we can improve on. So, yeah, we had significantly more productivity this week, but we can have even more if we get those little errors, and—so, going in the week, that’s what we’re focusing on. The things that we messed up, and, yeah, pat yourself on the back just for Sunday afternoon and then get ready to work again today.”

 

RB ADRIAN KILLINS: “The improvement of this team as a whole—it starts in practice. When we have great practices, it carries onto the field on Saturdays. So, we just continue to execute and make big plays in practice. Everyone showcases their talents in practice and showcase those things on Saturdays as well.”

• The Knights now turn their attention to hosting the Memphis Tigers on Saturday, who are No. 1 in the American Athletic Conference West Division.
• Memphis has scored 43 points per game in its first three games but has allowed 35 points per game also.

RB TAJ MCGOWAN: “[Not having a falloff after a win against Maryland] all falls down to preparation. I mean, we can’t let ourselves get big-headed off of that win. Even after practice today, Coach Frost was telling us, like, we’re not good yet. We can be good, but we have to keep moving up, and that’s how we gotta approach it every day. So that’s gonna come from running hard, being physical and just doing what we’ve already been doing, and, if we keep doing that, it won’t be a problem, and we’re gonna go out there and dominate again.”

 

“Being that we already watched film on them prior, I mean, we expect a physical game. I mean, we’re both conference opponents, so that’s gonna be hyped up. But we’re just expecting to come out there and try to hit us in the mouth, and we just have to go out there, hit ’em first.”

 

“I feel like [the Memphis game’s] very important. We all feel like it’s very important. I mean, every game is important. By that part, this is a conference game, and we know how big it is that we need to go out there and handle business, so I feel like we’re really taking a business approach, and toady was that first step. But it’s a big game.”

 

OL AARON EVANS: “I think you just savor as much as you can Saturday night and Sunday and relish it with your family and your friends, and then you have to the right mentality every week, and just each week is a season. So you have to have short-term memory. So when that game’s over, turn your attention immediately ’cause our goal is the championship, not just t that one win, you know? So, that’s what my mentality is, and I think that’s what the team’s mentality is.”

 

“I think you balance [big-game hype] by making every week a big week. So, you can’t help it but have a balance. So, I don’t really weigh each game more than another. Each game is vital. Each game is a notch in your belt. So, I’d say you stay balanced. You don’t put too much weight into anything. It’s all just names, titles and hype. Just keep pushing, keep doing your job, and do your best, and everyone else on your team do your best, and you’ll have something special happen.”

 

“[The Memphis game’s] huge, obviously. I mean, it’s huge. This is the reigning champs. We have to take that title from them. We need to make a statement in this game, and I think that’s the biggest thing. People need to watch out for UCF, and I think that’s the statement we need to go into this game. Like, we need to lay a smackdown. We need to lay a smackdown. That’s my mentality [going] into this week, and I’m really excited to play this game.”

 

“I’m glad our week of preparation isn’t a waste. So, I’m really excited about it. We’ll have two weeks of work under our belts by the time we play them. So, we’re really—we should know our assignments inside and out, and I think you’ll see just a really fun game, watching—I mean, you saw how much more productive we were as a line, especially both sides of the ball. And you’ll see that maybe even more so this week ’cause of even finer details, you know? So, I’m excited about it.”

 

“I mean, they have a good front. Defensively, they’ve got some movement, got some different things going on for them. But, all in all, if we just stick to our assignments and do our job, I’m very confident in my teammates that we will have huge productivity and just exciting stuff happen.”

 

“I haven’t noticed any disrespect. It’s more of a—I want people to know who UCF is. Like, I wanna put UCF on the map, and that’s like something—like, I’m thinking about legacy. I’m a fifth-year senior. This is my senior-year team. I want when I leave here, people to remember this team, like the Fiesta Bowl year. I want people to remember this, and that’s something, like, that’s always in my head, and I don’t want my time to be here to be in vain, so I want this to be—just every game is a statement, but, this one, especially with the reigning champs, we gotta let our conference know what’s up.”

