USF wins AAC title in EA Sports CFB 26 prediction
Why it matters: Under coach Alex Golesh, USF has managed back-to-back winning records, notable given the loss of star quarterback Byrum Brown just a month into the 2024 season.
Zoom in: The long-suffering Bulls have a chance, though a slim one, to turn things around.
ESPN gives USF a 4.9% chance of winning the American Athletic Conference (ACC) title. The team is retaining most of its key players from last season, and is ranked No. 11 in the nation for continuity.
Brown is back in the saddle and bullish about the upcoming season. But wide receiver Sean Atkins and backup quarterback Bryce Archie, who started eight games in 2024, are gone.
What to watch: The Bulls will face Florida on Sept. 6 — their first meeting since 2022, when USF nearly pulled off an upset before losing 31–28 in Gainesville.
The Bulls also meet two other in-state rivals this season: Miami on Sept. 13 and Florida Atlantic on Oct. 18.
🔮 The prediction: We used EA Sports' College Football 26, which was released last month, to simulate how USF might fare this season.
The Bulls finish this season with an 8-5 record and clinch the AAC championship over Tulane, at least, according to the video game.
The virtual Bulls opened the season with a win over Boise State (17–3), then lost back-to-back games to Florida (13–7) and Miami (21–7).
USF followed with a win over South Carolina State (14–7), a loss to Charlotte (27–21), and edged out North Texas (14–10). The Bulls went on to defeat Florida Atlantic (27–3) and Memphis (14–7).
USF slipped again with close losses to UTSA (17–14) and Navy (14–10), but rebounded with a win against UAB (28–14) and closed the regular season with a blow-out win over Rice (24–3).
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UCF football's special teams unit undergoes overhaul, strives for unity
ORLANDO — Dalton Riggs excelled in his first pressure-packed situation as a UCF Knight. Before the Aug. 28 opener against Jacksonville State, each newcomer faces the task of standing in front of the team and showcasing a hidden talent. Riggs — a 6-foot-3, 230-pound redshirt junior long snapper — said he was put on the spot, given just 15 seconds to think of something. Instincts — and his training in hot yoga and Pilates — kicked in. Riggs dropped into a full split, drawing oohs, aahs, applause, and maybe a few groans and winces from his peers and coaches. UCF football: These 5 veterans are most pivotal on 2025 roster "You do something like (the split), it gets a little memorable. All of a sudden, the guys want to start talking to you, like, 'That's hilarious. I can't believe you did that. How did you learn how to do that?' You started striking convos with guys you hadn't talked to before," said Riggs, who transferred from Big 12 rival BYU. "I think it's definitely one of those things that unifies you." Building unity has been a core theme for Scott Frost ahead of his second stint on the UCF sidelines, and arguably no unit has undergone more change than its specialists. None of the six rostered kickers, punters or long snappers practiced for the Knights four months ago during spring camp. Riggs signed with UCF on Feb. 25 and arrived after graduating at his previous school. Redshirt senior kicker Noe Ruelas and redshirt junior punter Anthony Venneri joined via the transfer portal at the conclusion of spring practices — from James Madison and Ohio State, respectively. UCF rounded out the group with a trio of freshmen — long snapper Rocklyn Kelley, kicker Noah McGough and punter Mason Denaburg, who turned 26 this month and spent the previous seven years pitching in the Washington Nationals' farm system. Special teams coordinator Pete Alamar sought a blend of veteran experience and youth in his first crack at reshaping the room. "Statistics, obviously you're going to look at, but the other part of it is that you utilize all your resources. Film's a wonderful thing," Alamar said. "It was hard because I wasn't going to be able to go out and see a lot of these guys live. "It's like speed dating. It's fast. You have to try to get a grasp, personality-wise, in a very short period of time because everybody else is trying to talk to that guy, too." That vision aligned with Ruelas, who