Scott Frost's Three Takeaways From UCF's First Fall Scrimmage
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The UCF Knights completed their first scrimmage of fall camp Thursday night.
With several weeks to go before the Knights' season-opener on Aug. 28, Thursday night was Coach Scott Frost and his staff's first opportunity to see the team compete in a live football situation since fall camp started on July 28.
"There's always positives and negatives to take, learning lessons from early scrimmages, and the guys were nice enough to provide us with a lot of things we can learn from," Frost said. There were some really good things that happened and a lot that we need to improve."
So, here are three key takeaways from the scrimmage based on Frost's comments:
1. Quarterback Competition is still going
With Cam Fancher back in action after being rested in practice yesterday with a lat strain, Frost said all three quarterbacks "got some good reps and did some good things" Thursday night, and that the competition between Fancher, Tayven Jackson and Jacurri Brown is still going.
"Would love to start having that idea of who that's going to be gel in my mind, but we're not there yet, and we're not going to force that," Frost said. "So, there will be more opportunities to compete. Every play counts."
2. The team needs more urgency
With Frost getting the chance to see how his players would react in a more game-like setting for the first time since fall camp began, he had the opportunity to observe how the Knights conducted themselves in situations that only live football can produce.
One thing Frost talked with the team about is its urgency when playing up tempo, he said. He noticed the team was "a little lax" getting in and out of the huddle, which led to "sloppy" penalties.
"We've talked to the guys about urgency and getting set, getting lined up and those type of things, and didn't see enough of it tonight," Frost said. "So, we got some film to prove to them that they need to be more attentive to that."
3. He does not know how the team will respond
Staying on the topic of how the team conducted itself, Frost said that, even after this scrimmage, he does not know how the team will respond yet, regardless of whether it's to success or adversity.
"I think we had to break some habits that certain kids had when things go bad and how they react to it, and we're learning that, and I saw some improvement with that tonight, but those are the two big question marks that I have with this team," Frost said. "You're never going to go through a season or a game, to be honest with you, without some good things happening and something blowing up, and it's how you respond to that that is really a mark of a good team."
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Frost said he did not know if the team was where he'd thought they'd be at this point in fall camp. He did know it was better than his first scrimmage in 2016, when he said he "left the field depressed."
"I know we're a long way ahead of that, but I'm certainly not satisfied with where we are right now, and it's back to work in a couple days," Frost said.
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Bryson Turner is a sports journalist who covers UCF Athletics. Turner has contributed to the Black and Gold Banneret, the home for UCF Athletics on SB Nation. He has called the Orlando area home since the age of 8 and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from UCF.
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