Brandon Adams still remembers the first few moments of his first start at UCF.

The Atlanta native lined up at cornerback on one side, with Davonte Brown on the other, as the Knights opened an Oct. 9 home game vs. East Carolina on defense this past season.

Brown broke up a pass play from ECU quarterback Holton Ahlers, then Adams tackled receiver Audie Omotosho to force 3rd-and-long.

“First play, D-Brown set the tone. Then in the second play, I came in and set the tone,” Adams recalled. “That was a good experience.”

That was just the first of six starts for the true freshman, who appeared in 12 games. He totaled 19 tackles, 1 tackle for loss and 1 pass breakup.

Adams learned a lot in his first year thanks to cornerbacks coach Addison Williams, secondary coach David Gibbs and defensive coordinator Travis Williams.

“Coach Addi and Coach Gibbs did a great job helping me improve in zone coverage, man coverage, alignments,” Adams said. “They all played a big part in helping me transition from high school to college.

“When I got the start, it was an exciting feeling. … Just an amazing feeling.”

This spring, UCF coach Gus Malzahn liked what he’s seen from Adams, including an interception returned for a touchdown during the first scrimmage on Tuesday.

“I’ve been real pleased with him,” Malzahn said. “Last year being a true freshman, he gave us some quality snaps and did a really good job. Now he’s a veteran guy. He’s no longer a freshman.”

The pick-6 came on 3rd-and-10 while Adams was working in zone coverage with starting receivers Ryan O’Keefe and Jaylon Robinson on the field. The quarterback was Mikey Keene.

“I want to thank my D-line,” Adams said. “They did a good job getting pressure on the quarterback. I had rerouted my man, following the eyes of the quarterback and I intercepted the ball.”

Added Malzahn: “He made a good pick and he returned it to the house. That was a really good, explosive defensive play.”

Adams is hoping to make similar plays this fall.

“I’m looking to have a great season,” Adams said. “I feel like I’m more experienced. The game has slowed down. I feel like I’m going to play way more comfortably.”

Strong competition at kicker

While most of the focus has been on the quarterback battle, there is another position to keep an eye on: Kicker.

Although UCF returns senior Daniel Obarski, Malzahn added Lake Mary product Colton Boomer to special teams during the 2022 recruiting cycle as a preferred walk-on.

“Our freshman, Boomer, he’s challenging him now,” Malzahn said. “He’s putting some pressure [on him.]”

Obarski has kicked field goals for UCF after handling kickoff chores in all 13 games as a true freshman in 2019.

The Arizona native has had his ups and downs. Most notably, he missed a 40-yard field goal at Memphis with 19 seconds left on the clock as the Knights lost 50-49 in 2020.

On the flip side, Obarski went 3-for-4 on field-goal attempts, connecting from 34, 21, and 33 yards in the Gasparilla Bowl vs. the Florida Gators in a 29-17 victory.

“He’s done a solid job,” Malzahn said. “You can tell he’s a more confident guy. That bowl game did wonders. He helped us win the game. The year before, he had a tough go of it. He’s a real confident guy.”

That newfound confidence helped Obarski make a 45-yard field goal at the end of practice that had a lot on the line — 10 extra pushups for the whole team, including the coaching staff.

“A little pressure with that,” Malzahn said. “He made it.”

The UCF coach said Boomer will get a chance at a similar kick next scrimmage.

“There’s some really good competition with those two guys,” Malzahn said.

Email Jason Beede at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @therealBeede.

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