 

“It would be awesome. I said it over there. If you’ve ever been to a really good concert, and all the fans are, like, singing together and all that, you feel that energy in the air, that’s what it can be like here. But we have to have everyone here. You’ll have an experience of your lifetime if everyone’s here unified, singing and—not singing but cheering for us, and it makes us play harder, too, because it jacks us up. When I walk out there, I, like, I look around, take a screenshot every time. That’s one of my favorite parts about playing college football. It’s just—it’s electric, and that’s the best way to explain it.”

 

RB ADRIAN KILLINS: “Oh yeah, most definitely. It’s a conference game. Memphis is supposed to be the big guys in the league, so we’re looking forward to taking those guys down and just keep going on with our season.”

 

“Oh, it means everything. I know out fans are behind us 100 percent, and I’m looking forward to a packed-out crowd and a sell-out game and looking forward to win at the end of the game as well.”

 

“You can’t treat any game bigger than the other. Every game you take one step at a time, and you treat every game like it’s your last. ‘Cause you never know when it’s gonna be taken away from you. Memphis is just like any other college team in America. They play football, and they put on they pads just like we do. We just gonna do everything we can to beat ‘em.”

 

“We did [watch Memphis’ win over the then-No. 25 UCLA Bruins]. Our coaches are putting us in positions, from the previous games that they played, to scout them and make sure we get in the right positions to win the game in any way we know how.”

 

“It starts in practice. Everyone has to be locked in and detailed on everything we have to do. On special teams, defense and offense. It starts in practice, like I said. And come Saturday we expect to win against [Memphis] as well.”

 

LB SHAQUEM GRIFFIN: “It’s gonna be every exciting. And being able to take the cancellation due to the hurricane, and being able to have it back again. It gave us a chance to learn more about them.  You know, they’re a really good offense and we’re a really good defense. It’s what we live for. We live for the competition. And you know, to be able have that against Memphis, it’s gonna be a wonderful game, it’s gonna be fun. And I’m pretty sure they gonna come with everything they got, and we gonna come with everything we have also.”

 

“You know, Coach Frost always talks about, you know, worrying about the task at hand and worrying about each other. So I think that’s very important when you got guys that’s new here and not really understanding what’s going on, and, you know, our whole thing is to focus on what we can control. And we can’t control nothing up there. Only thing we can do is control what we can handle here, and that’s practicing and getting better and trying to win each game.”

• Before scheduling a game against the Austin Peay Governors for Oct. 28, the Knights’ original bye week, UCF would have played just 10 games.

OL AARON EVANS: “It would be awesome. I said it over there. If you’ve ever been to a really good concert, and all the fans are, like, singing together and all that, you feel that energy in the air, that’s what it can be like here. But we have to have everyone here. You’ll have an experience of your lifetime if everyone’s here unified, singing and—not singing but cheering for us, and it makes us play harder, too, because it jacks us up. When I walk out there, I, like, I look around, take a screenshot every time. That’s one of my favorite parts about playing college football. It’s just—it’s electric, and that’s the best way to explain it.”

• Evans was a freshman and a part of the scout team in 2013 when the Knights won their first and only BCS bowl, the Fiesta Bowl.

OL AARON EVANS: “[From the Fiesta Bowl team, I remember] this mindset of, like—we had, like, this chip on our shoulder ’cause no one thought we could win that game, and it’s like disrespect, I guess. We—I remember on scout—I was on scout-team O-line, and I remember I wanted to put our defensive linemen in the dirt as many times as I could. So I was like I wanted to win that game, and I was like I thought I had to beat them so that they could beat them—beat Baylor [University]. So, it was just—I loved that mentality. That’s something special. Like, that’s when you have special football happen. That’s when you see, like, crazy stuff happen. That’s what college football’s about. So that, for me, that’s what that year was about. And that’s—I loved it.”

 

“Personally, I do [have the same Fiesta Bowl-team mentality]. I think the team’s got that little bit of a bite to them this year, and I’m pumped for this season.”

 

“Yeah, we were, like, close quarters for three or four days together [during Hurricane Irma]. Like, real close. Some of us never been around each other like that. And just playing board games, playing video games together and just really getting to know one another a little more intimately, to put it. So, it was—it’s a good experience, and I definitely think that’s contributed to our success last week.”

• So far this season, Killins has rushed for 77 yards and a touchdown, averaging 6.4 yards per carry.
• In 2016, Killins rushed for 325 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 6.5 yards per carry.

