Everything UCF Coach Scott Frost said at the Jacksonville State Week Press Conference

UCF head coach Scott Frostmet with the media ahead of Thursday’s season opener against Jacksonville State, confirming Cam Fancher as the Knights’ starting quarterback, highlighted veteran leaders like Myles Montgomery and Nyjalik Kelly, and emphasized the importance of playing fast, fearless football while limiting first-game mistakes.

He also shared his respect for JSU’s new staff, led by head coach Charles Kelly, and quarterback Gavin Wimsatt, noting the challenge of preparing for an opponent with so many unknowns.

Here’s everything he had to say:

Opening statement:

“It’s been a good camp. We’re just excited that the game’s here. I think everybody at this time of year is just ready to actually play an opponent and test yourself. Really pleased with the work that the kids have put in over the winter, spring, summer, fall camp. Now we’ve got to dial it in and be ready to play.”

On the starting quarterback

“Yeah, we’re going to start Cam Fancher. All three kids, I don’t want to say much more than that, all three kids did an unbelievable job. Cam’s going to run out there and it’s his job to begin the game, begin the season and we’ll go from there.”

On the prospect of other quarterbacks seeing action

“I trust all three, so I want good things to happen for all three of them. If the situation arises, we’ll get some other guys in. We might even have a plan for that, but right now it’s Cam’s job.”

On the “game readiness” of his team

“Yeah, you get to a point where you practice so much that you need to see what they can do in a game. There’s a saying that’s true, you don’t rise to the occasion, you follow the level of your training. I feel like we’ve trained well, but everything changes once you’re out there on the field.

“I just want our guys to be ready to attack, play with no fear of failure and just play hard. You can see around the country there’s a lot of mistakes happening, first game mistakes in just the few games that have already happened. We’re going to try to limit those, but understand those are going to happen.

“Effort usually makes up for a lot of that, so I just want to see our guys come out and play as hard as they can.”

On what Cam Fancher showed to win the QB job

“Again, I don’t want to talk about one guy too much. Cam’s done a really good job with just command of the offense, control of everything. He’s doing a good job turning broken plays into positive plays, but all three guys have done well, so it’s Cam’s job right now.”

On whether Cam’s status as QB1 influenced WR decisions

“No, who it is won’t change a lot. Every position had battles, and the receiver group really had to grow. Again, not because we don’t have talent there, because we don’t have a lot of game experience and production there.

“I’ve seen a tremendous amount of growth from those guys, and I feel like we’re deep there. We can play quite a few guys, so I think you’ll see a lot of different guys out there Thursday, and they’re all going to get their chance to make an impact on the game.”

On whether Cam Fancher, being left handed, factors in who plays right tackle (Cam’s blind side)

“No, we don’t want to move Paul (Rubelt) just for something like that. I do feel like we’ve got guys, including Paul, that can play multiple spots, and if a need arises, he can be on the left or right. All those position battles were independent of one another, and it would be a crime for me to play somebody in a different spot or a different person because of the outcome of a different position race.

“There will be several spots where multiple people get to play, and we’re going to have a rotation, but I think we’re settled in pretty well, and we’ll probably release the depth chart here in the next couple of days.”

On whether Cam Fancher clearly outplayed the other competitors

“Really, it was neck and neck right until the very end, and we got to a point where we had to make a decision, I think, in the probably last four or five days before we decided. I think Cam probably played the best in those, but that’s not taken away from anybody else. I’ve got a ton of confidence in several other guys.”

On whether Frost will exclusively call plays, and if he’s excited about doing that again

“I’m excited just for the game in general. Steve Cooper’s done an unbelievable job when I’m doing head coaching things, running the offense. I’ve been around him a lot, and he thinks very similar to the way I think, and it’ll be a collaboration between the two of us.”

On the impact of wide receivers coach Sean Beckton

“Well, I love Sean Beckton. He’s like the OG around here. He’s Mr. UCF. He does a great job, not just with the position group, but keeping the entire team on track and thinking the right way. He’s a great asset to us. He’s had his work cut out for him, again, just because of lack of experience in that room and game experience.

