UCF Head Football Coach Gus Malzahn Will Change the Long-Term Projection of the Knights
Not every head coach is the same. Neither is every university or city. UCF is one of the most unique institutions of higher learning in the world. With over 60,000 students and a wide range of cultures, it’s a brand not seen anywhere else. Not only that, UCF is a massive school in one of the world’s most vibrant cities. To help UCF move forward, there's a new attraction in town and it’s capable of bringing its own excitement.
Coach Malzahn has a chance to create more magic for UCF football than fireworks at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Here are four key components Coach Malzahn brings to UCF and why each area can lend a hand to bringing UCF Football to the top of college football.
Offensive Philosophy Will Be Creative
If there’s one thing UCF is already known for, it would be its offensive firepower. That can also be said of Coach Malzahn, too. Read-option, run-pass-option, reverses, motions and shifts, varying formations and different personnel groups make Coach Malzahn’s offense unique.
Now with a new coaching staff led by Coach Malzahn, there’s good reason to believe the UCF offense will be more creative and more diverse than ever. Consider the following about Coach Malzahn while being an assistant or head coach during his days on the Plains in Auburn, Ala.
Six of the eight years he was the Auburn Head Coach, the Tigers scored in surplus of 30 points per game, highlighted by Auburn’s 2013 team which averaged 39.5 points per contest and almost defeated Florida State in the national title game.
2014 (35.5), 2016 (31.2), 2017 (33.9), 2018 (30.9), and 2019 (33.2) also witnessed explosive offensive production catapulting over the 30-point plateau under Coach Malzahn. Additionally, there was the 2010 national championship season with Coach Malzahn as the offensive coordinator. The Tigers averaged 41.2 points per game and Cam Newton won the Heisman Trophy.
With all of the skill talent already on UCF’s roster, and the plethora of talent available for Coach Malzahn and his UCF staff to recruit in Florida alone, there’s little doubt that the Knights will be an explosive offense moving forward. It will pay dividends in multiple ways.
Players love creative play calling, and they love to light up the scoreboard. Fans also love an explosive offense. That’s the era we are currently in at the college level -- it’s about scoring points -- to win big.
Those factors will help the Bounce House go crazy, keep the UCF fanbase happy, and help recruiting. To make all of that happen, Coach Malzahn needed to hire a staff that blended well together and accepted a unique challenge like taking UCF to the elite level. Before delving into the staff individually before the start of the season, here are some items to consider about the coaching staff coming to work with Coach Malzahn at UCF.
Coaching Staff Will Fit in With UCF and the Orlando Community
Go ahead. Check out their Twitter handles. See the photographs, the tweets. These are high energy coaches. If you cannot enjoy watching Defensive Coordinator Travis Williams and his infectious energy, there’s something wrong. Check out this video from just over a year ago while he was still coaching at Auburn.
That’s but one example. This will be a high energy staff that likes to recruit. Energy is the name of the game, and many of these coaches know each other well after playing and/or coaching for Coach Malzahn at Auburn.
That means chemistry for team meetings, practices, team lifts, community outreach, recruiting, booster club functions, and of course game day. It can be difficult to explain just how hard it is to build a cohesive coaching staff. The majority of coaches already know one another, and that’s going to help to provide more “juice” for the football program, i.e. energy and passion.
Fired Up and Ready to Go!
If one item is for certain, it’s that Coach Malzahn will bring a passion to UCF football. He’s been through the wars of the SEC West as the Auburn Head Football Coach. After joining UCF, he’s been a bundle of energy, and the UCF athletic department helped him along the way.
Conceivably, Coach Malzahn needed a new challenge to fully reach the level of energy that’s already been so apparent during his short time in Orlando. Whether it’s a press conference, UCF function or just a tweet on Twitter, Malzahn has shown a fire in the belly that exudes confidence. That’s vital to the UCF Football program now and in the future.
It’s not easy climbing over the FBS conference programs, and that’s why Coach Malzahn’s renewed energy is so important. He’s the leader of the Knights, and he’s at the forefront of the UCF brand name as a whole. Finally, a look at how that energy can and will change the UCF roster.
Coach Malzahn Will Make a Recruiting Impact
With his personality helping to provide exposure for the UCF Football program, Coach Malzahn’s involvement in recruiting has been excellent. The commitment to reach out and meet UCF fans and alumni will pay dividends sooner than later, as it is the type of positive attitude that traditionally lends itself well within the living rooms of high school football recruits.
Not all coaches go to the lengths that Coach Malzahn has already gone. That exposure and fiery attitude combined will help along the recruiting trail. Plus, at the end of the day, he’s recruiting prospects to come to Orlando!
While at Auburn, Coach Malzahn and his staff hit three primary states -- Alabama, Florida and Georgia -- to build the Tigers’ roster. Based on the early returns for UCF, those three states are also going to be the primary focus for the Knights, but it starts in the Sunshine State.
“We’re going to recruit Florida like nobody else.”
That’s what Coach Malzahn stated during his initial UCF press conference. That proclamation will be a valuable asset as the Knights attempt to build the roster with Floridians from each branch of the state (more about that in a series starting later this week).
Coach Malzahn also stated during his inaugural press conference about Florida recruiting, “I already know the top players. I already know the coaches and everything that goes on."
From the 2017 through 2020 recruiting classes, Auburn signed 15 prospects that played their high school football within the state of Florida. Of special note, Auburn did especially well in the greater Broward County and Dade County areas, where Fort Lauderdale and Miami reside.
Both of those counties will be pivotal to bringing in top-notch recruiting classes for the Knights, as it is rich in NFL talent every year. Perhaps just as important, Auburn signed players as far west as Navarre, Fla., just on the edge of Pensacola, as well as cities such as Jacksonville, Orlando, and Tampa, mixed in with a small town like Sebring just northwest of Lake Okeechobee, and down into the aforementioned Fort Lauderdale and Miami areas. His staff went where the talent was. That’s how recruiting should be.
Indeed, the Knights will need all of the energy and all of the expertise that Coach Malzahn can provide to consistently construct great recruiting classes chalk-full of Florida players. With that in mind, there’s still Georgia and Alabama.
While not quite the same as recruiting Florida for UCF, hitting both Georgia and Alabama will be important for Coach Malzahn and his coaching staff. From 2017 through 2020, Auburn signed a grand total of 32 Georgia prep prospects. That’s more than Auburn signed from Alabama, which had a total of 26 recruits.
Bottom line, Coach Malzahn and his staff know how to recruit three magnificent states for high school football talent, and with Coach Malzahn’s renewed energy and fire leading the way, there’s considerable optimism that he will bring a new era of elite recruits to Orlando.
Final Thoughts
The first season under Coach Malzahn is sure to be a barnburner, and he’s building a foundation for many more great seasons. He’s a well known and proven coach with a track record for producing explosive offenses. He’s also built a staff with chemistry and energy of its own, while embarking on a new beginning in Orlando. Finally, recruiting has been a primary focus to date. The Gus Malzahn era is in full swing in Orlando.
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