Lots of good info from @Brandon Helwig on the UCF Staff and the bowl game.
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Yes, Scott Frost is taking everyone.
The Wayne Densch offices were already pretty much empty, the temporary holdovers being interim coach Troy Walters and tight ends coach Sean Beckton.
Walters was hoping to get serious consideration for the head coaching job. He did interview. But when Danny White hired Josh Heupel, the writing was on the wall Walters wouldn't remain at UCF past the bowl game. I always knew he had an offer to go to Nebraska, but he was also getting interest from other schools as well, including South Carolina. It rarely happens when an interim coach that is passed over sticks around to be part of a new staff. It would have been an awkward situation for Heupel, knowing many of the players were rooting for Walters to get his job.
I also knew Sean Beckton had an opportunity to go to Nebraska. The offer was there from day one, but he told Frost to give him time to see what potential opportunity there might be at UCF.
In Beckton's eyes, maybe UCF/Heupel's push to stay came a little too late, but it might not have made any difference. You can't really fault Heupel here - offering Beckton $350,000 was a more-than-generous offer, but at the end of the day I'm told he preferred sticking with Frost. Those guys have built an incredible bond over these past two years. It's not just players, but coaches would run through a brick wall for Frost. Beckton will get $400,000 at Nebraska, practically a wash when you consider state income tax and the prospect of picking up and moving.
I think most of us who have been around in the Dungeon know who @4ever_a_knight7 is - former UCF quarterback Kyle Israel - but go read his take on everything if you haven't already. He's right.
While the Walters/Beckton news was breaking late in the afternoon, ESPN 580 was trying to get Josh Heupel on the phone for an interview. He was 15 minutes late, but eventually did say this when asked about the reports:
"I think those guys probably will be heading to Lincoln," Heupel said. "I tried to reach out to those guys, tried to keep them. I think they're tied to Scott a little bit. I obviously wanted them here. Troy has done an absolutely fantastic job on the offensive side of the ball. Coach Beckton helped build this program from when he was a player here. I told him he's always going to be a Knight."
Heupel also added they'd be announcing some staff hires within 24/48 hours.
The Beckton and Walters news hit the team hard, I'm told. A few tweeted about it. Dredrick Snelson posted something that insinuated he would be transferring, but shortly afterward he deleted that tweet and posted a more encouraging one.
I'm not sure if the practice schedule has been completely finalized, but I'm told players are expecting Tuesday and Thursday practices next week. Right now, I'm hearing Scott Frost should be there on Tuesday. We'll see who else will be. Definitely Walters and Beckton.
Speaking of Frost, he was in Atlanta Thursday night accepting his Coach of the Year award. He wore UCF and Nebraska lapel pins. ESPN host Chris Fowler said "Golden Knights" three times in his remarks.
FWIW, I'm hearing McKenzie Milton is excited about the Heupel hire and seeing what he did at Missouri with Drew Lock this past season.
On the recruiting front, JUCO CB commit Elijah Jones decommitted and reopened his recruitment. Tampa TE Justin McGriff, who was offered personally by Frost this past Monday, announced he will be visiting Nebraska this weekend.
I contacted all the UCF commits on Tuesday/Wednesday, but I won't check in again until there's news on the coaching front. These guys are anxious to see who the new hires will be.
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Yes, Scott Frost is taking everyone.
The Wayne Densch offices were already pretty much empty, the temporary holdovers being interim coach Troy Walters and tight ends coach Sean Beckton.
Walters was hoping to get serious consideration for the head coaching job. He did interview. But when Danny White hired Josh Heupel, the writing was on the wall Walters wouldn't remain at UCF past the bowl game. I always knew he had an offer to go to Nebraska, but he was also getting interest from other schools as well, including South Carolina. It rarely happens when an interim coach that is passed over sticks around to be part of a new staff. It would have been an awkward situation for Heupel, knowing many of the players were rooting for Walters to get his job.
I also knew Sean Beckton had an opportunity to go to Nebraska. The offer was there from day one, but he told Frost to give him time to see what potential opportunity there might be at UCF.
In Beckton's eyes, maybe UCF/Heupel's push to stay came a little too late, but it might not have made any difference. You can't really fault Heupel here - offering Beckton $350,000 was a more-than-generous offer, but at the end of the day I'm told he preferred sticking with Frost. Those guys have built an incredible bond over these past two years. It's not just players, but coaches would run through a brick wall for Frost. Beckton will get $400,000 at Nebraska, practically a wash when you consider state income tax and the prospect of picking up and moving.
I think most of us who have been around in the Dungeon know who @4ever_a_knight7 is - former UCF quarterback Kyle Israel - but go read his take on everything if you haven't already. He's right.
While the Walters/Beckton news was breaking late in the afternoon, ESPN 580 was trying to get Josh Heupel on the phone for an interview. He was 15 minutes late, but eventually did say this when asked about the reports:
"I think those guys probably will be heading to Lincoln," Heupel said. "I tried to reach out to those guys, tried to keep them. I think they're tied to Scott a little bit. I obviously wanted them here. Troy has done an absolutely fantastic job on the offensive side of the ball. Coach Beckton helped build this program from when he was a player here. I told him he's always going to be a Knight."
Heupel also added they'd be announcing some staff hires within 24/48 hours.
The Beckton and Walters news hit the team hard, I'm told. A few tweeted about it. Dredrick Snelson posted something that insinuated he would be transferring, but shortly afterward he deleted that tweet and posted a more encouraging one.
I'm not sure if the practice schedule has been completely finalized, but I'm told players are expecting Tuesday and Thursday practices next week. Right now, I'm hearing Scott Frost should be there on Tuesday. We'll see who else will be. Definitely Walters and Beckton.
Speaking of Frost, he was in Atlanta Thursday night accepting his Coach of the Year award. He wore UCF and Nebraska lapel pins. ESPN host Chris Fowler said "Golden Knights" three times in his remarks.
FWIW, I'm hearing McKenzie Milton is excited about the Heupel hire and seeing what he did at Missouri with Drew Lock this past season.
On the recruiting front, JUCO CB commit Elijah Jones decommitted and reopened his recruitment. Tampa TE Justin McGriff, who was offered personally by Frost this past Monday, announced he will be visiting Nebraska this weekend.
I contacted all the UCF commits on Tuesday/Wednesday, but I won't check in again until there's news on the coaching front. These guys are anxious to see who the new hires will be.
