UCF Head Coach Scott Frost on Building a Better Team in Year Two

Brian Fisher here for Sports Illustrated at Big 12 Media Day.

He's joined by UCF head coach Scott Frost.

Got a little bit different because it's not your first year back, uh, there with the Knights.

Does it feel like you're a little bit more comfortable and things settle in a little bit more?

Yeah, everything feels more settled.

Uh, everybody's pulling the rope in the same direction right now.

I really love the team we have right now.

I think we've added to the talent, depth, um, and just overall character of the team, and it's a fun group to be around.

Last year, I mean, the, the roster turnover you had, I mean, so many new faces.

You got a lot more guys back.

How much is that just gonna help this offseason?

Yeah, you know, we got guys that understand what we're trying to get done and the way that we're trying to get it done and they're able to communicate that to the new players.

You're not teaching everybody from scratch this year, um, even from the coaching staff standpoint, uh, we have guys that have, have been there and, um, we're figuring out how to work together.

It makes everything a lot easier.

A lot easier, I'm sure, but it, it's still such a difficult league, and I, I think, I think everybody understands it's almost a coin flip.

It comes down to the 4th quarter.

You guys experienced that a lot last year.

What, what's going to be the difference this year in terms of turning some of those losses you had by 1 score into wins?

Yeah, I think we won 2 or 3 by 1 score, lost a couple that we had a pretty good grip on and had a chance in.

Um, this league's really balanced.

I think the, the parity of the league and the strength from top to bottom is unique.

Makes it a fun league to coach in and play in.

Um, it's going to come down to one score games a lot and.

You know, I, I'd like to say coaches have a ton to do with that, and sometimes we do with clock management or decisions, but it really comes down to having the right guys on the field that thrive in those situations, and are, are big enough to handle those situations .

I feel good about Alonso and other guys that we've brought in that are real competitors that I think will do well when we hit those spots.

I mean, a lot of people saw your quarterback on the big stage of the CFP last year.

What, what, what are they going to get from him now in your uniform?

He's just been really impressed with him since he's been on our campus, you know, his approach to the game, uh, his command presence around the other players, uh, his ability to make decisions and get the ball in the right place.

Um, you know, I, I watched all his games from last year and, and.

Everything was impressive, but then he got in the Oregon game where they were a little outmatched, and man, he, he fought and, and clawed to try to keep them in that game, and uh I love that kind of competitive spirit.

Does that allow him to kind of walk into the locker room and kind of command a little bit more respect than if he had just been, say, some regular old transfer?

Yeah, I don't know.

We, you have so many transfers now.

Uh, I'm sure guys were aware of who he was and what he'd done.

Um, you know, he missed some of spring practice and we were being real cautious with him and, um, Then he stepped back in later on this, this spring, and man, it was like he'd been in the huddle for 2 years.

So, you know, some guys just carry themselves that way and he's certainly one of them.

Does having some solidity at that position, does that kind of help you and really allow you to kind of go to other areas in the team that you might want to put a little more hands on?

Absolutely.

We had a 3 horse race for quarterback last year and You know, that that was fine, but it kind of kept us from, from gelling and getting the continuity that we needed with the starting group and uh hopefully we got that solved now and everybody can look, look at Alonzo and let him lead us where we're going to go.

As much focus as there is on that quarterback position, which seems like it's, it's with everybody in the league, is there somebody that we're not talking about with your group that we're going to have be a household name there in Orlando this fall, you know, I'm Reluctant to pick out one, but, um, we, we, you can say multiple, that's fine.

I'm really happy with who we brought in.

I, I'm, I'm really excited about our running backs with Duke and Taveon Swin who didn't, he didn't get a chance to play last year.

Um, really excited about our tight ends.

Um, you know, Dylan had a great year last year, but, uh, Caden Penning would, I think, would have if he hadn't got hurt.

Um, you know, we got Speedy and Uh, several other receivers back, brought in Josh Derry from Monmouth, and he had a really good spring along with Waden and others.

So, uh, we're, we're just a better team than we were a year ago, and we'll see, uh, how many wins that's worth.

That process of bringing guys from like Monmouth or James Madison, how has that changed for you in terms of your approach in terms of building your roster these last couple of years?

Yeah, uh, you know, you've got to roll with the punches and be light on your feet because the rules are changing and probably will continue to change, and you got to find the best formula and group of guys to put together.

It's not, it's not just all about the talent you bring in.

You got to find the right guys and, and guys that are hungry and guys that are going to fit together and.

I think our recruiting staff and coaching staff did a really good job with that.

Do you have an overriding principle when it comes to evaluating guys or whether it's on or off the field?

Sure, I do.

What is it?

Well, that's, that's our principle, not anybody else.

Uh, but how, how do you ensure that, you know, you, you're not bringing in guys that maybe don't match that?

Do, do you have to, especially in a speed dating environment with the portal?

Speed dating is the right way to say it.

You, you gotta, you gotta try to find out everything you can about them ahead of time if you can, but then you, you gotta make some pretty quick decisions and judgments, and , um, you know, I, I think we.

Uh, we hit it out of the park this year and it's going to be the same challenge next year.

So you know you got to try to find, uh, not just good players but good people.

Do you also have to kind of adjust how you're, I don't know if you want to say a percentage wise, but just in terms of how many high schooler guys you're you're you're bringing in versus transfers, do, do you adjust that as you kind of build and get deeper into your tenure?

Yeah, and then I, you know, we, we want to make sure that we do everything we can to field the team that can be competitive now and then we try to, to build around that and try to get guys in the program that we think have upside to become those guys so we don't have to go get them somewhere else and um I don't think that's rocket science, it's probably everybody's strategy, but, uh, you know, we'll, we'll take as many high school kids as we can as long as we feel like they have.

Uh, the potential to be guys that, uh, we can grow in-house and, and have no need to go outside.

How excited are you?

There's been renovations on campus there.

You guys got a whole lot of things going on there in Orlando, but how excited are you just, just to get back out there for, for fall camp?

Yeah, it's fun, you know, it, it's, it's tough when they put this media day because we just got on vacation and, and our coaches work hard.

They don't get a lot of.

Time off, um, so right now I'm anxious to get back on, uh, relaxation mode a little bit and then we'll get, uh, back to Orlando, rested and rejuvenated and ready to go to work.

Exciting times there at UCF.

Scott, thank you so much for joining us here at Big 12 Media Days and Sports Illustrated.