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Big 12 media days are underway, meaning that the college football season is right around the corner. The Big 12 is excited this season, with new players and coaches set to take center stage. The two new head coaches who joined the conference, Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia football and Scott Frost at UCF football, have an extra level of intrigue with them because they are returning to their old stomping grounds.
Rich Rodriguez returns to his alma mater to recapture his early success in Morgantown. Scott Frost's move is different because UCF was the program that also put him on the map. He left for his alma mater, Nebraska, and did not have much success at all. When speaking with the media, Frost got honest about the move to Nebraska during the Big 12 media days and talked about how it was not the best move.
When Frost was asked about what he learned from Nebraska, he said, “Don't take the wrong job.”
He elaborated more, “I said I wouldn't leave (UCF) unless it were someplace you could win a national championship. I got tugged in a direction to try to help my alma mater, and didn't want to do it. It wasn't a good move. I'm lucky to return to where I was a lot happier.”
UCF football has had a few good years now and then since the mid-2000s. They gained national prominence thanks to Blake Bortles, but the big jumpstart the program needed did not come until Scott Frost took the reins as the head coach.
The Golden Knights played at lightning-fast speed and ran through their schedule in 2017, including a massive upset over Auburn in the 2018 Peach Bowl. UCF football maintained some dominance under Josh Heupel but became more inconsistent after he left for Tennessee.
Guzz Malzahn seemed like an excellent fit for the Golden Knights, but his results on the field were way too inconsistent. Malzahn left to be the offensive coordinator for Florida State, which opened the door for a reunion with Frost.
Frost's years in Lincoln were rough, highlighted by a 2021 season that ended with nine straight single-digit losses. However, the tools are there for success once again in Orlando. Frost's star quarterback in his first stint, McKenzie Milton, is back in Orlando, but this time, he is on the coaching staff as the quarterbacks coach.
As rough as Frost's Nebraska experience was, he knows how to win at UCF. The Golden Knights are in a better conference now than when he coached, but UCF football should be able to succeed under Frost.
