O'Leary, Knights ready for season

By Ashley Burns, Central Florida Future
August 18, 2004
(U-WIRE) OVIEDO, Fla. -- While most local businesses and power supplies have ceased, University of Central Florida football is still hard at work.

Instead of ceding to the winds and destruction of Hurricane Charley, Central Florida coach George O'Leary simply moved his practice indoor and four hours earlier. The Knights changed their practice start time to 5 a.m. last Thursday and operated out of the Wayne Densch Sports Complex on Saturday.

Prior to the hurricane, O'Leary spoke about his expectations for the upcoming season at UCF football's Media Day.

"I'm obviously very excited about the start of the season," O'Leary said. "We're a work in progress. We have a lot of young players that have to be evaluated. When you're in a young program that hasn't been established, yet you really have to make some evaluations a little bit quicker than you want to."

O'Leary also stated that he expects the seniors to step up and play big roles, not only on the field, but in the locker room as well.

One of the seniors that O'Leary expects leadership from is tailback Alex Haynes. O'Leary said that Haynes fits the mold of all of the running backs he had coached in the past and thinks that he has all the makings for a strong senior year.

"He's as good as what I've had in the past," O'Leary said of Haynes. "He can do it all. I think he'd probably tell you that he's in the best shape of his life."

Said Haynes: "I feel like my situation, being a running back and one of the seniors on the offense -- it's just me and [Tavaris] Capers and Luther [Huggins] -- so we have to step up and be leaders. "

Haynes has earned praise from teammates and coaches alike for his solid work ethic in the gym this summer. Haynes is listed as 225 pounds in the team's media guide, up five pounds from last season.

"They're excited; I'm excited for them," O'Leary said of his young team. "I think as a team there's no question that we've made great improvements in the weight room and it's very evident on the field. We have a long way to go and a lot of work to be done as far as being successful.

"You can change the label on the box but you still have to worry about what the ingredients are."

Among O'Leary's immediate concerns is the toughness of the schedule, mainly the first three games.

"I like playing a tough schedule," O'Leary said. "I just don't like playing them all on the road. I do think you get better by playing that schedule. I think it's great competition and that's why I wasn't concerned so much with wins and losses, but just going out and playing for 60 minutes."

UCF leads off the season on the road against Wisconsin, a game which will be televised on ESPN. The Knights return home in week two for a matchup with West Virginia, ranked No. 10 in The Associated Press preseason poll. O'Leary and crew hit the road in week three to face Penn State in Happy Valley.

The West Virginia game marks the first time that O'Leary will lead the Knights in front of his new home crowd.

O'Leary's expectations are high for the Knights' first home game.

"I'm assuming the West Virginia game is going to be sold out," O'Leary said. "Which it should be. I'm hoping we get as many fans to the Wisconsin and Penn State games as we possibly can. I think they [the fans] should get to those other games to see what other teams are doing and what their fans are doing. That is what we want to be in three years."

Also on hand for Media Day was Athletic Director Steve Orsini, who once again measured the impact that O'Leary and his new coaching staff will have on the UCF football program.

"I'm really excited for our student-athletes," Orsini said. "They'll have an opportunity to work under the national coach of the year and a staff that has experience at the highest level in this nation and the success to show for it.

"The investment we've made in this program is huge."

Orsini also went on to praise O'Leary, who is making his return to college football after two years in the NFL, for his concern with his student-athlete's grades and school work ethic.

The Knights began two-a-day practices this week and continue to work past the aftermath of Hurricane Charley. The Knights will hope to improve upon last season's 3-9 finish and regain some of the Division I-A momentum from previous years. O'Leary has no doubt that his players have the ability to win some ballgames.

"You always play the cards you're dealt," O'Leary said. "I think right now I see our kids getting better. The coaches are doing an outstanding job in conveying the message as far as things you can do to win. The one thing I ask of them every day: I can understand having a bad play, but you can't have a bad day in practice.

"Our goal this year is to play hard for 60 minutes. Not talk about it, but do it."