ORLANDO, Fla. – The UCF Knights will be back on the gridiron in less than a month, and this team will look a lot different from last season.
For starters, Scott Frost is back. He returned to UCF last December to take over the program following Gus Malzahn’s resignation. Frost coached at UCF in 2016-17, leading the Knights from winless to a 2017 undefeated season.
The team itself has had a facelift, with more than 70 new players on the roster. Frost said in a press conference Sunday he’s looking forward to that challenge.
“It’s kind of cool; we’re kind of starting at ‘Go,’” Frost said. “Almost a completely new team. Not a lot of expectations, and I really like taking off from that place. I think our guys have a little bit of a chip on their shoulder and are anxious to get to work so they can prove to people that they’re better than what people are expecting.”
That work started Monday with the first day of fall camp. Players started practice inside the Nicholson Fieldhouse before going outside to the practice field. Even in the extreme heat, they said they were eager to get out on the field.
“I was super ready,” Knights edge rusher Malachi Lawrence said following practice Monday. “Just that adrenaline kind of building up just waiting...and waiting and waiting. Just being out there with your brothers, it’s like no other feeling like that. Just putting in that hard work and grinding with them, I was ready to get out there.”
Coach Frost had many mottos in his first stint at UCF like “Rise and Conquer” and “UCFast.” A new motto the players are echoing is “Set the Standard.”
“Everyday, we set the standard,” Knights running back Jaden Nixon said, “and then, we just rise from there. No matter who’s next to you, whether it’s a specialist or defensive player, we’re all just pushing each other to be better.”
UCF is coming off a 4-8 season and where it went 2-7 in Big 12 conference play. Frost said the team has improved even from spring practice, and the players said there is good chemistry.
“It felt really good to be back out there with my teammates and everything,” Knights defensive tackle John Walker said. “We’re just going to continue on stacking days up and continue on getting better.”
UCF’s first home game is Thursday, Aug. 28, against Jacksonville State.