Scott Frost Provides Alonza Barnett III Update As Spring Practice Winds Down

UCF Knights coach Scott Frost addressed concerns about quarterback Alonza Barnett III's condition as the end of spring practice looms.

Nov 1, 2025; Waco, Texas, USA; UCF Knights head coach Scott Frost on the sidelines against the Baylor Bears during the second half at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

There is one word that encapsulates the spring of Alonza Barnett III, the UCF Knights' projected starting quarterback: cautious.

It's a word that coach Scott Frost has reiterated each time he's been asked about Barnett when available to the media over the last month. Even as the Knights are in their final week of spring practice, it remains the case.

"We're waiting on Alonza and, you know, it's not a secret he had a little bit of an issue when he got here, and from before, and we're just being ultra cautious with him," Frost said in an interview on Tuesday with 96.9 The Game's Marc Daniels.

Barnett has been no stranger to injury during his college football career. Before he led James Madison to its run to the College Football Playoff in 2025, he had to recover from a torn ACL he sustained in the Dukes' final game of 2024. While he was cleared to take snaps for the Dukes for the following historic season, that does not eliminate the possibility of a re-tear.

From Dillon Gabriel in 2021 to multiple quarterbacks in 2025, the Knights have dealt with several quarterback injuries over the last half-decade. So, with the kind of money incurred by Barnett's arrival at UCF, the last thing anyone, including Frost, would want to see is all that money sunk into a quarterback who does not play.

Even with Barnett having been scarcely sighted by outside observers throughout spring practice, Frost said to Daniels that Barnett is "gonna be 100% ready to go really soon." He also still has one more opportunity to suit up and publicly take snaps: the Knights' open practice on Saturday.

However, even if Barnett does not suit up for Saturday's spring practice, that does not dim Frost's confidence in his ability to play in the fall. He cited former UCF EDGE Malachi Lawrence's case, who went on to earn All-Big 12 First-team honors and went on to get selected in the first round of the NFL Draft "without taking a snap in spring."

In the meantime, while Barnett has been recovering, it's given Frost the opportunity to, from a quarterback standpoint, focus more on the competition for who is going to be the Knights' projected backup to Barnett and developing their two freshman additions to the room: Rocco Marriott and Dante Carr. So far, he has liked what he's seen.

"It's a better group right now, I think, than we had a year ago, and we still have yet to add Alonza," Frost said.

The Knights' open practice begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday at the Acrisure Bounce House.

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