Over the course of greater than 4 years serving because the athletics director at UCF, Terry Mohajir has confronted the difficult job of hiring two head coaches for the soccer program.
He introduced Gus Malzahn into the fold, a well-known face from their time collectively at Arkansas State, hoping that Malzahn’s confirmed monitor report would assist elevate the soccer program to new heights. Whereas the rent raised some eyebrows amongst followers and analysts alike, it initially appeared to repay as the varsity made a profitable transition into the Large 12 in 2023.
Nevertheless, simply two seasons later, Mohajir discovered himself again at sq. one, in quest of a unique chief to steer this system.
This time, he turned to a different well-known title in school soccer: Scott Frost, the previous head coach of UCF.
Once more, it was a call that left some questioning whether or not Frost, who had been out of school soccer since 2022, might deal with the challenges of a faculty panorama that was a lot completely different than when he left Nebraska three years in the past.
5 months into Frost’s tenure, Mohajir is inspired by what he’s seen from his soccer coach.
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“We’re actually pleased with him,” Mohajir mentioned throughout final week’s Large 12 spring conferences in Orlando. “I needed to test on him fairly a bit throughout this transition after we employed him as a result of he was out for a yr, even his final yr at Nebraska; it wasn’t fairly prefer it was this previous yr with the switch portal.”
When Frost arrived in mid-December, UCF’s roster was in shambles.
As a result of inflow of gamers leaving by way of the switch portal, together with the commencement of a number of key athletes, the workforce discovered itself with solely 49 scholarship gamers left on the roster.
Frost wanted to rapidly fill these gaps earlier than spring camp started in early March. As camp concluded, the spring switch window opened, ensuing within the lack of over 20 gamers and the addition of greater than a dozen newcomers. In the end, Frost ended up with 60 new faces on the workforce.
“There’s a possibility when you have got a bunch of recent gamers, you have got lots of people coming, they’re coming right here for a motive, from everywhere in the nation, and they also have a standard purpose to be good,” Mohajir defined of the turnover. “We now have an actual alternative to make some noise subsequent yr.
“I’ve talked to lots of athletes and requested them questions, they usually appear to be very, very enthusiastic about this upcoming season. They cherished the spring. They cherished what they noticed. They cherished the teaching workers. They cherished how they have been being coached, how they have been being developed.”
Nonetheless, on this day of school gamers receiving fee for play, Mohajir believes not each participant who transfers is looking for solely monetary achieve.
“A few of the children that got here in, one of many issues I requested them was, why did you permit your faculty?” Mohajir mentioned. “The fascinating factor is that considered one of them advised me that on this new period of NIL transfers, coaches are afraid to educate with their hearts. He felt that he could possibly be pushed somewhat bit extra; ‘I’m only a fairly good participant, so I wanted to search out somebody I used to be going to get pushed by, not based mostly on what I used to be getting paid, as a substitute assist develop me.’
“That was the theme I heard from our gamers: they’re being developed in a unique method than at their earlier faculty. In order that was actually cool.”
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Mohajir described the previous couple of years as chaotic because of the switch portal and NIL offers. He hopes that the brand new Home settlement case will convey extra stability. He feels hopeful, greater than he has prior to now.
With lower than 12 weeks remaining earlier than the beginning of the 2025 season, he believes the Knights might be higher than final season’s disappointing 4-8 end.
“You’ll see us getting higher. I need to see progress and get higher,” he mentioned. “The league is actually good. It didn’t get any worse. My expectation is to win each recreation. Is it doubtless? In all probability not, however the expectation is at all times to win each recreation.”
Please discover me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Electronic mail: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com. Join the Sentinel’s Knights Weekly publication for a roundup of all our UCF protection.