ORLANDO, Fla. – Freshly anointed Head Coach Scott Frost has jumped in to the UCF job with full conviction, making it clear Tuesday that he is one hundred percent focused on turning his team around. After officially accepting the position in Orlando, the Ducks have taken a backseat to their offensive coordinator of three years.
“This is my priority,” he said. “I haven’t talked too much with Danny or Coach Helfrich back at Oregon about those types of situations. This is my priority. I need to be working on making sure that this team can accomplish all that it possibly can. Recruiting is obviously one of the first things I need to get started with.”
He will have to start from the bottom up to revitalize the program, and will have to start the battle immediately. Coach Frost cannot afford a poor recruiting turnout with a roster that played more first time starters than any school in the conference.
Central Florida is a hotbed for NCAA talent, recognized by the first time head coach. He believes that UCF has potential enough to entice the high caliber recruits needed to win with his system and that athletes should be excited about the production opportunity it presents.
“I didn’t want to leave Oregon for a place where I couldn’t get the same type of players that we’ve had at Oregon that have made us successful,” continuing to specify the kind of athlete he covets. “We’re fast. We play fast. We have fast guys. Those guys are right here to be had, and if I was a fast kid in the state of Florida and I knew we were going to play this type of offense here, this place would look really good to me, and I think we can get that done pretty quickly here.
The system will sell itself and success will eventually create a stronger sphere of influence for the Knights in the area if all goes as planned.
“I want those guys involved with the program, and listen, we don’t need to go very far to find kids to win at UCF. The kids are right here. We just need to put a product on the field that excites them to come play here, and I think that’s going to be easy to do if we can create relationships with those coaches and those kids. We can get it done largely with kids right around here,” he said.
He cannot do it alone. Frost has to assemble a staff before any real work can be done, which may not be so easy with post season bowls and conference championships still to be played.
“Putting a staff together then, whether it’s those guys or guys that I bring in to make sure that we have boots on the ground to go out and get some more recruits to add to this recruiting class. That all has to happen pretty quickly so we can make a dent in this recruiting cycle.”
Coach Frost made the turn around sound like an idea in the not too distant future. Perhaps the most important element of his pending success is that he has been sold on the school himself, making passionate arguments about his belief in UCF.
“I see the attention to detail with the facilities and the campus that this place has,” Frost said, giving credit to his predecessor. “I think this place is a big-time program waiting to happen. I’ve got a ton of respect for Coach O’Leary and what he’s done here.”
