Scott Frost valuing fresh start with UCF after debacle at Nebraska

FRISCO, Texas — He’s returning to the sidelines after a two-year hiatus from College football, and eager to change the narrative of his coaching legacy.

Scott Frost has been instrumental in an undefeated season as a player at Nebraska, and a head coach at UCF. However, a disastrous tenure with his alma mater left a stain on his coaching career. Now he’s on a mission to be a champion again. Not to mention it helps that Frost is back at a familiar place, where the fans and alumni still believe in him, despite his shortcomings.

Los Angeles Rams Coach Sean McVay even took Frost under his wing, refined his direction and showed him different ways to guide young men. Which is why Frost refuses to take his second stint with the Knights for granted. Unlike the AAC, he understands that the stakes are going to be higher in the Big 12, and competition will be fierce in a conference full of parity.

“You know, it’s my goal to continue to try to help UCF push forward, so if there’s anymore changes coming, we need to be positioned in the right place and to do everything that we can to make it a legitimate competitor in this league and beyond,” Frost said. “We have a lot of work to do to get there, but it’s probably the only place that I would want to be doing this in college football.”

Although Frost posted a 19-7 record in two seasons at UCF, including a 13-0 campaign in 2017, his time with Nebraska was the total opposite. He only won 16 of his 47 games with the Huskers, and never tasted the postseason. The entire tenure was humbling for Frost. After all of the broken promises to the fans, he still walked away from the program $16.4 million richer, and his departure left Big Red Nation in shambles.

Frost is putting his best foot forward, and not looking back in the rearview mirror. The sunshine state is a recruiting hotbed, that’s full of speed, and he plans on utilizing it all again. Gus Malzahn didn’t necessarily leave the cupboard bare, so there’s some talent on the roster for Frost to work with. Still, overnight success is rare in today’s game, and Frost knows this time around with the Knights will be a tough rebuilding project.

“I think that’ll be even bigger mountain to climb because of the level of football that’s played in this league,” he said. “I loved being in the American [Athletic Conference], but it wasn’t the same level that of teams that we’re going to be facing now.”

It’s no mystery that the Knights have added nearly 70 new players to their roster since Frost’s arrival. Finding a quarterback to run his system will be key too, and Tayven Jackson appears worthy. He started six games over the past two seasons at Indiana, and has dual-threat capability. It’s unfortunate that the Knights won’t have two-time 1,000-yard rusher RJ Harvey in the backfield. Starting over from scratch, and grinding towards the top, will bring Frost back the national respect that he once had.

Learning from mistakes, and not letting the past repeat itself will also go a long way. Frost no longer hires his friends as assistants, nor does he let social media be a distraction for him and his players. Shutting off the outside noise is a daily grind, but there’ll always be critics in Frost’s eyes.

“It effects me if I let it, but I’ve been through about as bad as you can go through it, and I don’t pay attention or really care what them people think,” the 50-year old said. “As long as you’re true to your faith and your family, and working as hard as you can, it’s not the critics that matter.”

Fans from around the Big 12, as well the ones that rock the scarlet and cream, will be keeping a close eye on the progress that Frost makes at UCF. Some want to see him succeed, while others are waiting for his downfall. Regardless of the matter, from this point moving forward, the spotlight is back on Frost, and he wants to do is build something magical again. The additions he’s making to the Knights in a short amount of time since being back in Orlando is promising.

“I guess the good side of that is we were able to flip the roster, bring kids in largely that fit us from a scheme standpoint, character and culture standpoint, and it’s been fun watching that group of guys come together.”