wanted to work with an experienced snapper (Riggs) and mentor a younger placekicker (McGough) for his final year of eligibility. He became a top target upon entering the portal, maintaining a career accuracy mark of 77.5% on field goal attempts with three makes beyond 50 yards. "Working together has brought us together," Ruelas said. "We're in here all the time, and we try to hang out off the field as well. That's been key for us, trying to build that friendship first before being teammates." Frost put faith in Alamar to fix a unit that was a major weakness in the Knights' first two Big 12 seasons. Among the league's 16 teams, UCF finished 15th in kicking accuracy (60%), 12th in net punting (37.8 yards), 14th in kick returns (16.7 yards) 11th in kick return coverage (21.2 yards allowed) and 15th in punt coverage (17.5 yards allowed). Alamar, who ended last season as Rice's interim head coach, has coached special teams at the Division I level since 1996. He enjoyed a 10-year tenure at Stanford (2012-22), during which he was once honored as Phil Steele's Special Teams Coach of the Year. Christian McCaffrey won the Jet Award in 2015 as the nation's top kick returner, and two-time All-American Joshua Karty was named a finalist in 2022 for the Lou Groza Award, given to the country's best college kicker. Frost got his first true glance at the special teams unit during UCF's Aug. 7 scrimmage and expressed satisfaction with the kicking results in his ensuing press conference. Riggs said the snapping-kicking operation has gone smoothly to this point due to effective communication during and after practices and a collective willingness to hit the ground running when camp opened. As of the team's Aug. 4 local media day, Ruelas had not yet taken his turn unveiling a hidden talent. He has, however, had the benefit of time to think — debating between a brief karate demonstration or singing in Spanish. "I'm not very advanced, just trying to think outside the box to make the team laugh or cheer," said Ruelas, who obtained a beginner-level yellow belt. "I'm not a good singer (either). I was thinking of singing 'Feliz Navidad' just because everyone knows that." This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF Knights football: Special teams unit undergoes overhaul
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Who is best UCF football starting quarterback since 2000? We ranked all 25
ORLANDO — The ideal time to name UCF's starting quarterback, Scott Frost said the day before 2025 fall camp opened, was "two weeks ago." But the Knights took the field July 28 seeking clarity at the sport's most important position with three players — Jacurri Brown, Tayven Jackson and Cam Fancher — sharing the reps. "I told the three quarterbacks we're going to start with a blank slate now," Frost said. "Spring was great. I don't think anybody really emerged, but through spring, they were learning. The whole team was learning. They would make a mistake because we hadn't coached it well enough. Someone around them would make a mistake and make their job harder. "Now that everyone is familiar with what we're going to do, now's the right time to really evaluate it. And I think it's really the most fair time to evaluate it." As Frost evaluates the current roster ahead of UCF's Aug. 28 home opener against defending Conference USA champion Jacksonville State, The News-Journal explores the previous quarter-century of Knights starting quarterbacks. Since 2000, UCF has fielded 25 starters — some for memorable, successful, multi-year stints, and some for a cup-of-coffee cameo. During this tenure, the Knights made the jump from Division I-A independent, played in four separate conferences under five full-time head coaches, maintained a .572 winning percentage and appeared in 15 bowl games. Focusing solely on their respective UCF careers, and various criteria (wins, statistics, legacy), here's a list ranked in order of the Knights' most prolific pocket passers and dynamic dual-threats. 