Everything Scott Frost said about the QB battle, team health & more

UCF head coach Scott Frost said Monday the quarterback competition remains ongoing with no starter yet named, though he praised the progress of Cam Fancher, Jacurri Brown and Tayven Jackson.

Frost also confirmed freshman running back Taevion Swint will miss time following meniscus surgery but expects the Knights to be near full strength for the Aug. 28 opener vs. Jacksonville State.

Here’s everything he had to say:

On the status of a starting quarterback

“No, we’re not ready to announce yet. I think the battle is still ongoing. Like I’ve said, I feel comfortable with multiple guys. I don’t know how soon we’ll make that decision, but we’re not ready yet.”

On the structure of practice this week and when Jax State game prep begins

“It’s both. We’re still working on some things we think we need to improve just in camp mode. School starts today for the guys, which is a big deal to be back in classes, and so they’ve got to balance their schedule a little bit better.

“But we’re also running some of the things that we might run in the first game, so it’s kind of a balance the next two days of camp mode and game mode.”

On QB Cam Fancher’s experience

“Yeah, I think early on he did the best job of getting in the huddle, having command, making the calls precisely, and helping everybody else get lined up, and that speaks to the experience level. He’s played more ball. The other guys have caught up to a great deal and are doing a good job with that too, but you could recognize early on that Cam’s been in that position before.”

On the possibility all three QBs get equal or shared reps in early games

“Yeah, I think it’s probably TBD at this point. I mean, I think playing three equally in a game, I don’t think you’ll get any kind of rhythm with that, so we’re going to have to make a hard decision. Playing two is hard.

“I don’t think rotating three is probably something that’s very likely.”

On the injury status of freshman RB Taevion Swint

“Yeah, I feel bad for Chick. It was kind of a non-contact thing, and we didn’t know what it was. He got a meniscus and had to have surgery on it, so we’re trying to see right now how long that’s going to keep him out.

“We’re not going to have him for a while. Great guy, cares a lot, and was doing some really good things, so we look forward to getting him back whenever that is.”

On the overall health of the team

“Yeah, we’re still nursing through a few of those. For the most part, guys are back. I think we’ll have pretty close to a full-strength team come first game if we avoid things from here on out.

“(Linebacker) Koz (Cole Kozlowski) did a great job rehabbing, and he’s back full swing right now. (Cornerback) Isaiah (Reed) is still nursing his a little bit, and (tight end) Caden (Piening) is still nursing his a little. Everybody else is kind of day-to-day things, so we gave him two days off, and I think that did a lot to help get the guys’ bodies back.”

On Big 12 injury reports starting this season

“Well, coaches at multiple levels have these issues. We’ll just try to be honest. The hard thing is that’s not for anybody except the people losing money on games. But we’ll do what the Big 12 tells us to do and try to keep our guys healthy along the way.”

On the progress of QB Jacurri Brown

“Jacurri’s awesome. He’s a leader. He’s a great kid. He’s really talented. I wish I’d have had him for three or four years. It would have been fun to see that development because watching how much he’s grown in six or seven months has been amazing.

“He’s a good player, a good quarterback, and has done a great job in camp. Like I said, we have a hard decision to make.”

On the progress of QB Tayven Jackson

“Tayven’s been great. I think it took him just a little longer to get comfortable with scheme, terminology, everything, but he can really throw it and spin it and does a good job running. He’s had a really good camp too and created a lot of explosives for us in multiple ways.

“So all three guys, like I’ve said, if I only had one of them, I’d feel good about going into the game with that guy. We’re going to pick the one that we think gives us our best chance in game one.”

On what he’s “sure about” regarding this team

“I’m sure we’ve gotten a lot better, and I’m sure the team is a lot closer knit than it has been. They’re starting to learn how to fight for each other. The test is going to be when things aren’t going perfect, how do we react to that?

“We’ve had a little bit of adversity in camp. Those have probably been good lessons for us. We’re going to hit more during the season, and we’ve got to make sure we respond to it the right way.

