Cam Fancher has won UCF’s quarterback competition and will start Thursday’s season opener against Jacksonville State. Scott Frost praised Fancher’s command of the offense and decision-making, but said all three QBs earned his trust during a competitive camp.
Scott Frost has made his decision.
Cam Fancher, the redshirt senior transfer from FAU and Marshall, will be UCF’s starting quarterback when the Knights kick off the 2025 season Thursday night against Jacksonville State. Fancher emerged from a tight three-man competition that also included Jacurri Brown and Tayven Jackson.
“Yeah, we’re going to start Cam Fancher,” Frost confirmed during his Monday press conference. “All three kids—I don’t want to say much more than that—all three kids did an unbelievable job. Cam’s going to run out there and it’s his job to begin the game, begin the season and we’ll go from there.”
Fancher arrived at UCF this past spring and brought with him the most starting experience. The Huber Heights, Ohio native has started 26 games across previous stops at Marshall (2021-23) and FAU (2024). He has just one year of eligibility remaining.
While Fancher will get the start, Frost stressed that the other quarterbacks remain very much in the picture.
“I trust all three, so I want good things to happen for all three of them,” Frost said. “If the situation arises, we’ll get some other guys in. We might even have a plan for that, but right now it’s Cam’s job.”
As for what helped separate Fancher from the others?
“Cam’s done a really good job with just command of the offense, control of everything,” Frost said. “He’s doing a good job turning broken plays into positive plays, but all three guys have done well, so it’s Cam’s job right now.”
It wasn’t an easy decision.
“Really, it was neck and neck right until the very end,” Frost added. “We got to a point where we had to make a decision, I think in the probably last four or five days before we decided. I think Cam probably played the best in those, but that’s not taking away from anybody else. I’ve got a ton of confidence in several other guys.”
Looking ahead to Thursday, Frost wants to see smart play and good decision-making, particularly in ball security, against a Jacksonville State team that has made a habit of forcing turnovers.
“Well, the first thing you want your quarterback to do is take care of the ball,” Frost said. “Jacksonville State has had a lot of success lately and a lot of it is turnovers. They’ve done a really good job with turnovers.
“You watch their tape, they have a lot of returners from the last couple years and they’ve done a really good job being aggressive and creating turnovers. Offensively, it’s never going to be perfect in game one. We just have to play hard and take care of the ball.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Thursday night at the Bounce House. It will mark Frost’s return to the UCF sideline for the first time since 2017.
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Category: General Sports