1. McKenzie Milton UCF career stats: 61.8% completion rate, 8,683 passing yards, 72 TD passes, 22 interceptions; 1,078 rushing yards, 20 rushing TDs Hired in December by Scott Frost as UCF's quarterbacks coach, Milton is a legitimate program legend. He finished top-10 in Heisman Trophy voting twice — eighth in 2017 and sixth in '18 — and commanded the nation's highest-scoring offense (48.2 ppg) en route to an undefeated record and Peach Bowl triumph. Milton ranks fourth all-time in passing yards, third in passing efficiency, fourth in 300-yard games, sixth in completion percentage and third in interception rate (2.2%). More importantly, he finished his Knights career with 24 consecutive victories, missing the last two games in 2018 after suffering a life-threatening knee injury versus South Florida. 2. Blake Bortles UCF career stats: 65.7% completion rate, 7,598 passing yards, 56 TD passes, 19 interceptions; 561 rushing yards, 15 rushing TDs Bortles re-established UCF as a mid-major powerhouse in 2013, guiding the Knights to an American Athletic Conference championship and the first New Year's Six bowl victory in program history — a 52-42 Fiesta Bowl upset of Baylor. He declared for the NFL draft shortly thereafter and was selected third overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Growing up just down the road from the Bounce House in Oviedo, Bortles was largely overlooked as a QB prospect despite posting record-setting numbers for Seminole County. Three of his five D-I offers coming out of high school were to play tight end. He led UCF to memorable road wins over Penn State and Louisville on the way to the Fiesta Bowl, and was inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021. 3. Ryan Schneider UCF career stats: 62% completion rate, 10,976 passing yards, 82 TD passes, 51 interceptions Schneider holds the distinction of notching UCF's first landmark Division I victory — at Alabama in 2000. In that game, he lit up the Crimson Tide for 283 yards and three touchdowns through the air. Schneider once outdueled Ben Roethlisberger in the Knights' debut MAC season, and he shined in near-upsets of Clemson, Penn State and Marshall during the 2001-02 seasons. Had he not been suspended for the final three games in 2003 for a violation of team rules, Schneider likely would have surpassed Daunte Culpepper for the all-time passing yardage lead. He needed just 437 yards to hold the record alone. 4. Dillon Gabriel UCF career stats: 60.7% completion rate, 8,037 passing yards, 70 TD passes, 14 interceptions; 372 rushing yards, eight rushing TDs College football's all-time leader in total touchdowns, Gabriel spent the first half of his career at UCF before transferring to Oklahoma, and later Oregon. Gabriel stretched the field like few UCF quarterbacks ever have, averaging nearly 9.7 air yards per attempt. He is, statistically, the most efficient passer in program history (156.9) with a record four 400-yard games and an interception rate of just 1.5% on 913 throws. The major hole in Gabriel's résumé is the lack of a signature win. Losses in consecutive years to Cincinnati and, more memorably, Tulsa stick in the craw of Knights fans to this day. 5. John Rhys Plumlee UCF career stats: 63% completion rate, 4,857 passing yards, 29 TD passes, 16 interceptions; 1,367 rushing yards, 16 rushing TDs Plumlee's appointment as starter in 2022 was polarizing, and perhaps his relatively high ranking will come as a surprise. However, the two-sport standout helped the Knights reach the AAC championship game in their final year in the league and achieve bowl eligibility as Big 12 debutants in 2023. Several injuries resulted from Plumlee's high-risk, high-reward, full-throttle approach to playing the position — including a knee problem that cost him the better part of four games as a redshirt senior. But he holds single-game (176), single-season (862) and career (1,367) rushing records in program history for a quarterback. UCF went 13-10 with Plumlee in the starting lineup, highlighted by top-25 triumphs over Tulane and Oklahoma State. He also appeared in 58 games for the Knights' baseball team in 2023, hitting .286 with 10 home runs, 32 RBIs, 43 runs scored and 18 stolen bases. 