UCF head coach Gus Malzahn talks about the Military Bowl matchup vs. Duke, the promotion of Addison Williams to defensive coordinator, his plans for the vacant offensive coordinator spot and more.
Opening statement:
"A lot of moving parts right now. We're getting ready for signing day coming up Wednesday. We're preparing for Duke. We practiced the last two days. Really last three days. Had good practices. Really good energy. Playing a really good Duke team. Their coach (Mike Elko) was the conference coach of the year. A guy that I went against when he was a defensive coordinator (at Texas A&M). Have a lot of respect for him. Offensively, their quarterback (Riley Leonard), I'm very impressed with him. They do a very good moving the football. Defensively, they're very sound and do a super job with that. It'll be a good challenge for our guys. We're really looking forward to that."
You didn't waste any time yesterday promoting Addison Williams to defensive coordinator. Can you talk about that decision and how he's impressed you through the years. It seems like a guy you've had your eye on for a potential promotion.
"Addison, he's one of the bright up and coming coaches in college football. He caught my eye years back. He was with me in 2019 at Auburn. My right-hand guy, assistant to the head coach and analyst. He really helped me. We got him here and he's done a super job. I elevated him to assistant head coach during the summer. Just did a wonderful job. He's a rising star. He's a real football coach. Not just relationships, but he's great with the X's and O's and everything that goes with it. I couldn't be happier to have him leading our defense."
Did you consider external hires for defensive coordinator?
"No. He's a guy that has been waiting on this opportunity. Once T-Will, and I really appreciate T-Will and everything he's done for us the last two years. He's done a great job. I wish him nothing but the best as far as his next job. Once he decided to go, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Very excited that he's ready to do this."
On his coaching tree:
"I'm getting really old. I'll say this too. Addison had some other opportunities to be a defensive coordinator also. That tells you how the college football world feels about him. We've got some really good people in college football. That's real important to me. They treat kids right. They care about kids. Help them with their futures. I'm real proud of them as far as that goes with all the different guys we've got."
With so much going on with recruiting, signing day, the bowl game, how do you keep the guys focused on achieving a 10-win season?
"I think that's about the players. It's about leadership. They understand. It's been done seven times in school history. It's important for our seniors to go out on a winning note. Our players, if you watch us practice, they're motivated. They're ready to go. The thing about a bowl game is it finishes up the season, 10 wins is big, there's no doubt about that, but also the young guys, it gives them a chance to get themselves ready for next year. Y'all saw it last year. The momentum we had with the bowl win. That was really big."
Back to Addison, can you share anything maybe at Auburn or in the two years here where he did something that really stood out to you to make you think, 'This guy could be my future defensive coordinator.'
"His football knowledge is high, high, high. Not just defense, but offensively. To be a great defensive coordinator, I believe you've got to understand the offenses inside and out and vice versa with that. Then he was with me in 2019. I was a play caller. He really helped me. We'd kind of work together about defenses and offense. That really stood out to me. The biggest thing is just the person he is. He's a winner. He's got a chance to be great in this profession. There's very few people, whether it's a coach or a player that has a chance to be great and he's got all that. So I'm real excited for him personally and then me being a head coach, being able to take over our defense going into this new league, the timing is really good. for all that."
It's going to be really cold on game day. You can't simulate it here. How do you get ready for that?
"That will definitely be a factor. I do think it's going to be cold, looking at the forecast. We'll get up there three days before the game. We'll have two practices and do the best we can as far as that goes. Simulating. It's part of it. It's part of football. Our approach is we're going to be excited to play in that environment with everything that goes with it. We'll get there and put the ball down and be able to play."
How have you seen Addison connect with players? And is it fun for you as a coach to make the announcement in a team meeting and see the reaction?
"I don't know how many coaches replace someone within 24 hours and we did that. It was an easy decision like I said. He's earned the respect of our players. It's not just the defense. It's offense and special teams. He's earned the respect of everybody in our building. Not just the coaches, the trainers, everybody that works in our department. It was real exciting to be able to announce him. We'll hit the ground running. Had a great practice today."
How do you assess the success of this season before a bowl game?
"We've got nine wins. Obviously we played in the conference championship and we weren't happy we didn't win that game. After that game, you've got to take the next step. A chance to win 10 games. There's not many teams in college football that win 10 games. We're a program with a trajectory that's going up. We won nine games this year. This is important, to win 10 games, to get some momentum going into this new league."
You've got a bowl game coming up. Any word on Isaiah Bowser coming back to play in the bowl?
