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One thing the UCF Knights don’t have to deal with after an undefeated #NationalChampionship season is a QB controversy. McKenzie Milton is THE MAN at UCF and there is no disputing that. His #Heisman worthy 2017 season was the greatest ever by a QB in UCF Football’s history. The reigning AAC Offensive Player of The Year, Milton passed for 4,037 yards and 37 touchdowns, against only 9 interceptions. He also ran for another 613 yards and 8 more scores. Nationally, his season overall was second only to #1 NFL Draft pick Baker Mayfield, with a passer rating of 179.3.
Everything in the previous paragraph is all that’s good about the UCF QB situation, but also everything that’s potentially bad. McKenzie Milton’s impressive wake is enormous, leaving a vacuum of experience at the QB experience behind him. Milton’s domination of the position since he enrolled as a true freshman has not only made it difficult for UCF to recruit heirs to his throne, but have also lead to a mass exodus of potential backups should the unmentionable happen. Since McKenzie Milton set foot on campus, 4 quarterbacks with college football game experience have transferred out, because of either a lack of playing time or bad fit with UCF’s offense.
Only the very talented Darriel Mack Jr. remains as UCF’s other QB on scholarship. Mack narrowly lost out on being UCF’s back up last year, before being redshirted, and will most certainly assume that role this year with last year’s #2 QB being one of the transfers talked about previously. Mercifully, the UCF QB position depth received a boost when preferred walk on Hayden Kingston transferred in last year, originally being a Wake Forest commit and now eligible to play. Also helping out will be undervalued local preferred walk on Quadry Jones, who will likely redshirt his freshman year.
QB/HT/WT/YR/247 RATING
McKenzie Milton 5’11/185/Jr/.8362
Darriel Mack Jr. 6’3/230/Fr/.8477
Hayden Kingston 5’11/194/So/NR
Quadry Jones 5’10/175/Fr/.7742