6. Mikey Keene UCF career stats: 65.6% completion rate, 2,377 passing yards, 23 TD passes, seven interceptions Thrust into action as a freshman in 2021 when Gabriel suffered a clavicle fracture, Keene finished that season as a cult hero. Keene tossed a pivotal 54-yard, third-quarter touchdown to Ryan O'Keefe, turning the tide in a memorable Gasparilla Bowl triumph over Florida. Keene lost out to Plumlee for the starting job the following fall, but came off the bench and led winning touchdown drives over ranked Cincinnati and rival South Florida during the stretch run. He then opted out of the AAC championship game to protect eligibility ahead of an eventual transfer to Fresno State. Now at Michigan, Keene seeks to edge out prized freshman Bryce Underwood for the starting job. 7. Jeff Godfrey UCF career stats: 67.7% completion rate, 4,095 passing yards, 20 TD passes, 14 interceptions; 1,105 rushing yards, 19 rushing TDs; 83 catches, 835 yards, seven TD receptions Godfrey gave the Knights a jolt in 2010, grabbing the starting job before the end of September and leading the team to the Conference USA championship. He went 15 of 19 for 167 yards and one touchdown, a 5-yarder to Latavius Murray, in the title game versus SMU. UCF earned an invitation to the Liberty Bowl and made it count with a New Year's Eve win over Georgia. Bortles overtook Godfrey behind center as the Knights missed a bowl game in 2011, and he converted into a reliable possession receiver over his final two seasons. 8. Kyle Israel UCF career stats: 59% completion rate, 3,830 passing yards, 22 TD passes, 17 interceptions; 348 rushing yards, eight rushing TDs Another local product, a graduate of University High in Orlando, Israel waited his turn and became the Knights' full-time starter as a senior in 2007. The team went on to capture its first Conference USA title. Kevin Smith carried the offensive load for that squad, rushing for a single-season school-record 2,567 yards with 29 touchdowns to finish eighth in Heisman voting. Israel needed to surpass 250 passing yards just twice that season, compared to four games of less than 100 — including the Liberty Bowl, where he was picked off three times in a 10-3 defeat to Mississippi State. 9. Brett Hodges UCF career stats: 59.9% completion rate, 2,438 passing yards, 17 TD passes, 13 interceptions Winter Springs native Hodges transferred to UCF in 2009 after graduating at Wake Forest and wrestled away the starting job from incumbent Rob Calabrese. He threw at least one touchdown in each of his final eight games and posted the second-longest, single-game streak of consecutive completions (12) in a home upset of Houston, the program's first top-25 win. 10. Justin Holman UCF career stats: 53.5% completion rate, 4,916 passing yards, 34 TD passes, 31 interceptions; 494 rushing yards, five rushing TDs Holman quickly claimed the starting job as a sophomore in 2014, following Bortles' departure for the NFL, and threw a touchdown in all 13 games — none more memorable than a 51-yard Hail Mary to Breshad Perriman as time expired to snatch a share of the AAC crown. He earned the league's Offensive Player of the Week honor after an Oct. 9 overtime win over BYU, carving up the Cougars' defense for 326 passing yards and three total scores. However, Holman suffered an injury to his throwing hand two games into 2015, and the Knights spiraled to a winless record that resulted in the end of George O'Leary's coaching reign. He threw 14 picks in nine starts, compared to just seven TDs. 12. Steven Moffett UCF career stats: 59.3% completion rate, 6,199 passing yards, 41 TD passes, 26 interceptions; 172 rushing yards, five rushing TDs Moffett, an accomplished recruit from nearby Winter Park, guided the Knights to a successful Conference USA debut in 2005 and the school's first bowl appearance. He set career highs in passing yards (2,925) and touchdown throws (22), aided by the dynamic receiving tandem of Brandon Marshall and Mike Sims-Walker — both of whom were mid-round NFL draft picks. 