UCF DBs open up on Gus Malzahn's exit, team unity under Scott Frost
Sean Green, host of the Charge On Football Podcast, just dropped episode two of his “Meet the Knights” series featuring UCF defensive backs Braeden Marshall and Jaylen “AP” Heyward. Recorded at Keg Social Orlando, the conversation covers a variety of topics, including the coaching transition from Gus Malzahn to Scott Frost.
Heyward offered a candid take on Malzahn’s sudden resignation following the 2024 season.
“What I learned in the last year is that it’s a business with NIL and everything,” Heyward said. “Coaches are going to up and leave. You want to find coaches that have your best interest at the end of the day. I’m glad we got a new coaching staff that has our best interests.
“The last staff, it really shocked us, if I’m being real… We didn’t have a meeting telling us he was going to leave or anything. He just got up and left. It kind of shows you where his mindset and head was at when he left. It showed he didn’t really care for us like he said he did to the media.”
Heyward was equally honest when asked why he didn’t enter the transfer portal. After seeing limited playing time in 2024, he acknowledged that leaving likely wouldn’t have improved his situation.
“I had a couple schools hit me up and asked if I wanted to hit the portal,” Heyward said. “The main thing was just stay home. I didn’t really have any film and didn’t want to get lost in the portal. The portal is only taking guys that actually have experience. I don’t really have experience, so why I should try and go somewhere? I’ll be starting from square one.”
Marshall, meanwhile, said he leaned on former Knight Drico Johnson throughout the process. Johnson, who trained Marshall in high school, played a key role in his development. A Rivals four-star prospect in the Class of 2023, Marshall credits Johnson—now a defensive analyst on Frost’s staff—for shaping his game.
Like many of his teammates, Marshall weighed his options during the coaching change, including the possibility of transferring. But he chose to stay patient.
“I had to be really patient with it, let everything unfold,” Marshall said. “I wanted to see who our head coach was going to be. Getting Frost was probably one of the biggest things. Coach Dric played for Frost. I grew up in Orlando and I know what Frost can do. I’ve seen where he had UCF. I’ll be real – everybody in the world wanted to be in Orlando back in 2017. I know what he can do. I know we got the talent to do it. We’ve just got to put it together and execute.”
Frost also had a connection with Marshall through recruiting. Nebraska was one of his finalists prior to committing to UCF in July 2022.
Heyward said he quickly bought in once Frost was announced as the new head coach.
“The first impression was huge for me,” Heyward said. “He came in and said everything I wanted to hear. I saw that he always cares about the best interests of his players. That’s one thing I heard, going back and doing my research on Coach Frost before he was hired. (I looked) at a list of head coaches that might be coming to UCF and I did my research on every one.
“The one I heard the most on is if Frost came back it’ll really be a player-led team, and that he cares about your development. He cares about your wellbeing and how you grow as a man. It’s not about football at the end of the day. It’s about how you grow as a man.”
Both players said the biggest shift they’ve seen in 2025 is the sense of unity that’s forming across the team.
“We’re together and Frost has preached that,” Marshall said. “Just being able to come together as a team, in this day and age of the portal with new guys coming in every semester, teams that come together are the ones that really see success.”
Click here to check out the Charge On Podcast on Youtube.
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