(Photo by Adrian J. Hernandez / New Day Review)
Oct. 30, 2017
Record-setting Scoring Performance Led by McKenzie Milton, Dredrick Snelson
The No. 15 UCF Knights scored a school-record 73 points in a 73-33 win over the Austin Peay Governors. Of the 73 points, the offense scored 56, as quarterback McKenzie Milton and wide receiver Dredrick Snelson each had career games. Milton finished the Week 9 matchup with the most efficient game he’s ever played, throwing for 275 yards and three touchdowns on 24-for-26 passing. Snelson’s five receptions and two touchdowns are both career-highs, and his 90 yards are the second-most he’s accrued in a game.
HC SCOTT FROST: “Snelson’s really emerged this year. He was the most highly touted recruit my first year here. I thought he had some good moments as a freshman, but he’s really changed his body. He’s changed his approach to the game, and he’s taken his play to the next level. He gives us another weapon on the outside. I’ve been really impressed with how he’s gone up and gotten balls the last couple games.”
Knights’ Defense Was Slow, Porous Against Austin Peay
Perhaps the Knights’ biggest concern from their win over Austin Peay was the team’s tackling performance. Poor tackling allowed the Governors to convert on a third-and-18 situation and score a seven-yard rushing touchdown on a fourth-and-one to tie the game on their first drive of the game. Austin Peay’s 33 points is the most any team has scored on the Knights’ 25th-ranked scoring defense this season.
DL JAMIYUS PITTMAN: “Honestly, in the meeting [on Oct. 30], when I first walked in, I knew I played bad. So, I knew I was about to get grilled. So, as soon as we get in the meeting and I saw ‘mistakes’ at the top, at the top of the board, so I just knew we were going to have to be a lot more serious today than we do on any other Monday. Lock back in and then take the tackling circuit serious because [defensive coordinator Erik Chinander] and [defensive-line coach Mike Dawson], they were ready for somebody to make a mistake [on Oct. 30].”
Tristan Payton, Nevelle Clarke Return After 6-game Suspension
Wide receiver Tristan Payton and defensive back Nevelle Clarke were suspended for the first six games of the season after failing mandatory NCAA drug tests at the 2016 AutoNation Cure Bowl. The Austin Peay game was the first time both players were allowed to dress and play for the Knights again. Numbers-wise, neither did anything of note, as Payton recorded the only tackle between the two.
HC SCOTT FROST: “Well Nevelle adds depth. In his absence, Brandon Moore’s been doing a really good job. Mike Hughes has been doing a really good job. Got Chris [Johnson] and [Rashard] Causey and some other guys that we trust to be in the game. Nevelle’s a special player, though, and he’s gonna have to earn his way back into more playing time, but he definitely gives us some more depth at the corner position.”
“Right now, we have T.P. on defense. He was our special-teams player of the week. Thought he played really well on teams, and that’s great to see him stick it out through what he had to go through and come back and accept that role. So we’ll see where he goes from there, but I’m happy for both those kids. I was disappointed in ‘em for making a decision that got ‘em in trouble, but, you know, they had to stick it out through a lot of things in the wake of that, and both kids have come through it and, now, are ready to start moving their careers forward again.”
Scott Frost Focused on UCF, Not Potential Outside Offers
Since former Florida Gators head coach Jim McElwain and the Gators agreed to part ways, there have been rumors that Frost is a candidate for the next Gators job. Frost is currently in the midst of his second season as a head coach but has Power Five experience, orchestrating the nation’s top offenses at the University of Oregon from 2013 to 2015. At UCF, he has resurrected an 0-12 program in 2015 and developed it into the nation’s No. 1 scoring offense in less than two seasons.
HC SCOTT FROST: “I haven’t heard from anybody. Those things might be hard for you guys to ignore, but they’re really easy for me to ignore. I show up to work and watch film and get practice-ready and go out and do my best to get our team ready. And I don’t pay any attention to it. And it would be a crime for me to do that with the sacrifices that our team and coaching staff have made and the type of season that these guys have put together. They deserve my 100-percent focus, and they have it.”
Scott Frost Expecting 1st Child Within the Week
Frost and his wife are expecting their first child sometime this week. Naturally, Frost will stay in Orlando if his child is not born before the team travels and plays Southern Methodist University on Saturday. If that is the case, Frost said Chinander would take over head-coaching duties on the sideline and offensive coordinator Troy Walters would manage playcalling duties.
HC SCOTT FROST: “I am nervous. I’m more nervous about that than I am football. I have a lot going on right now, and I’m lucky that I have so many good players and coaches around me. If the worst case happens, and I can’t be at the game, that’s a choice that I’ll have to make. I got 100-percent confidence. Coach Chinander would take over head-coaching duties on the sideline with the help of [running-backs coach Ryan Held], who’s been a head coach. And Coach Walters actually called a good piece of the game on Saturday. We wanted to do that to make sure that he had a few reps doing that in case I wasn’t there at the SMU game, and he did an unbelievable job. So, this staff is capable, competent, and they don’t need me. Any single person in this organization isn’t indispensable, and that includes me. So, this place will be fine if I have to be with Ashley.”
Shaquem Griffin Scored 1st-ever Touchdown Against Austin Peay
Redshirt senior Shaquem Griffin had never scored a touchdown in all his football career—until the win over Austin Peay, that is. With just under 10 minutes to play in the second quarter, linebacker Pat Jasinski stripped the ball, and Griffin scooped the ball and broke through the imaginary tape like a sprinter at the front of the end zone for his first-ever touchdown. Just moments after the game was over, his twin brother, cornerback Shaquill Griffin of the Seattle Seahawks, called to “congratulate” him.
LB SHAQUEM GRIFFIN: “[Shaquill] literally called, like, three minutes after the game. As soon as I got to my phone, I just seen three missed calls from him, and once I called him back, he was like, ‘So you thought you were running fast to break the tape at the line?’ I said, ‘It felt like I was running fast.’ I said, ‘Maybe I need like five more yards to kinda pick up some speed,’ and I was said, ‘I had to do my little [Adrian Killins impression] in the end zone,’ so you know I felt like I was going fast. He was like, ‘Well, just so you know, you weren’t going that fast. I’m let you know that now.’ So he kinda bust my bubble a little bit, but the main thing is I got in the end zone.”
For more on the Knights, as they prepare for SMU and their first game back in AAC play, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
