5 UCF football notes from Knights' second open spring practice

AI-assisted summary
• UCF held its final open spring football practice Friday.
• Quarterback Cam Fancher and wide receiver DayDay Farmer suffered injuries during practice, impacting the team's depth chart.
• Offensive lineman Paul Rubelt is practicing at left tackle, potentially filling a key starting role.

ORLANDO — UCF's penultimate week of spring football camp drew to a close Friday night with its second, and final, practice session open to the public.

Several hundred fans filled the bleachers at FBC Mortgage Stadium to get a two-hour sneak preview at Scott Frost's team. The Knights held their first open practice six days earlier, a far earlier and warmer outing.

Frost gave his defense the edge following last Saturday's showcase, but his offense turned in its fair share of highlights this time around. Jacurri Brown linked up with Caleb Rollerson for a pretty touchdown pass, and tight end Dylan Wade had plenty to say after hauling in a TD of his own.

Here are five observations about the Knights ahead of their last three practices until August.

QB Cam Fancher sustains apparent hand injury

UCF's quarterback room was already a man down with five spring practices remaining, following Dylan Rizk's decision Wednesday to enter the transfer portal. The redshirt sophomore is no longer with the team.

Tayven Jackson, Jacurri Brown and Cam Fancher shared the reps Friday, but Fancher — who appeared in 34 games with Marshall and Florida Atlantic — sustained an apparent hand injury during team drills. He struggled to grip the ball and left the field for a short period of time, but later returned.

DayDay Farmer exits practice early with leg injury

That was not the only potential blow to UCF's offense on the evening. Sophomore slot receiver DayDay Farmer injured his left leg in one-on-one, open-field tackling drills. He spent time on the trainers' table, further weakening a receiving corps already shorthanded due to various injuries.

Florida transfer Marcus Burke and redshirt sophomores Jordyn Bridgewater and Kason Stokes did not participate in practice.

Farmer, a 5-foot-11, 165-pound Melbourne native, caught six passes for 54 yards in his lone season at West Virginia.

Paul Rubelt taking reps at left tackle

UCF's lone returning starter on the offensive line, Paul Rubelt could get a chance to hold down the left tackle spot on a full-time basis.

Rubelt logged 815 snaps last year on the right side and posted grades of 65.5 in run blocking and 78.7 in pass protection from Pro Football Focus. He played just 223 snaps across his first four seasons with the program combined.

"We have to find the best five, and he's going both left and right throughout practice," UCF offensive line coach Shawn Clark said. "He played more left the last couple days. Last year, he played more right. It will give us the best feel where he fits our offensive scheme. We'll go back and forth and see what happens."

Stacy Gage flashes power, balance in 1-on-1 situations

Myles Montgomery and Jaden Nixon are expected to lead UCF's running backs in the fall, but redshirt freshman Stacy Gage impressed in the open portion of Thursday morning's practice and followed up as a standout performer of the open-field one-on-ones.

Gage bounced off would-be tacklers twice with a low center of gravity and finished off runs for touchdowns. He was the Knights' top target at the position for the 2024 recruiting cycle, but was utilized solely on special teams last fall.

Splitting his final two years of high school ball at Wharton and St. Thomas Aquinas, Gage piled up 1,094 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns — helping Aquinas win Florida's Class 3M title as a senior.

Transfer portal opening looms with 3 practices left

Not that he needed reminding, but Clark sarcastically thanked reporters when asked about the impending spring portal window's opening next Wednesday. It looms large over the sport as the House settlement nears completion, most notably the news that Tennessee starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava missed practice Friday amid reports the junior seeks to renegotiate terms for his Name, Image and Likeness compensation.

UCF will inevitably lose a handful of players during the 10-day period — and it will patch roster holes after the fact by using it as well. The Knights missed out on wide receiver/kick returner Tre Richardson, a speedster who departed Division II Washburn (Kan.) and committed to Vanderbilt.

On3 Sports' Pete Nakos linked UCF among more than a dozen teams Friday to inquire about Appalachian State left tackle Markell Samuel, a player Clark will certainly know well. Clark served as App State's head coach the previous five seasons.

"It's a double-edged sword in some ways. The portal is good, and bad as well," Clark said. "We'll go with the direction of Coach Frost and what he wants to do overall. We'll evaluate the talent; that's part of our jobs as assistant coaches. … If there's someone out there that we feel can help our program, we'll go with that and look into it."

The transfer portal runs from April 16-25. UCF holds its final two practices during that timeframe — on Thursday and the following Saturday.