Carolina and UCF Share Striking Similarities Ahead of Matchup

The Knights come off an early-season bye after opening 2-0. They narrowly defeated Jacksonville State 17-10 in the opener before routing North Carolina A&T 68-7 in Week 2.

Both programs share two key similarities: the connection between North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick and Frost, and significant roster overhauls at each school.

Belichick Coached Frost at the New York Jets

When Belichick was the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets under Bill Parcells from 1997 to 1999, Frost was on the Jets’ 53-man roster.

Although Frost made his name as Nebraska’s quarterback, guiding the Cornhuskers to an undefeated season and a share of the national championship in 1997, the New York Jets drafted him in the third round with plans to convert him to safety. Frost adapted to the switch and spent three seasons playing in Belichick’s defense before Belichick left for the New England Patriots head-coaching position in 2000.

• "I've coached against a few people that I've had before. When we drafted Scott in the third round he was a college quarterback and made the conversion to safety. He had a lot to learn, obviously, but picked it up pretty quickly. He also played in the kicking game and picked that up.

• "He had a very good feel for it defensively with what the offense did. What the quarterback was looking at and what kind of what the quarterback read and things like that. For those players that have flipped from one side of the ball to the other, having that experience, especially as a defensive back having played quarterback, is a big advantage.

Frost has admiration for his former coach as well, reflecting on Belichick’s strategic brilliance.

• "Probably my No. 1 memory of him is just how smart he is," Frost said at Big 12 Media Days. "We have a different game plan every week for people and he did really good at taking away another team's strength and making people beat us left-handed."

Carolina and UCF are Also Similar in their Roster Makeup 

Over the offseason, North Carolina added 70 new players to its roster. While that seems like a lot, that’s what happens when you have a new coaching staff.  UCF went through a similar situation, as the Knights have welcomed 63 new players to their program. Offensive lineman Paul Rublet is the only player for UCF who started all 12 games last season.

Similar to North Carolina and their quarterback Gio Lopez, who transferred in from South Alabama, UCF’s starter is quarterback Tayven Jackson. Jackson has completed 29 of his 45 pass attempts (64.4%) for 471 yards and tossed two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also has rushed 10 times for 35 yards and two touchdowns if you take away the sack yardage.

They also have an explosive receiving corps with wide receivers Duane Thomas and DJ Black, along with tight end Dylan Wade, all of whom were acquired in the transfer portal.

Thomas leads the team with seven catches for 117 yards, averaging 16.7 yards per reception. He is a Charlotte transfer.

Black has six catches for 86 yards and a touchdown. He is a transfer from Division II Limestone College, where he had 939 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns.

Jackson threw the game-winning  33-yard touchdown pass to Black with 63 seconds remaining to defeat Jacksonville State 17-10 in the season opener. 

Wade has four catches for 54 yards and a touchdown this season. While with Maryland in 2024, he had 29 catches for 374 yards and two touchdowns.

Jaden Nixon is another notable transfer. Despite only having six carries for the season, he is the team’s leading rusher with 150 yards and two touchdowns. Nixon came over from Western Michigan, where he rushed for 971 yards and earned first-team All-MAC honors.

Four of the five starters on UCF’s offensive line are transfers..

Those four are right tackle Preston Cushman (Ole Miss), right guard Keegan Smith (Central Michigan), center Carter Miller (James Madison) and left guard Gaard Memmelaar (Washington).

On defense, seven of the 11 starters are transfers that are new to the team.

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