Scott Frost: No clear leader yet in UCF quarterback competition
The biggest storyline of UCF’s preseason camp remains unresolved after the first week: who will be the Knights’ starting quarterback?
Following Friday’s practice, head coach Scott Frost said he’s not close to making a decision between Cam Fancher, Jacurri Brown, and Tayven Jackson, the three quarterbacks in the primary mix.
“No, we’re not close to a decision yet, I don’t think,” Frost said. “It’s funny, a different guy has probably graded the best every day. All three of them are playing well. I’d like to see more consistency. Right now it’s not mistakes. They’re doing a good job of that.”
Frost said the trio each threw an interception on the opening day of practice, but things have improved in that regard since.
“We had three interceptions day one, one each actually, and that’s too much,” he said. “Since then it’s just kind of finding a way to make the play work. We can draw up a pass play and on air it looks great. Against a scout team it looks great, but then real ball happens and the receiver might have to run the route different or you might have to throw it back shoulder instead of over the top.
“You’ve got to be able to think fast to operate and execute in those situations. I want to see a little more of that from our offense, but it’s going to be tough. All three guys are doing a really good job.”
The competition will continue into next week, which will include UCF’s first scrimmage of camp next Thursday. Frost hopes that session, along with ongoing competitive periods in practice, will provide more clarity, though he admits that may not come right away.
“It’s going to be tough with clarity because we have three talented guys,” Frost said. “We’re going to put guys in competitive situations. We’re going to do a two-minute clutch drill at the end of every practice, try to put guys in situations where the game’s on the line a little bit.
“But it’s even hard just to isolate the quarterback’s job as a controlled experiment because sometimes the receiver’s wide open for somebody and it’s easier. Sometimes they’ve got to create and it’s not as easy. That’s what the guys on the field are doing.”
While a resolution could still be a week or two away, Frost is encouraged by the talent level in the room.
“I wish it was obvious, but it’s not,” he said. “That’s good and bad. I don’t think we have three mediocre quarterbacks. I think we have three good quarterbacks. We’ll see when that gets resolved, but we’re not real close yet.”
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