“The guys know what they’re doing. They’re in good shape, and they’re going to get their opportunity to go make plays.”

On what emotions he’ll feel on Thursday, coaching again and at a place he loves

“I figured somebody would ask me that. I think I’m going to be so mission-focused running out there that I won’t even stop to look around and reminisce or anything like that. At some point, I probably will, and it’ll be great to be back there.

“It’s time to go to work, and it’s time for business when we run out on the field. I’ll probably be more in tune with who won the coin toss, who’s on offense, who’s on defense, and our first few plays on offense when we get it.”

On the impact Lee Corso made within the college football community, ahead of his final ESPN Gameday appearance

“Coach has always just been great. There’s a fine line when you’re in the media, being an entertainer and being loyal to who you are as a football coach. I always appreciated about him that he was good to everybody in our profession because he’s been in that profession. It’s less about criticism and more about honest analysis and praise for coaches. He did it the right way.”

On where he feels most confident heading into the first game

“I feel confident about a lot. The preparation’s been really good. I feel confident about our athletic ability and just how we’ve come together as a team.

“You’re not going to go through any game and not have ups and downs. I really want our team to just stay mission focused and keep attacking and trying to make great plays. Whether good things happen or bad things happen, we’ve got to keep the foot on the pedal and keep pushing forward.

“I feel good about where we are, but we’ll get tested both ways with good things and bad things.”

On his evaluation of Jacksonville State

“There’s a lot of unknown going into this game, probably both ways. I’ve got a lot of respect for Coach (Charles) Kelly and everywhere he’s been. Their coordinators have been in really good spots.

“I really think that Coach (Rick) Trickett does a really good job with their O-line going back. We’re not 100% sure what they’re going to be lined up in and what they’re going to be doing. They’re probably not 100% sure about what we’re doing.

“We’ve watched on offense Maryland tape and Auburn tape and Jacksonville State tape. I’m sure they’ve watched Nebraska and Oregon and UCF and Boise and the Rams. I don’t know.

“Going into a game like this, it’s a little harder to scheme somebody else up. It becomes more line up and do what you’re doing and play ball.”

On what he was most proud of during preseason camp

“I suppose their willingness to do what we ask them to do. There’s been a big difference even going into this game week. We expect the kids not to come out three days and four days before a game and just walk through plays.

“We’re practicing hard. It took them a couple of series to understand what we wanted, but every time we’ve had a situation like that where we expect them to do something different than what they’re used to, they’ve been really open to giving everything they have to give us what we want. That means we’ve been able to move in the right direction the whole time. I appreciate the guys’ willingness to buy in.”

On which players have stepped up in leadership roles

“The guys in the back have done a great job. Myles (Montgomery) and Nyjalik (Kelly) have both been great. Myles is pretty much clear leader of our offense right now. He’s like having another coach on the field. He’s demanding of the guys. He expects the standard all the time. It’s been great to see.

“Nyjalik and Keli Lawson, some other guys on offense, Malachi (Lawrence) has done a good job with that on defense too. The leadership is growing, but we definitely have some guys like that that are cut out for it and natural leaders.”

On whether he’s seen “brotherhood” among the team

“It’s been interesting. I don’t think you can really come together until you have some shared experiences, good and bad. There’s been a couple hiccups that we’ve had, fights on the field, little things like that.

“Some things that challenged our togetherness. Sometimes you have to go through those things and they end up being a positive because guys find a way to come together more after that. You can’t manufacture those.

“Those just have to happen. Those will continue to happen this year as we ride the highs and lows of the season. I feel good about where we are from a unity standpoint, but we have a ways to go.”

On the team’s buy-in

“We’re a lot better than we were at the beginning of camp. We started camp a lot better than we were in spring. We’ve got to keep getting better throughout the season.

“That’s on the field and off. We’ll keep putting the guys through what we think we need to put them through to continue to improve. As good as we are in game one, hopefully it’s a lot better in game six.”

