UCF Knights football: Scott Frost seeks progress on path to success, clarity at QB

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5 days ago

ORLANDO — Several slogans from Scott Frost's first UCF era remain on the walls of the school's football facilities, namely "rise and conquer." It's a challenge for his athletes to wake up and accomplish the day's goals before sleeping and incrementally improving the next day.
In Frost's mind, progress entering the 2025 football season equates to success.
"Sometimes it happens slower than you want; sometimes it happens faster than you want," Frost said Sunday afternoon. "Last time I was here, it happened a lot faster than even we expected."
Frost turned a winless squad into a bowl-eligible one in 2016, and then an undefeated offensive juggernaut the following year — a meteoric rise that set UCF's eventual move to the Big 12 Conference in motion.
However, UCF is yet to find its footing as a Power Four program, losing 13 of its first 18 conference games. Gus Malzahn stepped down in November at the conclusion of his fourth campaign in charge, and Frost — who last coached a college game in 2022 at Nebraska — made a long awaited return.
Expectations are modest when considering projections across the college football landscape and betting odds from Las Vegas. BetMGM lists the Knights as 60-to-1 (+6000) underdogs, the league's longest of longshots. CBS Sports' staff poll has UCF in 15th place, while Phil Steele forecasted a slightly more optimistic 12th-place finish.
The Knights have 69 new players, returning just four regular starters — offensive tackle Paul Rubelt, defensive ends Nyjalik Kelly and Malachi Lawrence, and defensive back Braeden Marshall.
Redshirt senior running back Myles Montgomery and and redshirt junior quarterback Jacurri Brown combined for 694 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, softening the blow of RJ Harvey's departure. Montgomery is tied with Kylan Fox for the most receptions among returning Knights, with three.
However, Frost believes in the additions from the transfer portal and thinks his current group does not have to bridge as wide a gap as his '16 team.
"We're not starting at zero here," Frost said. "We're starting with a team that won four last year and probably — not probably, watching tape, definitely — should have won more than that.
"But it's also tougher to close that gap against teams like we're playing in the Big 12."
Tougher, but not impossible. Arizona State defied the odds in 2024, picked last in the conference's preseason poll only to storm to the title, clinch an automatic berth into the College Football Playoff and take Texas to overtime in the Peach Bowl.
That may serve as the ultimate goal. For now, Frost will focus on finding a starting signal-caller for the team's Aug. 28 opener versus Jacksonville State.
Brown, Tayven Jackson and Cam Fancher will battle for the job, with Davi Belfort expected to wait in the wings and develop after his springtime arrival from Virginia Tech. Malzahn rotated through four starters in 2024, a primary reason for the Knights' woes.
"We've got three guys that did well enough in the spring that I feel like, if they were our starter, I'd feel really good about it," Frost said. "We'd probably design the offense a little different based on who that quarterback was, but all three are capable of making us a dangerous team.
"The sooner it clarifies, the better off we'll be because we'll be able to get some reps with that guy and to start developing continuity. But we're also not going to anoint anyone. … We're going to grade every single snap, every single play. And I told them, mostly, it's going to be based on if they made the winning play on (each rep). Sometimes that might be a 50-yard completion; sometimes that might be taking a sack or throwing the ball away. Sometimes it might just be handing the ball off. I'm really going to lean on the guy that puts us in the best position to win by making the right decision every play."
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF Knights football: Scott Frost seeks progress, QB resolution