Griffin, Akins, Smith Impress in NFL Preseason Debuts

Jordan Akins, Tre'Quan Smith and Shaquem Griffin all performed well in their NFL debuts on Thursday, and two other veteran NFL Knights made headlines in the first week of the NFL preseason. Here's a quick recap:

Jordan Akins Catches 2 TDs for Texans

TE Jordan Akins had probably the best night of any UCF alum in his preseason debut, scoring both of his team's touchdowns on his only two receptions from Brandon Weeden in the Texans' 17-10 win at Kansas City.

The first one came in the first quarter, a 6-yarder to put Houston up 7-0:

Then he did it again in the second, this time from 14 yards out:

Here's Jordan after the game:

Tre'Quan Smith Shines for Saints

WR Tre'Quan Smith finally made his game debut after lighting up Saints' practice the last week or so. He led his team with 4 catches for 48 yards against the Jaguars, including this 14-yarder from Tom Savage:

And a bit later:

Shaquem Griffin Lights Up the Seattle Night

In his much-anticipated NFL debut late Thursday night, Shaquen Griffin took the field together with his brother for the first time since they both were at UCF:

And then he proceeded to lay waste to the Indianapolis Colts' offense:

He made tackles on his first four defensive plays en route to an active night indeed, leading the team in tackles:

Shaquem's brother Shaquill was pretty happy afterwards:

Yes, it's Week 1 of the NFL Preseason. But it's still fun to watch.

In Other News...

Playing opposite Tre'Quan Smith, Blake Bortles had a serviceable evening for the Jags, going 6/9 for 53 yards and running in a TD on his opening drive:

And after a rough debut last week in the Hall of Fame Game, Breshad Perriman redeemed himself with three catches for 71 yards, including this outstanding 32-yard TD grab from Robert Griffin III in the fourth quarter:

Breshad's difficulties since being drafted by Baltimore have been well-documented, but hopefully his performance last night, and over the last week, will get him back on track.

Mike Hughes, the highest-drafted UCF player in 2018, will make his debut for the Vikings Saturday night at 9:05 p.m. ET in Denver.