On Jacksonville State starting quarterback Gavin Wimsatt, who previously played at Kentucky and Rutgers

“I remember watching him as a recruit and we were interested in him out of Jersey. He’s a big athletic kid and can really spin the ball. He played quite a bit at Rutgers and a little bit at Kentucky.

“He’s a specimen to watch him run and throw the ball. He’s got all the tools. We’re going to have to be on our game. I know he can run it in. He can throw it. The defense has to be sure to be in the right places and the right gaps with the right eyes. Him and others will challenge us.”

On whether he and the team pay attention to outside media chatter about his team

“I think the days of not reading newspaper articles are over. The kids don’t walk 10 feet without looking at their phone anymore. There’s no hiding it anymore. It’s better to just address the elephant in the room head on.

“One thing I appreciate about UCF and always have is there’s a little bit of a chip on your shoulder attitude here and there was when I was here the last time. I think the kids are embracing the fact that nationally there’s not a lot expected of the group and I think that’s been a motivation for them.

“They’re going to get their chance to take the first step to prove people wrong on Thursday.”

On his excitement level to be a head coach again

“Yeah, I love that part of it. The best parts about coaching are impacting young lives and competing. You get to do both those things in a big way at practice, but especially at games.

“We’ve got a pretty special group of guys. I told them the other day when I was here the last time there was a group of guys that came together so well that it was life-changing almost for them what they got to experience together. I want that for this group too.

“I want them to have those kind of trials and that kind of success. You take those kind of experiences with you for the rest of your life. We’re working to build that here again.”

On what he wants to see from Cam Fancher on Thursday

“Well, the first thing you want your quarterback to do is take care of the ball. Jacksonville State has had a lot of success lately and a lot of it is turnovers. They’ve done a really good job with turnovers.

“You watch their tape, they have a lot of returners from the last couple years and they’ve done a really good job being aggressive and creating turnovers. Offensively, it’s never going to be perfect in game one. We just have to play hard and take care of the ball.”

On whether coaches feel pressure to play the players who are getting paid the most via NIL/revshare

“Absolutely. That’s one thing I appreciate about UCF. I don’t have a lot of people in my ear and on my back saying, I gave you the money for this guy, why isn’t he playing?

“That allows me to be honest as a coach and honest with the players and play the guys that deserve to play. That’s rare and I really enjoy that about this place. We’ve got good support, but it’s not invasive support.

“Then we can be critical thinkers and look at performances and do what’s right by the kids by putting the guys on the field that have earned it and deserve it.”

On whether there’s a different feel or excitement when it’s game week

“I feel a confidence and I feel an eagerness to get out there from the guys. A couple times this week, you roll right from fall camp right into practice for a game and you can fall into the habit of feeling like you’re in another fall camp practice. It hasn’t happened a lot, but there’s been a couple times in practice I’ve felt that way.

“There’s got to be just more urgency when you’re getting ready for a game. This play has to be executed perfect so we can get it out on the field and trust it. In fall camp, if you run a bad play once, you just go to the meeting room and fix it the next six days.

“There’s more urgency. I don’t know if I felt enough of that from the team, but what I do feel is an eagerness to get out there and a confidence in where they are and where they’re going.”

On the team’s health

“A lot of credit to our training staff and our strength and conditioning staff. I look at our injury report every week and we don’t have a lot of guys on there, so we’re going to be pretty close to full strength, minus a couple guys. Caden Piening isn’t going to be ready and obviously Taevion Swint is out for a while, but other than that I think it’s all hands on deck. Those guys have done a good job keeping guys healthy and training them the right way so they’re building up to peak at the right time.”

On whether he watched Kansas State-Iowa State in Dublin

“I was impressed with both teams. Obviously the conditions affected the game in the first half. I was impressed with both defenses and how hard they played and how well they tackled. They both found a way to make some big plays later in the game.

“It was just a good Big 12 game and probably very representative of the games in this league. If you play well, you can win. If you don’t, you can lose. Every team in this league can beat you, so our guys have got to be ready to go out and perform their best every week.”

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