(Photo by Adrian J. Hernandez / New Day Review)
ORLANDO, Fla. – The University of Central Florida’s season-opening blowout of the FIU Panthers was a special night for two quarterbacks. For starters, sophomore McKenzie Milton showed off his arm with four touchdowns and 360 yards in a career game to begin his second season as the Knights’ starter. UCF’s win on Aug. 31 was also highlighted by back-up quarterback Noah Vedral’s collegiate debut.
“It’s a dream come true. My mom and dad were down for the game, and I think all three of us were just really excited,” Vedral told the New Day Review after practice on Sept. 6. “It’s another one of those stories of hard work pays off, and, just like everyone here, everyone’s gonna see the field eventually, and a lot of us got to.
“So…those dreams have kinda been rewarded, and you got a taste a little bit of fruits of the work, so I know a lot of us were really happy, but, as far as it’s just nice to feel ‘cause you want more. You wanna be better than you were then, and you wanna be better than we were yesterday. So, really special but just a taste.”
Vedral finished his night with 79 passing yards on 10-for-12 passing and 12 rushing yards on four carries. For quarterbacks coach Mario Verduzco, Vedral’s improvement will simply come with time. He saw the same situation unfold with Milton in his first season.
“You know, it’s a bit like what McKenzie went through last year. It’s every experience for him, when he takes a snap, and the game is new,” Verduzco said after practice on Sept. 6. “There’s nothing that will take care of that than getting reps. You know, obviously, he was a little nervous when he first got in, you could tell, but, as he took more snaps, he got, you know, more comfortable, more relaxed, and you get to that point where you say, ‘Well, I can do this. I belong here.’ So, the improvement will come with more snaps and that sort of thing.”
For Vedral, the mentality of being a back-up and his approach to how he prepares hasn’t changed. There’s simply a mindset shared by both him and fellow true freshman quarterback Darriel Mack Jr. that they’re no longer freshmen, and improving is all that matters.
“[The mentality is the] same as always. Darriel will say the same thing,” Vedral said. “Both us are, as freshman quarterbacks, as Verduzco [said], we’re not freshman quarterbacks anymore. We’ve been here long enough. We’re somewhere in between or past that. So, it’s get better every single day. Understand something new every single day. If you can get more than one concept down every day and master something every day, that makes you a better player.
“The reason I wanted to play college football, I wanted to be the best college-football player I could be—or just football player. And that’s the goal still. I wanna be better than I was yesterday, and I wanna get better tomorrow. So, every sinlge day we come to practice, and that’s all we wanna do is get better.”
Though Vedral got the nod as the team’s back-up, Frost said this isn’t any guarantee the true freshman will be Milton’s successor. In Mack Jr., Frost has another untapped quarterback who impressed in camp as well.
“Both Noah and Darriel have had great camps, and I think the future is really bright for both those kids,” Knights head coach Scott Frost said during the team’s game-week press conference on Sept. 4. “We kinda had to make a decision which one to play right away. Certainly not a coronation of who the next quarterback is. Both those kids are gonna keep developing, but Noah was ready to have us stick him in there and get a few reps, and I think he did a pretty good job for Game 1.”
As for Mack Jr., he has been patient in his approach in his first college season. Right now, his main concern is being a more-vocal leader.
“It’s probably just being more of a leader, I guess,” Mack Jr. told the New Day Review after practice on Sept. 6. “You know, transition from high school can be kinda hard ‘cause you’re kinda the new guy, younger guy, so think just being a leader and getting everybody where they need to be at all times can help me out a lot.”
The Knights look to continue their winning ways, as they prepare for their conference-opener against the Memphis Tigers on Friday.
For more on the Knights, as they look to open conference play against Memphis on Friday, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
