Every UCF Knights Player Drafted Under Scott Frost

Frost's first player selected in the NFL Draft came after his first season with the Knights in 2016.

Going into that season, cornerback Shaquil Griffin was coming off his first collegiate season playing double-digit games in 2015, tallying 43 tackles and pulling off a 102-yard pick-six. in his only interception. Not only did he maintain similar tackle under Frost in 2016, with slightly higher 49 tackles, he also racked up four interceptions, including his second career pick six. This helped him earn Second Team All-AAC honors.

This production drew the attention of the Seattle Seahawks, who were in the late stages of their Legion of Boom era at the time. They ended up drafting Griffin with the 90th overall pick in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Griffin spent his first five seasons in the NFL as a regular starter, doing so for double-digit games in each one. His first four were for the Seahawks, while 2021 saw him sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Griffin’s time as a regular starter came to an end, however, after a back injury in Week 6 of the 2022 season. He did still see the field with the Houston Texans and Carolina Panthers and was a regular contributor off the bench for the Minnesota Vikings in 2024. As of this writing, he is coming off his first season back with the Seahawks. He may have only seen the field in two games, bouncing between the active roster and the practice squad, but it was the team that ended up winning the Super Bowl.

2. Tre'Quan Smith

Tre’Quan Smith had already carved a space for himself in the UCF offense in 2015, as, despite the Knights’ winless record, he was still awarded the AAC’s Rookie Player of the Year honor after catching 52 passes for 724 yards and four touchdowns. It was the most catches and receiving yards by a freshman in program history.

Once Frost arrived in 2016, Smith saw a marginal increase in production, catching 57 catches for 853 yards and five touchdowns, but then came 2017. He might not have caught that many more passes than he normally did, just 59, but he made the most out of every one, racking up 1,171 yards, the current sixth-most in a single season in program history, and 13 touchdowns, tied for the second-most in a season in program history. He was named Second Team All-AAC for his efforts.

All told, Smith finished his career with 2,748 receiving yards, the most of any Knight in the 21st century, and 22 touchdowns, the fourth-most by a Knight in program history.

Smith caught the attention of the New Orleans Saints, who drafted him with the 91st overall pick in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He spent five full seasons with the franchise, never becoming a regular starter, but still being a consistent contributor, getting between 278 and 448 yards in a season. He ended up getting released from the Saints in 2023 after being placed on injured reserve.

Since being released from the Saints, Smith was on the practice squad and played in one game for the Denver Broncos in 2023, and signed a reserve/future contract with the Detroit Lions in 2024.

3. Mike Hughes

After winning an NJCAA national title with Garden City Community College, cornerback Mike Hughes transferred to UCF in 2017. What followed was a season etched in UCF lore forever.

Hughes went on to make 49 tackles, defend 11 passes, force a fumble and make two interceptions, but Knights fans are always going to remember him for his game-sealing 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that preserved UCF's undefeated season after a close War on I-4 matchup against South Florida.

That touchdown also helped Hughes become one of 11 players to ever score at least one touchdown in three different categories, doing so via his two kick return touchdowns, a punt return for a touchdown and a pick six, according to UCF's football record book. For his efforts that season, he was named a First Team All-AAC cornerback, a Second Team All-AAC return specialist and a Second Team All-American by FWAA and Phil Steele.

His 2017 season gained the attention of the Minnesota Vikings, who drafted Hughes with the 30th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He is the fourth, and most recent, first-round draft pick in program history.

Injuries plagued Hughes first and third seasons in the NFL with the Vikings. However, he ended up becoming a regular contributor off the bench, with a few starts here and there, starting in 2021, when he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. This continued with the Detroit Lions in 2022 and the Atlanta Falcons in 2023 before he got his first chance at being a regular starter for the Falcons in 2024. Hughes is now coming off his eighth season in the NFL, and third with the Falcons, which ended prematurely due to a season-ending ankle injury in Week 15.

