Knights ready to kick off season after tough fall camp

Gus Malzahn told his players at the start of UCF ‘s fall camp that he would put them through the wringer.

The Knights coach felt his team was soft and lacked discipline during their first season in the Big 12 , leading to the team’s disappointing 6-7 finish. It was the program’s first losing season since 2016 and the first-ever losing mark during Malzahn’s college career.

Nearly five weeks later, UCF has moved past camp and turned its attention to the season opener against New Hampshire on Thursday (7 p.m., ESPN+). But the lessons remain as the Knights prepare to kick off Year 2 in the Big 12.

“Grit and toughness,” fifth-year quarterback KJ Jefferson said of this camp’s lessons. “We’re a physical football team, from the coaching staff down to the players. We’re feeding off that energy and showing our toughness. When we face adverse situations, how are we going to respond? Are you going to lay down, or will you fight?”

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“Tough and together has been our team motto, and we’ve been that the whole camp,” said senior receiver Kobe Hudson .

Throughout camp, the Knights have been tested by coaches, who strained the players to see how they would respond to adversity. Last season, the team often was tied or leading in the second half of its games only to come up short at the end.

With the help of a new strength and conditioning program and the addition of 43 new players who arrived through recruiting or the transfer portal, UCF believes it has what it takes to compete. But these results won’t happen until it takes the field this week against the Wildcats.

“We’re tired of going against each other, battling each other. It’s time to turn our attention to preparing for the game,” said Jefferson, a transfer from Arkansas. “Our sense of urgency needs to be higher now, and we need to make sure we’re preparing the right way for any situation in the game;  we’re ready for it.”

“I’m happy fall camp has ended because we’ve been beating up on each other all camp,” said Hudson. “It’s been a fight, and we’ve been fighting, so when game time comes, the togetherness is going to be crazy because we’ve been out here giving our all in the 93-degree weather every day, so the only people we can turn to in the fourth quarter is each other.”

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UCF has won eight straight season openers since 2016 and hasn’t lost to a Football Championship Subdivision team since 2015. The Knights are a heavy favorite (42.5 points) against New Hampshire, which hasn’t beaten a Power Four team since 2006.

Despite the opponent, players are ready to get back to work.

“I’m excited about it,” said redshirt junior defensive tackle Matthew Alexander. “I know everybody is fired up about it. I think we can get to the Big 12 championship, honestly. I can’t wait to see what we’ll end up doing.”

Matt Murschel can be reached at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com