“I don’t think you ever really know a lot about someone until you go through some things with them. Usually the biggest test of friendships and characters in this life to me are when things are going real well for you and when things are going real bad for you. What kind of person are you in those situations?

“And as a friend, if somebody’s happy for you when things are going well, they’re a real friend. And if they’re there for you when things are going bad, you’re a real friend. Same goes for teammates.

“So we’ve got to make sure that the bond that we’re starting to nurture here carries us through the good and the bad.”

On the position group that has shown the most improvement

“It’s hard to say. I see improvement everywhere. There’s a couple positions that I was not concerned about, but had my questions about that have really responded.

“I think the DBs have done a really good job. There’s some others that we just needed to see steady improvement. The O-line is definitely one of those. I feel good about our depth there.

“We were young at receiver and needed to see improvement there. And I’m starting to see those guys run efficient routes and understand how to get open and how to use space and catch the ball.

“So across the board, I’d say there’s been improvement. And that needs to show up in about 10 days.”

On the players’ schedules now that school has started

“We’ve been football only for about a month here. Less than a month, but now they’ve got to balance school with that.

“And that’s hard. You have to have some maturity about you to do that and make sure you’re taking care of that business there, but still being locked in when you’re over here and vice versa. We’ll get up and have morning meetings with the guys and then go to practice.

“Then the guys get a chance to be students and be around the rest of the campus and other students for the entire afternoon, and we bring them back before dinner for meetings. And they’ve got to get locked back into football.

“So it’s a real manageable schedule for the guys, and if they handle it the right way, I think you can benefit them.”

On the player that had the most memorable introduction

“Oh, man, yeah. We still have a few that haven’t gone yet. I can’t really say what it was, but Rodney Lora did a really good job. He made fun of Paul Rubelt, which is always funny to me. And that’s the one I remember the most.”

On the Big Ten’s expanded playoff proposal that could include 28 teams

“You know, those are decisions that my opinion has absolutely no bearing on. I would say that these guys are still students, and we’re getting farther and farther away from the model where they were amateur student-athletes.

“But I find it hard to believe you can have a longer playoff with a conference championship game and the length of the season that we have. So I hope they at least consider the stress they’re putting on not just players but assistant coaches as well and the amount of time that would take.

“Obviously, I love it when things are decided on the field, and I don’t have the right answer. So somebody smart is going to have to figure that out.”

On how challenging it’s been to narrow the QB field and name a starter

“Yeah, it’s not just every day. It has changed in my mind, and sometimes it’s changed multiple times in a practice where you feel good about how somebody’s playing, and then there’s a mistake or a bad play, and somebody else makes a good play.

“What I feel bad about is it’s not really fair to whoever’s going to end up playing. Their reps have probably been cut by 30% or 40% because we’re spreading the reps around.

“The good thing, the way our schedule sets up, we’ve got to pick one for this first game. We’ll have a longer prep for game two and then a bye week before game three, so we’ll have a little time to catch up.

“But I’m not even sure it’ll be decided completely before game one, so we’re just going to make the best decision we can and ride with it.”

On whether the QB decision may extend until game day vs. Jax State

“I think I’ll know before game day. I’m not sure I’ll say before game day, but I think I’ll know before game day.

“And I wouldn’t spring that on somebody right before a game. I think they’ve got to get their mind right for whatever their role is and embrace their role. So hopefully we have an idea this coming week.”

On improvement he’s seen since the first scrimmage

“I thought we only had a letdown or two all camp, which speaks to the work ethic of the team. They’ve been coming out and competing, which has been great to see. We hit a wall a little bit right before these last two days off, yesterday and the day before, and I think that’s because of the amount of effort the guys have been given.

“Now that being said, I want to see them fight through that a little better than we did, but they answered the bell today and came out and had a really good practice, so we’re going to try to keep them fresh and get them as ready as we can for game one.”

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