12. D.J. Mack Jr. UCF career stats: 53.4% completion rate, 838 passing yards, seven TD passes, two interceptions; 516 rushing yards, nine rushing TDs There's a strong case to be made that Mack holds the distinction of the best spot start in UCF football history. Filling in for an injured Milton, in the AAC Championship no less, Mack went 19-of-27 passing for 348 yards and two TDs and rushed 18 times for 59 yards and four more scores in a 56-41 win over Memphis. Mack could not replicate that magic in a New Year's Day Fiesta Bowl showdown with LSU (11 of 30, 97 yards, one TD, one interception, minus-3 rushing yards), and he sustained a broken ankle in a non-football-related activity in July 2019. Brandon Wimbush opened that year as the starter, but Gabriel quickly overtook him atop the depth chart and never relinquished the job. 13. Vic Penn UCF career stats: 57.6% completion rate, 3,857 passing yards, 24 TD passes, 21 interceptions; 180 rushing yards, five rushing TDs Even though this list dates back to 2000, it feels unfair to rank Penn without the context of 1999. Penn, who began his college career at South Carolina, threw for 3,078 yards with 16 TDs and 11 picks despite an opening four-game gauntlet against ranked opponents (Purdue, Florida, Georgia Tech, Georgia). Four games into the next season, he separated his non-throwing shoulder in a 52-7 blowout win over William & Mary. 14. Timmy McClain UCF career stats: 62.7% completion rate, 1,065 passing yards, nine TD passes, three interceptions; 104 rushing yards, one rushing TD A former state champion at Sanford's Seminole High, McClain led the Knights into Big 12 play after Plumlee hurt his knee late in the fourth quarter of a 2023 win at Boise State. He showed promise as a deep-ball thrower and an innovator when the pocket broke down, registering four straight multi-TD games but with just a 1-3 record to show for it. Plumlee reclaimed the job after healing over a bye week, and McClain threw just five passes after October. He has since transferred to Arkansas State and Bethune-Cookman. 15. KJ Jefferson UCF career stats: 59.3% completion rate, 1,012 passing yards, seven TD passes, four interceptions; 193 rushing yards, two rushing TDs He might be situated in the middle of this pack, but Jefferson proved a major disappointment for the Knights. Seen as an ideal fit for Gus Malzahn's scheme and named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year ahead of the 2024 season, the Arkansas transfer lasted just five games in the lineup before being benched. Jefferson's second-half performance in a comeback conference win at TCU (230 passing yards, three TDs), and lesser production from others on this list, prevents a further freefall. 16. Dylan Rizk UCF career stats: 61.5% completion rate, 904 passing yards, five TD passes, two interceptions; 43 rushing yards Rizk left the program in the middle of spring camp, eventually landing at Stanford, but he'll always have one lasting UCF moment — the 2024 Space Game. The Delray Beach native, who began last year fourth on the depth chart, torched Arizona for 294 yards and three touchdowns in a 56-12 rout. He connected with Randy Pittman on a Hail Mary just before halftime, the signature moment as UCF improved to 8-0 all-time in Space Games. Rizk lost his last three starts, and both his completion percentage and passing yardage declined in each of those contests. 17. Jacurri Brown UCF career stats: 52.2% completion rate, 398 passing yards, one TD pass, four interceptions; 401 rushing yards, four rushing TDs Brown is the only person on this list with a chance to improve upon his current position. He will compete with Tayven Jackson, Cam Fancher and Davi Belfort over the next month for the chance to lead the Knights into 2025. Winless in his two starts, Brown gained 154 yards on the ground against top-10 Iowa State, the second-most rushing yards in a game by a Knights quarterback in team history. 18. Rob Calabrese UCF career starts: 46.1% completion rate, 1,276 passing yards, 12 TD passes, seven interceptions; 251 rushing yards, two rushing TDs Calabrese shattered Boomer Esiason's school records at East Islip on Long Island, and he led the Knights in passing yards (664) and touchdown passes (seven) as a freshman. However, a pair of knee injuries — the former occurring on a touchdown run against Marshall in 2010 — derailed his college career. Fun fact: Calabrese and Frost were both on Sean McVay's coaching staff with the Los Angeles Rams this time a year ago. The 35-year-old is an offensive assistant, following a three-year stint as the New York Jets' quarterbacks coach. 