Scott Frost on UCF's rebuild: ‘You’ve got to go through the hard to get to the good’
As UCF prepares for another difficult test — a road trip to face No. 8 Texas Tech — head coach Scott Frost isn’t shying away from the realities of a rebuild.
The Knights are 4-5 overall and 1-5 in Big 12 play after Friday night’s 30-27 loss to Houston. The defeat ended UCF’s perfect 8-0 record in Space Games and was another close result that slipped away late. But while the outcome was disappointing, Frost said there were still things to build on, particularly the effort.
“The one thing you can take out of that Houston game, as disappointing as it was, is how much fight there was in our guys,” Frost said. “I never want us to lose that.”
Frost, now in his first season back at UCF after previously leading the program to a 13-0 season in 2017, has preached patience throughout the year. This is a long-term project that includes building a foundation for sustained success in a Power Four league.
“You go into a process like this, and you can’t ever assume it’s going to be easy,” he said. “Nothing worth having is ever easy.”
Frost credited defensive coordinator Alex Grinch with sending him a reminder this week, something that resonated with him as he continues to shape the direction of the program.
“Coach Grinch sent me something this week — to kind of paraphrase it — when you’re going through a process like this where you’re building, maybe deep down you’re hoping there’s an easy way, that it’s just going to happen without the hard work, without the trials, without some setbacks. Nothing good ever happens without those things happening, and you’ve got to go through the hard to get to the good,” Frost said.
That’s been the mantra.
“We’re having fun even though we’re going through the hard,” he continued. “To think it’s just going to be easy, I don’t think it would be worth it when we got there. It isn’t like I was going to show up and we were going to go undefeated. It isn’t like the players aren’t going to have to work in the weight room and suffer through some things and have some heartbreak before we get there. That’s the process.”
Frost said the commitment to that process remains strong, both from the coaching staff and the players in the locker room.
“I want it worse than anybody, and I want it for UCF more than I want it for me. I want it for these players more than I want it for me, and it’s coming. We’ve got to get it over the hump, but to think that it was just going to happen is unrealistic, and we’ve got to go through this to get where we want to go.”
As for how players have responded?
“I think for the most part our players have,” Frost said. “I’ve got a bunch of guys that won’t quit and are going to keep working to get better. Coaches use these phrases too much, like sticking to the process and all those things, but it’s true. We’re doing the right things. If I panic and change, then we’re starting over. We’ve got to stay the course. We’ve got to battle through.”
He recalled another tough moment from his first stint at UCF — the 2016 Cure Bowl loss to Arkansas State — and the criticism then-freshman quarterback McKenzie Milton received from fans.
“I remember the first time I was here, they were booing McKenzie at the bowl game and wanted me to take him out, and he just kept battling. The next year, he’s a hero,” Frost said.
After the Houston game, Frost said he was walking off the field when a UCF student shouted criticism at him, another reminder of what comes with growing pains.
“You’ve got to go through those things if you’re going to get it to a point that everybody wants it,” he said. “This team fights. We’ve got a good team. We’re a play or two away in a couple games from being a 6-3 team. We’re not. We’ve got another opportunity to go play this week.”
With three games remaining — at Texas Tech, home vs. Oklahoma State and at BYU — Frost wants the team to stay loose and keep perspective.
“Really, if you take a giant step back from it, we get to coach football and play football, and we get to do it against a really good team, and that’s fun,” Frost said. “Everybody would sign up for that. That’s the mentality I want our guys to have, knowing that if we stick to what we need to do and go through the hard to get to the good, it’s going to be even more worth it at the end.”
The belief, he added, hasn’t wavered.
“This was always going to be a process,” Frost said. “I knew we had enough talent to be competitive in this league, and we do, and we still do. Like I said, a couple plays here and there, and it looks a lot different right now, but that’s the process you go through.”
There’s no shortcut, and Frost doesn’t want one.
“We’re developing a culture. We’re developing a bond. We’re developing a team. We’re identifying guys on our team that are leaders and that we need to build around,” he said. “So we’re going to get this done, and we’re going to get it there.
“But you’ve got to kind of enjoy this part of it too. Again, because if you could snap your fingers and win, everybody would be doing that. It takes more than that, and you have to kind of embrace and try to enjoy the process and the struggles that help you get there.”
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