Commentary positive for UCF on HC Scott Frost's next move

ORLANDO, Fla – With an offense that's outscored all opponents by at least 27 points this season, speculation has begun to ramp up as far as which big-time schools will begin to court UCF football's head coach Scott Frost.

A few of the high-profile jobs that are expected to become available before the year is over include head coaching positions at the University of Tennessee in the SEC, and notably, Frost's alma mater, the struggling Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Recent program turnarounds at Virginia Tech University and Syracuse University, as a result of hiring innovative coaches like Justin Fuente and Dino Babers from the University of Memphis and Bowling Green State University respectively, have prompted an increasingly fashionable trend for athletic directors at big-name college football schools to poach other innovative types from lesser-known universities to lead their programs.  

While only a few institutions would be able to claim more geographical size than UCF, it would be just as difficult to argue the Knights' historical, long-term success in the world of college football. 

UCF has already been forced to respond to the murmurings of Nebraska's courtship - in the form FOX 35's Adam Shadoff reporting that the Knights athletic director Danny White "respectfully declines to comment on searches at other institutions," and the Orlando Sentinel reporting that UCF football's new donor "Football Excellence Fund" is more likely a "Keep Scott Frost in Orlando Fund," with the request made in hopes of giving the school the chance to be more financially competitive with bigger-name programs.

But while many former American Conference coaches like Fuente and Tom Herman from the University of Houston have fallen prey to the calls of these high-profile jobs, there has actually been a fair amount of national commentary suggesting that Frost may want to consider staying in Orlando.

When speaking to ESPN Radio's Ryen Russillo about the prospects of Scott bolting for Nebraska, director of college football scouting for ESPN's Scout's Inc, Todd McShay said, "I'd rather be at UCF. There is so much talent at UCF, in that area."

When prompted with the same notion of Frost returning to coach at his former school, Andy Staples, senior college football writer for Sports Illustrated, reminded everyone in a recent video that two years ago Frost, "picked the UCF job over others that he had offers for because of it's proximity to good players. Orlando is surrounded by good players."

Staples went on to discuss the fact that Frost "could be really good at UCF next season" as well, with so much of his roster set to return. 

Even Super Bowl winning head coach Tony Dungy entered the Frost conversation this week, tweeting the following response to the previously mentioned Orlando Sentinel story: "Nebraska missed its opportunity to hire Frost. Just as several Power 5 teams did. They are building something special at @UCF_Football."

With so many head coaching positions likely to open before the end of the year, fans of the Knights certainly have more to fear than just the University of Nebraska. But if the statements from some of the biggest names in the world of football are any indication, its clear that UCF has the points on its resume to be competitive with the best of them.