UCF Looking To Dominate In The Battle of Returns
Scott Frost (‘16-‘17 HC) returns to UCF and looks to get the Knights back on the track he helped build as they host Charles Kelly (‘94-‘98 AC) and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks.
Kylan Fox and Keli Lawson in UCF’s new uniform set (UCF Athletics)
ORLANDO, FL - It is officially here, after the longest 272 days in human history UCF football has returned and in a familiar but new way. The game has been dubbed “First Frost 2.0” by UCF’s #Content team as Scott Frost returns to the program as head coach for the first game since the Knights captured an undefeated season and a share of the national championship in the NCAA record books. On the opposing sideline is another face that is familiar in the ethos of college football as longtime defensive coordinator Charles Kelly takes his first step into head coaching at the college level at a familiar place. When Kelly joined the Jacksonville State program in 1994 as running back coach the team was an independent in Division II before moving to the Southland during his time as the program’s defensive coordinator. He moved on, returning to the high school ranks and then eventually became the defensive playcaller at six Power Four programs while the Gamecocks became powerhouses of FCS football earning a massive upset win over Florida State in recent years.
RS-Senior WR Brock Rechsteiner (now number 3) wearing his father’s signature chainmail headpiece (Jax State Athletics)
Now Kelly and Jacksonville State are reunited and enter the Acrisure Bounce House looking to topple Frost and the Knights in his homecoming. The Gamecocks will be led out by former Rutgers and Kentucky quarterback Gavin Wimsatt, a primarily run heavy quarterback with a massive arm to make plays down the field. In his four years of experience, Wimsatt has completed 46.2-percent of his passes for 2,824 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions, while adding an additional 811 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground. On Monday Frost talked about him saying, “He’s a specimen, to watch him run and throw the ball he’s got all the tools. So we’re going to have to be on our game, I know he can run it, he can throw it so the defense has to be in the right places, in the right gaps, in the right eyes, and him and others will challenge us.” While the Gamecocks will likely be missing their best returning receiver Michael Pettway, they do return redshirt-senior receiver Brock Rechsteiner (son of WWE Hall of Famer “Scott Steiner”) who recorded 16 catches for 241 yards and a pair of touchdowns last season, as well as adding 6’8 receiver Deondre Johnson from Rutgers and TCU’s leading-rusher from last season Cam Cook who recorded 43 total yards on 15 touches against UCF last year. On the defensive side of the ball the Gamecocks have a few familiar faces as former Virginia Tech and Alabama defensive lineman Khurtiss Perry has returned to his home state having had UCF finish as his runner up school in his high school recruitment and former UCF cornerback Tre’Quon Fegans set to make his third career start with his two previous coming at USC under current UCF defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.
RS-Senior RB Myles Montgomery (UCF Athletics)
To win this game the Knights will have to play disciplined and limit mistakes, as Frost said the team will need to be aware of Wimsatt’s ability to take off out of the pocket and prepare for those moments, as well as taking away deep ball opportunities. The key players to this game in my opinion will be Myles Montgomery on offense and Lewis Carter on the defensive side of the ball. Montgomery is entering his first game as the lead back after playing the “spell-back” role at both Cincinnati and behind RJ Harvey last season and is ready to show how he can perform in the premier role. He was named a game one captain and has taken over as the leader of the offense, his running ability will be massive, but another big quality he provides is pass-blocking as the offensive line has three completely fresh faces in the starting lineup. On the opposite side of the ball, Carter will be paramount to slowing down Wimsatt as he’s both expected to call the defense and handle the “thumper” role as a linebacker. I would expect him to be the key player to crash onto Wimsatt when he tucks to take off and early punishment could force the quarterback to think twice before trying to find an open hole.
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UCF is a 20.5-point favorite as of 2:15pm having been bet up from an initial 15.5-point line, the majority of money is placed on the Knights and with good reason, only one week one opponent has kept within 27 points since Frost’s first tenure at UCF began. The Knights also have covered the spread in their season opener each of the last nine seasons (some lines had Boise State at a higher line but most held at 3.5-point lines) and the majority of the games were won by significantly higher margins. If the Knights play up to their standard I believe we will see similar results and am picking UCF to win going away 52-17 over the Gamecocks.
Make sure to catch the Charge On: Postgame show on YouTube with myself, Nick Geddes, and Sean Green. As always I will be active on social media, my XTwitter is now SLeonard27.