RB ADRIAN KILLINS: “Oh, most definitely [I’m more confident]. Everyone that comes in as a freshman, they’re a little timid, and they’re afraid to make a mistake. But mistakes happen, and you just gotta move on and learn from ‘em. This year, I’m very confident in myself. I’m confident in what the coaches are telling me, and I just go on the field in practice and do it. And Saturdays, I just perfect it and just help the team win games.”

• Against Maryland, the defensive line racked up four sacks and seven tackles for loss.
• Griffin, who won last year’s American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year award, had three total tackles (two solo and one tackle for loss).
• As for the secondary, Mike Hughes recorded a pick-six and Kyle Gibson got his first-career interception against Maryland.

DL TRYSTEN HILL: “You know, with us training like we do with Coach [Mike] Dawson and Coach Erik Chinander, and, you know, preparing for each and every game, I feel like it was gonna happen either way. Whether they double team Shaquem or they double team the nose, or double team Jamiyus Pittman. The whole defensive line, as a collective whole, was gonna do a good job, you know, being able to produce on the stat chart for sure.”

 

LB SHAQUEM GRIFFIN: “Like I always tell my guys before each game, ‘We gotta work for each other.’ Especially when it comes to that D-line and outside backers, it’s important. ‘Cause our rush can either help set somebody free, or, you know, you end up getting double-teamed, and if you can’t help each other, then we can’t get sacks. I think that it was pretty good that our D-line understood what was the situation that we was in, and they know me being on each side; they gonna slide the protection to where I’m at, which gonna create double teams on me and one-on-ones for most our D-linemen. And, you know, it’s kinda cool when you can see the other guys, you know, making plays, and you can feel that we working together. It’s not all about just me; it’s not just all about one person on the D-line. We work on a string. You know, if something goes wrong, you got somebody else who gonna save you. And [that’s kind of important] when you got guys like that who always got your back in any situation, and that showed against Maryland.”

 

“It really shows, as a defense, you know, that we got each other’s back. You know, we send the pass rush, and we got guys on the back end that’s gonna hold it down for us. ‘Cause, obviously, you not gonna see Jamiyus Pittman at safety. So, you know, when you got guys that you can trust in the back end, that gives you a sense of confidence going into each game. Even though you got guys who—you got teams that can run the ball, you got teams who can pass. But, you know, on our defense, we got run stop and pass defense, obviously. And, you know, just seeing Kyle make that catch, it was—I was still in a wild—just on a buzz. Like, man, ‘You didn’t know you was gonna catch that. You had no idea. You just got up and the ball was in your hand.’ And just to see guys like that make plays and his first-career interception. And you got new guys like Mike making plays. You know, it just turns you up. It gets you excited. And, you know, I was tired on that play, but I still chose to run all the way down the field just to celebrate with him, you know? It brings the excitement. It brings everything you need for a defense to make plays. And, you know, we came out again, just to do the same thing and make more plays. That’s exciting.”

• Offensive lineman Tyler Hudanick saw his first minutes of the season against Maryland since suffering a season-ending injury in 2016.

OL AARON EVANS: “It’s pretty satisfying [seeing Hudanick play again]. I don’t know if you see saw on the film, but, like, when he got on there, I was like—me and him looked at each other and just knuckle-touched. Like, it was just a cool feeling after going through something like that. That’s a big humbling experience, especially for him, and it’s really satisfying to have him back out there. I don’t know if he’s 100 percent yet, but it’s definitely—it’s just cool to have him back out there.”

• President Donald Trump said on Sept. 22 that any National Football League players who kneel for the national anthem should be fired.

RB TAJ MCGOWAN: “I feel like [the National Football League players] all came together and made a decision, and they stuck with that decision. And, I mean, you can never be mad at that. They did it as unity even with the coaches and, you know, the heads of the teams. They all went out there and did it together, and that’s all I respect. I respect them coming to a decision as a whole unit and doing it as a team. So, that’s how I feel about that.”

 

OL AARON EVANS: “I haven’t really—I’ve had a pretty narrow focus at Memphis, so I haven’t really put too much thought into that. They’re allowed to do what they want, so that’s really all I have to say.”

For more on the Knights, as they prepare to host their first conference opponent of the season, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.