4. Jordan Akins

Jordan Akins is the third and most recent UCF tight end to get selected in the NFL Draft, and was the first since Mike Merritt heard his name called in 2008. He is also the Knights’ highest-selected tight end, with the Texans picking him in the third round with the 98th overall pick.

Under Frost, Akins, coming off a season-ending injury in 2015, transitioned from a wide receiver to tight end, which saw his reception count increase in 2016 and 2017. The latter season served as the magnum opus of his UCF career with 32 receptions for 515 yards and four touchdowns.

Akins spent his first five seasons of his NFL career with the Texans, with a brief four-month offseason detour with the New York Giants in 2022. He was never a regular starter, though he still got several in, ranging from 214 to 495 yards in any given season. However, his 2022 campaign, after returning to Houston from the Giants, ended up being his most productive yet with 495 yards and five touchdowns in 15 games, despite starting just three times.

Following his 2022 campaign, Akins signed with the Cleveland Browns and spent two seasons in a similar role that he had with the Texans as a backup tight end who got a start here and there. As of this writing, he is coming off a 2025 season that saw him sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad.

5. Shaquem Griffin

Unlike his brother, Shaquill, Shaquem Griffin, whose lack of a left hand due to getting it amputated to relieve pain from the amniotic band syndrome has been well-documented, did not see the field before Frost arrived on the scene in Orlando.

In an article for The Players’ Tribune, he said his “lowest of lows” was the summer of 2015 when the coaching staff, led by then-coach George O’Leary, kept Shaquill on campus for summer workouts while sending Shaquem home, where he worked out and towed cars with his father.

However, Griffin credits Frost with bringing him "back into the light." He made his UCF playing debut in 2016, a season that saw him finish as an All-AAC First Team selection and the AAC's Defensive Player of the Year after getting 86 tackles, six passes defended, 10.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception.

Griffin repeated his First Team All-AAC selection in 2016 while adding a Second Team All-American honor to boot after tallying 74 tackles, three passes defended, seven sacks, two forced fumbles and a pick six in 2017. He was also named the 2018 Peach Bowl’s Defensive MVP after getting 12 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

After grabbing headlines at the NFL Scouting Combine thanks to performing 20 reps on the bench press with a prosthetic left hand and running a 4.38-second 40-yard dash time, the Seattle Seahawks selected Griffin in the fifth round with the 141st overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, joining his brother’s team and becoming the first one-handed player to get drafted. He was also the first UCF linebacker to be selected in the draft since Bruce Miller in 2011.

Griffin spent three seasons in the NFL with the Seahawks, mainly playing on special teams, though he still recorded 25 tackles over his three regular seasons and recorded a sack on Aaron Rodgers with his brother in a 2019 NFL Divisional Round game.

After spending the 2021 season with the Miami Dolphins and playing on their practice squad, Griffin announced his retirement from football in a Players' Tribune article in August 2022. Since then, he has become a motivational speaker and joined the NFL Legends Community. He was inducted into the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame in 2024.

6. Trysten Hill

Arriving at UCF for Frost’s first season in 2016, Trysten Hill was an immediate starter for the Knights at defensive end, tallying 16 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. He followed this up with Second Team All-AAC honors in 2017 thanks to upping his totals to 20 tackles, four tackles for loss, a pair of sacks and five quarterback hurries.

Following Frost's departure in 2018, Hill ended up getting relegated to a bench role, making just one start, but still managed to record 36 tackles and three sacks.

Hill ended up getting selected in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft with the 58th overall pick by the Dallas Cowboys, becoming the second-ever UCF defensive tackle to hear his name called, joining Terrell Troup in 2010. He spent three full seasons with the Cowboys, and even got work as a starter in 2020, but a torn ACL ended his season early after just five games.

In 2022, Hill played his first seven games with the Cowboys as a backup defensive tackle, but was then placed on waivers and claimed by the Arizona Cardinals, where he played a similar role through the end of the season. This was followed by a pair of seasons with the New England Patriots that saw him bounce between the practice squad and active roster, which allowed him to see the field three times.

A new group of Knights now awaits to join this group of players when the NFL Draft opens on Thursday in Pittsburgh.