"He's ready to go. Had a great practice the last three practices. He's ready to go."
Are there bowl opt-outs? Every program seem like they have some with guys getting ready for the draft.
"As of right now, everybody is playing and all that. Obviously the guys that went in the portal have moved on. Our guys are locked in. They're ready to go."
Chip Lindsey left for a different job. How do you plan to replace that spot? You were calling plays the last couple years. What's your plan?
"First of all, I really appreciate Chip. He came in here for one year and really did a great job assisting me. He's got a really good opportunity. So really appreciate everything he did. Now that I've got our defensive coordinator situation, we've still got a position to fill. We'll work on that. We're going to get an offensive coordinator. We'll see what that looks like. This is a really attractive spot. There's a lot of really good candidates interested. That's a tribute to our players. We've got some real guys on offense. We'll get a really good one that will do a super job for us."
I know you said after you were hired you'd always want to call plays. Is that still your focus?
"To be completely transparent with you, being a head coach in this day and time in college football with the portal, the NIL, the fundraising and everything, that's a challenge. Even my coaches around college football, I think all head coaches that call plays are feeling that way. We're working through that. We'll see where that goes. Once I name a guy and announce it and all that, I'll make sure to be very specific about those areas. Make no mistake, it's a huge challenge for a head coach these days."
With the new rules, being able to see four-star John Walker out at practice with you, how does that feel going through the process, seeing him practice?
"I don't know the rules right now as far as being able to comment and all that. Give me a pass on that. I will say this: This recruiting class is going to be really good. I'm real excited. Our coaches are working extremely hard. I think Wednesday is going to be a really good day."
This break between the championship game and the bowl game, will John Rhys Plumlee be healthy?
"We tried to give our guys a full week and a half off. I know a lot of teams choose to practice and all that. We really didn't have an off week. We had the hurricane, so really no off week. We felt real strong about it. We were a little behind because when you're in a championship game, the other teams that aren't get to recruit for a week. Let our guys heal up. I think everybody is now a little fresher. Being out at practice, you can really feel that energy. We're expecting him to be as healthy as he can be. This time off has really helped everybody."
How do you assess this matchup with Duke?
"We're very excited about it, playing a Duke team that had a great year. That head coach, he's a real coach. He did a great job. Our players can see the film. You turn the film on and you have a lot of respect. They won a lot of games. The games they lost were really close. We're playing a really good team. Our guys understand that. I'm glad we're playing a really good team. Our players are too. It's a good bowl. Like I said, a big challenge will be being cold. Hey, that's football weather. I kinda like that every now and then. I think our players will too."
Some of the commentary for these bowl games are that teams maybe aren't dialed in, they aren't focused. You just alluded to it. How excited are you for this opportunity?
"Last year we were really motivated to play in that bowl game. We were chomping at the bit. That group, I promise you, will be doing the same thing. That's our challenge. The way our guys have responded the last couple days, they're excited to practice. Bowl games have a way, the younger guys come back re-energized and refocused, yeah win the game, but it's also getting momentum for next year. Some times you have new faces in bowl games. Whether it's special teams, offense, defense. Some guys get more opportunities. We had some guys leave. There's a lot of positive energy. That's our challenge. That's everybody's challenge in a bowl. You see it. These bowls aren't what they were five or 10 years ago. It's more about how is your team, how motivated they are. That's our challenge, but I really expect our guys to be ready to go. Like I said, we know our team is excited."
Signing Day is Wednesday. How much do you take into the star recruiting system and how do you evaluate recruits?
"From 20 years ago, I think there's more information for people to be more accurate as far as that. Still, it's not a perfect science. We turn the film on. I'm an old high school coach. I turn the film on and within five plays I can decide whether that guy can play or not. I don't really look at the stars. You've got to deal with it from a head coach's standpoint as far as momentum and fanbase. It's part of the job. We just need to finish. That's what we need to do. We're in a really good spot. Our coaches have worked extremely hard. I think we're in a really good spot."
Can you talk about the depth and development? It seems when you played the younger guys there was no drop off.
"We had a great recruiting class last year? We had some real players. We knew that. We had a veteran group coming back. When our twos and threes played, there wasn't a lot of drop off. We played good, clean football. That's real exciting. I expect this bowl game to carry over."
For bowl prep, who is going to coach the quarterbacks and linebackers?
"I'm helping with that. One of our analysts, (Brent) Bognar, we moved him up to the field. He's also going to assist with some of the things Coach Lindsey did. So that's what we'll do on the offensive side."
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