19. Michael Greco UCF career stats: 50% completion rate, 874 passing yards, five TD passes, four interceptions; 346 rushing yards, three rushing TDs; 45 tackles (29 solo), four pass breakups Greco led UCF to four straight touchdown drives in his first QB action, as a backup against Memphis in 2007. He and Calabrese traded the starting spot back and forth in '08, with relief appearances from Joe Weatherford sprinkled in, as the Knights went 4-8. The following fall, Greco flipped sides of the ball and made eight starts at safety, including the St. Petersburg Bowl. 20. Brandon Wimbush UCF career stats: 54.2% completion rate, 167 passing yards, 2 TD passes; 48 rushing yards Wimbush fell out of favor at Notre Dame and arrived as a grad transfer in 2019, eventually winning the starting job for the home opener against Florida A&M. Though he threw a couple of TDs against the Football Championship Subdivision opponent, Wimbush was outshone by debuting freshman Gabriel and replaced for the remainder of the year. 21. Jon Rivera UCF career stats: 44.6% completion rate, 535 passing yards, one TD pass, two interceptions; 113 rushing yards One start, one win; Rivera batted 1.000 in the record books. He ran for 90 yards, threw for 59 and scored in a 19-10 victory over MAC rival Buffalo in 2003. The New Jersey native came off the bench and had a career-high 292 passing yards in that year's finale versus Miami (Ohio), a game in which the Knights surrendered the first 49 points. 22. EJ Colson UCF career stats: 56.3% completion rate, 64 passing yards, one TD pass, one interception; 14 rushing yards Colson became the youngest starting quarterback ever for UCF last October — at just 17 years old, choosing to skip his senior year at Cedar Grove High School in Ellenwood, Georgia, and reclassify. Malzahn planned to split snaps between Colson and the aforementioned Brown, but instead rolled with the hot, more experienced hand after fifth-year senior running back Johnny Richardson fumbled on the Knights' first two possessions. Now at Incarnate Word, Colson did not get another shot to start. But he flashed his potential in relief of Rizk during last year's finale versus Utah, going 8 of 12 for 70 yards and hitting RJ Harvey for a TD pass. 23. Bo Schneider UCF career stats: 51.4% completion rate, 534 passing yards, two TD passes, seven interceptions Returning to the Knights' ill-fated 2015 campaign, Schneider played eight times and made three starts as a freshman — one of which resulted in a rock-bottom moment. UCF squandered a 12-point first-half lead in a 16-15 home defeat to Furman, the Paladins' first win over an FBS team since 1999. He went 7 of 11 for 63 yards and an interception before making way for both Tyler Harris and Nick Patti. 24. Brandon Sumner UCF career stats: 39% completion rate, 177 passing yards, one TD pass, two interceptions In a baptism-by-fire moment, Sumner's lone UCF start occurred at the Citrus Bowl against 10th-ranked West Virginia, the 2004 home opener. He predictably struggled, going 9 of 21 for 86 yards and his lone college touchdown — a 14-yard strike to Tavaris Capers. 25. Pete DiNovo UCF career stats: 33.3% completion rate, 18 passing yards Praised for his management and consistency by head coach George O'Leary, DiNovo claimed the starting job in 2014 ahead of UCF's trip to Ireland. He was the first freshman to open a UCF season under center since Daunte Culpepper in 1996. DiNovo lasted less than a half as the Knights' QB, pulled after going 3 of 8 for 18 yards against Penn State. Holman checked in, and gave UCF the lead in the fourth quarter with a 6-yard TD run, but the Nittany Lions prevailed on Sam Ficken's buzzer-beating, 36-yard field goal. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF Knights football: Ranking all 25 quarterbacks since 2000
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UCF football: Cam Fancher, Tayven Jackson, Jacurri Brown embrace QB competition
