Pat Jasinski is UCF's early tackles leader

If you've watched any UCF game, No. 56 is always around the ball.

Junior inside linebacker Pat Jasinski is off to a fantastic start this season, leading the team with 27 tackles and picking up his first sack at Cincinnati over the weekend.

"I just feel more comfortable having a second year in this defense," Jasinski said. "I feel like a lot of the guys that got playing time last year are feeling way more comfortable in the system. We've made it more complex, but at the same time it feels simpler. It kind of contradicts, but everyone feels more relaxed in the system and comfortable, able to run and play fast without much hesitation or thinking."

The defense had banner games against Maryland and Memphis, but acknowledged they could have played better against Cincinnati. In three quarters of play, the Bearcats scored 23 points and amassed 391 yards of offense, converting on nine-of-15 third downs.

"I think the biggest issue was getting off the field on third down," Jasinski said. "I think our run defense was pretty strong. Even if our fits weren't perfect we had guys running to the ball like we've had in the past few games. It's just the little things here and there. Miscommunication, wrong leverage. Things like that mess us up on third down, then they get 10 yards on a pass or they scramble and we have a missed gap in our pass rush. It's small stuff, but definitely correctable. It's a big issue though if we don't get it right."