Scott Frost targets full-time offensive line coach for UCF football
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ORLANDO — Before addressing the future of UCF’s offensive line coaching vacancy, Scott Frost first reflected upon the friend he lost three months ago.
Shawn Clark died Sept. 21, at the age of 50, due to complications from a medical emergency. The former Appalachian State head coach joined Frost’s staff in January, though the two men had no prior working relationship.
His sudden passing rocked the college football world, and devastated UCF’s players and staff members.
“That was tough on me. That was tough on us,” Frost said during his Dec. 3 press conference. “When you’re in the position we’re in and something like that happens, you almost just have to ignore it and do your job. To be honest, I don’t think a lot of us had time to process. I just spoke to (Clark’s wife) Jonelle two nights ago and she’s still processing it.
“I can’t tell you how good a guy he was. Of all the people I’ve ever coached with, he’s one of my favorite guys that I’ve ever been around. I just loved seeing him every day. He was such a positive influence on everybody in our building. I’m just crushed for the family, and I miss him, personally.”
Alex Farah, Clark’s handpicked assistant, and Danny Hope, the former Purdue head coach who served as his mentor, filled the void for the final nine games. Farah was promoted from offensive quality control coach to co-offensive line coach during the season.
“Coach Bear (Farah) did a great job of keeping it on the rails and doing what he could to make sure that position kept performing,” Frost said. “Danny Hope came in, a friend of Shawn’s, and wanted to help because of how much he cared about Shawn. It wasn’t certainly ideal, but the problems of a football team are insignificant compared to the impact that could have on a family and human beings.”
However, Frost said he has monitored filling the full-time role for “a while now,” narrowing down a pool of candidates last week with intention to make a hire “sooner rather than later.”
Frost could have a wide array of choices, given the enormous turnover in the coaching ranks this offseason. There have been 29 head coaching changes in the Football Bowl Subdivision to date, including 15 in the Power Four alone.
New hires are still in the process of determining whether to retain existing assistants or cut them loose. Staff members are often retained through the early signing period to ensure recruits stay on board.
Whoever UCF hires will have his work cut out. After a 5-7 campaign, the Knights project to lose three starters to graduation — left tackle Paul Rubelt, left guard Jabari Brooks and right guard/center Cam Kinnie.
According to Pro Football Focus, UCF tied with Delaware for 54th in pass protection (71.1 grade) and ranked 92nd in run blocking (56.7). The Knights allowed 20 sacks (T-53rd in FBS) and 94 pressures in 12 games.
UCF finished the season 70th in rushing offense (158 yards per game), 74th in passing offense (220.8 yards per game) and 89th in scoring (24.3 points per game).
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Scott Frost seeks full-time UCF Knights football offensive line coach
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