ORLANDO — Scott Frost let his quarterbacks know from the get-go that the starter's job for UCF was there for the taking. He who consistently makes the most "winning plays" will lead the Knights into the Acrisure Bounce House for the Aug. 28 opener against Jacksonville State. Fifth-year senior Cam Fancher and redshirt juniors Jacurri Brown and Tayven Jackson intend to make that decision difficult until game week, and potentially beyond. Their response, in a nutshell: Bring it on. "I think we all take it as, 'If (someone) goes out and does something, I'm going to one-up you.' It's all fun," Brown said Aug. 4 during the team's media day. "You've got coaches like Coach Frost, Coach Coop (offensive coordinator Steve Cooper) and Coach KZ (QBs coach McKenzie Milton) that are not oblivious, and not hiding anything or sweeping it under the rug: it's a competition, and there is serious stuff going on. I'm open to that. I would rather you tell me, straight up, what it is without me having to assume." UCF Knights football: Who will start at QB? Our latest depth chart projection Little has separated the trio through the first week of fall practices, Frost said. Each has had their moments, and each has made a handful of mistakes. Frost believes Fancher, Brown and Jackson can each execute his uptempo offense, though it might be specifically tailored to accentuate their respective attributes. Cam Fancher, Jacurri Brown, Tayven Jackson have different scouting reports The left-handed Fancher (6-foot-2, 200 pounds), a veteran of 26 college starts, ran the first tempo series during the open portions of practice both on July 28 and Aug. 1. He broke camp as QB1 for both Marshall and Florida Atlantic in each of the last two seasons. According to Pro Football Focus, he excelled in the intermediate passing range (10-19 yards) for FAU last season, completing 27 of 42 attempts for 610 yards with three touchdowns and one interception — equating to an NFL passer rating of 121.6. "I think this just being my fifth year, you kind of get an understanding of what it takes. And I feel like that's been the same since I got to college and it's the same now. It's consistency in your approach, consistency in your play," Fancher said. "We all can sling it, we all can extend. What separates you is doing it every play, play in and play out — taking what the defense gives you and being reliable for your teammates." Brown (6-4, 220), the lone holdover of the bunch from UCF's 2024 roster, inflicted damage with his legs. He ended an ultimately doomed, 4-8 campaign as the team's second-leading rusher with 401 yards and four touchdowns. Through the air, Brown hit on 34 of 66 throws for 387 yards, one TD and four picks. He's won one of his five career starts, a three-touchdown performance in 2022 against Georgia Tech in which he threw for 136 yards — on 14-of-19 passing — and rushed for 87 yards on 19 carries. Jackson (6-4, 212), meanwhile, won his lone start a season ago as Indiana's backup — accounting for 141 yards of offense and two touchdowns against Washington last October. In 13 career appearances for his hometown Hoosiers, Jackson threw for 1,263 yards with six touchdowns and six interceptions, and he added four rushing scores. "Itching" to start for the Knights, Jackson said the trio has maintained a close bond since he arrived in January, leaving the battle between the lines. "When you walk off the field, you've got to flip your mindset. If you take what happens on the field and approach it in a locker room, it's going to get really hectic," Jackson said. "As a quarterback room, we love each other. We're friends off the field. We hang out with each other. Whoever they pick is their decision. And we have to be able to support that person. That shows the type of person you are, the type of man you are. In life, not everything's going to go your way." What is UCF QB coach McKenzie Milton looking for? In getting to know the trio over the last eight months, Milton said each possess different, desirable intangibles — Fancher's professionalism, Brown's determination and Jackson's vocal leadership and willingness to ask the right questions. The former standout UCF signal-caller ultimately seeks two traits when deciding who will be best equipped to turn the team's fortunes around — poise and command. "I think that's any offense, really, to be successful at this position," Milton said. "It's having poise when it's you and the other 10 out there and having command, getting guys lined up in the right spot and getting those other 10 to believe that they've got a dog that's operating in the huddle and running plays." This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF Knights football: Open QB competition heats up in fall camp
