(Photo by Adrian J. Hernandez / New Day Review)
ORLANDO, Fla. – More than a week after Hurricane Irma’s impact in Florida, University of Central Florida athletic director Danny White has been presented an unusual challenge: finding an 11th game for his school’s football team. Following the rescheduling of the University of Memphis game that replaced the University of Maine matchup in Week 5 and the cancellation of the Week 3 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets game, UCF is set to only play 10 games.
And thanks to Irma, the Knights also had an early-season, two-week break after Week 1’s beatdown of the FIU Panthers. The spontaneous two-week break devoid of UCF football opened the question for White and his staff to potentially find a suitor for a game during Week 9, UCF’s original, lone bye week.
While second-year head coach Scott Frost welcomes playing an 11th game, he knows it’ll present a recruiting challenge, too. During the bye week of each season, Frost and his staff send coaches to scout players and meet coaches at high-school games.
“Yeah, [an 11th game during the bye week’s] not ideal. I liked where our bye week was when I saw the schedule when the schedule came out,” Frost said at the team’s weekly game-week press conference on Sept. 18. “The good thing this year, compared to last year, is last year the bye week got changed on us last minute. So we didn’t get a chance to give our kids any time off… The one benefit this year compared to last year is these guys had about five or six days off. That should help us, and now we’re gonna have a long stretch here of 10-straight games, hopefully, if we get another game scheduled…
“It’s a little bit of a challenge from a recruiting standpoint, too, ‘cause we usually send the coaches out on the road on a bye week, and we’re gonna lose that opportunity. So there’s some adjustments we’re gonna have to make, but, again, playing an 11th game is a better option, to me, than not.”
For defensive coordinator Erik Chinander, working out of Central Florida provides a unique advantage compared to other schools he’s recruited for. Being in the Sunshine State, a lot of the Knights’ targets are within driving distance.
“That’s one piece that, you know, you’re gonna lose if you get an 11th game with no bye. Obviously, we couldn’t go out during the hurricane. All the schools were closed, so you’re gonna lose a week on the road recruiting,” Chinander said after practice on Sept. 19. “But, fortunately for us, being in the state of Florida, most of our players that we want come from the state of Florida. So we can get a lot of them here for a lot of our games…
“You know, when we were at other places, we were flying across the country on bye week. Here, we’re driving to Miami, we’re driving to Ft. Lauderdale, we’re driving to Tallahassee. So I think we can get those kids here, and then maybe on a Thursday night, or maybe a Friday night for games, we can get to them and see ‘em. But you’re right—that definitely changes the recruiting strategy.”
As for offensive coordinator and wide-receivers coach Troy Walters, his mindset is focused on being successful in 2017 first. His mind will shift to recruiting after the season’s done.
“First and foremost, we gotta win games. So it’s all about the 2017 season and making sure our guys are ready to play, and then recruiting will come later,” Walters said after practice on Sept. 19. “But we’ll find way to recruit, and it’s easier to recruit when you’re winning games. So that’s the key, and that’s the focus is to win football games. And once we get kids on campus, they’ll see what an awesome place this is, and they’ll want to come and join the family.”
UCF’s next opportunity at a win will be on Saturday when the Knights take to the road for the first time this season to face the University of Maryland. Last season, UCF fell at home to the Terrapins 30-24 in double overtime in then-true freshman quarterback McKenzie Milton’s first start. Kickoff on Saturday is at 3 p.m.
For more on the Knights, as they look forward to Week 4’s matchup with Maryland, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
