Week four highlighted by hard work, transfers, and injuries

With the end of spring camp on the horizon, deciding who will be the leader of the new Scott Frost led football team may not be fully answered by the end of the week . To make matters more interesting, the spring transfer portal opens on April 16th, which will bring some interesting decisions. Several players have already entered, ending their story with the Knights, while others face adversity in the form of injuries or uncertainty. As the Knights race to the finish before fall camp, week four featured the running back room and offensive line fighting to make a name for coaches and teammates. 

The Elephant in the Quarterback Room

• Dylan Rizk has reportedly entered the transfer portal per On3 Sports Pete Nakos.

• Open practices revealed several tough moments for Rizk, including inaccurate passes and interceptions. 

• The race for starting QB position changes without Rizk in the mix, but has anybody separated themselves from the rest?

Running Back Brotherhood

• TBD: trust, brotherhood and determination – is an acronym used by running backs coach Jimmy Beal 

• The room is competitive, everyone is playing off of each other and it’s paying off.

• Everything is fast paced, but that hasn’t been a problem for this group of running backs.

• Based on the talent in the locker room, running backs coach Jimmy Beal said that the whole room will get a chance to play this season.

Offensive Line Losing Ground

• O-line coach Shawn Clark says the group isn’t where he wants them to be right now.

• While other positions are well past fundamentals, Clark says this group is still smoothing out the wrinkles.

• While Frost’s fast paced offensive mentality may not be an easy adjustment for everyone, several offensive linemen have expressed their enjoyment working under Frost and Clark’s structure.

• Clark guarantees that the best five men will end the spring camp with a leg up on starting in the fall.

The Injury Report

• Redshirt senior quarterback Cam Fancher appeared to suffer an injury to his throwing hand during Friday’s practice. He was not a participant in practice as UCF started week 5

• Sophomore wide receiver Day Day Farmer suffered a knee injury during Friday’s practice. He later shared a post on Instagram indicating that he would not play in the 2025 season

• If Fancher’s injury persists, how will it affect the quarterback battle moving forward?

With Rizk’s recent departure from UCF and the uncertainty of the severity of Fancher’s hand injury, the quarterback battle may be between just two. Redshirt junior Tayven Jackson and redshirt junior Jacurri Brown will have an opportunity to split reps in the final week of spring camp as they make their case for a starting spot. 

It’s been established that the running back room is moving quickly, which Coach Frost anticipated. Running backs coach Jimmy Beal says that redshirt senior Myles Montgomery and redshirt senior Jaden Nixon have been complimenting each other well, but reassured that every running back in his position room will play this season based on their talent.

“Coach is not joking, the whole room is going to play,” Montgomery said in a post-practice press conference.” “That’s good to be able to say that because you’re just confident everyone knows what they’re doing.”

The trust that every running back knows what to do on the field goes along with Beal’s mentality of TBD; trust, brotherhood and determination. 

“I tell my guys to go hard every single play, and they need to have trust that their brother is going to be able to come in the next play and do whatever he has to do,” Beal said in a post-practice press conference. “And we’re determined not to fail.”

So far it seems that this group has no issues when it comes to willingness, work ethic, and overall talent, as Nixon said “something special is coming.”

Over on the offensive line, however, it’s been made clear that the group still has a long way to go before the start of the season. While coach Clark says he’s proud of the group’s work ethic, attitude and effort, the execution simply isn’t consistent yet.

“We have a lot of work to do for sure, but again it goes back to base fundamentals,” Clark said in a post-practice press conference.

If one thing is consistent, it’s the linemen’s determination to improve under coach Frost’s fast paced offense. Redshirt senior Keegan Smith said that the strong bond that Frost has with the team makes it easier for them to leave everything out on the field. 

“We’re very comfortable around him, we could go talk to him, you know, it’s awesome,” Smith said in a post-practice press conference. “ We wanna fight for that guy.”

The want to improve is evident in the O-Line, and coach Clark guarantees that the best five guys will be protecting the quarterback come the start of the season.

What’s Next?

• This week marks the last week of spring camp, and although there are no more open practices, fans may still want to keep an eye out for updates on the transfer portal to get a better idea as to who may occupy the two-deep roster this fall.

As for the injuries, it’s hard to say whether they will affect what we see in the fall, but of course, it will still be something to take into consideration as we get closer to the end of spring camp.