Tasked with filling out his first coaching staff at UCF, Scott Frost knew exactly who to turn to for the quarterbacks coach job: Mario Verduzco.
It wasn't just that the pair had worked together several years ago at Northern Iowa. There was a common tie - Bill Walsh. Frost had learned under the legendary coach while a student-athlete at Stanford, while Verduzco worked with Walsh during his annual Quarterback Seminars.
When Frost was named Oregon's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2013 - this after coaching wide receivers - he immediately consulted with Verduzco.
'When I got the coordinator job at Oregon three years ago, (Verduzco) was the guy I went to," Frost said in a recent USA TODAY interview. "He was the best I've ever been around as far as being a technician with quarterbacks, and I've been around some really good ones. He actually learned from Bill Walsh a long time ago, who I learned from at Stanford. A lot of the things mechanically that I taught Marcus (Mariota) and Vernon (Adams) I got from Mario, and he came out and he was one of the few that I shared some of our offensive philosophies (while at Oregon)."
Following the final practice before the spring game, UCFSports.com caught up with the man who will play a key role in shaping UCF offenses for years to come.
I know you've still got the spring game coming up, but looking back on all the days, how has it been? Has it been a good spring?
"I think to echo what Coach Frost said a couple weeks ago, the guys have learned how to play fast, which is awesome. They've done a tremendous job of that. Now the second piece of the puzzle is that they've started how to learn to play with detail when they're playing fast. That's starting to come as well."
You obviously got to know Frost when you were at Northern Iowa?
"I actually met Scott when he was first at Stanford. That's when I first met him. He won't remember. That's where I first met him."
Were you at a practice?
"He was there that summer working out with Coach Walsh. They had the Quarterback Seminar at Stanford at that time. I was working with Coach Walsh and the other guys. He was there working out. I got introduced to him that first time. That's when I first met him. Obviously we hooked up again when he came to Northern Iowa."
What were those years like at Northern Iowa? I know he played the position, but he's said he's learned more about quarterback from spending time with you. What were those days like because he was coaching defense, you were offense, but he was obviously interested in what you guys were doing.
"Coach Frost is too kind. I appreciate that compliment coming from a quarterback like him. We got a chance to talk quite a bit. He obviously did a tremendous job for us there. He brought in the Tampa Two defense which was tremendously successful. As I was mentioning to Chip (Fontanazza) a couple weeks ago, you just knew if he wanted to become a head ball coach at this level or even in the NFL, it was just a matter of him wanting to do it and a matter of time. Brilliant guy. Tremendous personality. Great guy to be around."
How did it work out for you to join him down here? It seems like you were one of the first guys he called.
"My good friend Dave Steckel who was at Missouri for a lot of years, the defensive coordinator there, took the job at Missouri State. So Steck asked me to go and I would not pass up that opportunity for anything. Then it so happens that Frost called me in December. Coach Steck understood. He was gracious about it. Very complimentary about me having the opportunity to come here and be with Coach Frost. It was great. It was tremendous. I'm about as honored a ball coach in the country as you can imagine being here at Central Florida with Coach Frost, Coach Chins and the guys. It's great."
What do you like most about coaching quarterbacks?
"As I was trying to intimate to Chip, there's so many facets to the position. We break it up into four domains of learning. The affective domain having to do with leadership. The pyschomotor domain having to do with the skillwork. The cognitive domain having to do with playbook stuff and the physical domain, all the offseason quarterback workouts. There's always something that keeps your mind perked about getting better at the position. I enjoy that. Then obviously throwing the football is an interesting skill. That requires a lot of attention. It's just exciting to be around these kind of guys. Like Nick Patti over there. Quarterbacks are typically self-motivated guys. They're a great group to always be around."
What kind of offense were you running at Northern Iowa? Were there similarities to what you want to do here?
"When we first got to Northern Iowa, we were more of a West Coast style offense, even though we would get in the gun. Then with Scott's influence in the last three or four years I was there, we went more Oregon obviously. At Missouri State, we were all Oregon-style offense. He was gracious and kind to me to give me some of the information that we needed."
How have the quarterbacks adjusted this spring? Holman has been a guy that has a lot of experience. Nick Patti might have the most experience in this kind of system having played at Boise. I know there are some other guys competing too. How is that mix working out?
"They're doing great. All the quarterbacks are learning a lot. Like I said, they're no different than the rest of the guys. They're learning how to play fast which they've done a great job with. Now the detail of playing fast. So all the guys, all the cubes are doing a nice job. Absolutely."
When did you realize you wanted to be a coach?
"I've always to be a ball coach. All my life. It's all I ever wanted to do. Then I coached high school ball back in Cali. Then I was a junior college coach with Jeff Garcia's dad, then went to Division I at San Jose State with Terry Shea and the rest is history. Here I am now."
How do you like Orlando?
"Love it, man! My wife got here about a week and a half ago."
I actually met her over inside the Wayne Densch the other day.
"Oh, good! Pretty girl. She's my girl, man. She's having a great time. My son is still at Missouri State in pre-med. He'll be here in the middle to end of May. He's going to transfer here. Hopefully he gets accepted. His paperwork is going through right now. He's never received a B in his life. He's a tremendous student. Things are great. Life couldn't be better, man. It's awesome."
How much are you looking forward to this season? I know it may take some time for all the pieces to fit. I know it's a process, but are you excited about the potential of what this program could be and the talent you have in Florida to run this system?
"You've heard Coach Frost talk about what's here. For me, I'm just focused on getting the quarterbacks better. That's why I'm here. That's my job, to get them coached up and then regardless what happens during the season, make sure we're getting better every practice, every game, from game to game and then the entire year. If the cubes do their job, we at least have a chance."
