ORLANDO — UCF’s quarterback competition reached its conclusion on Aug. 21, one week shy of the team’s home opener against Jacksonville State.
Redshirt senior Cam Fancher, a veteran of 26 Division I starts, has edged out Jacurri Brown and Tayven Jackson to win the starting spot, a team source, not allowed to publicly comment, confirmed to The News-Journal. CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz was first to report the decision.
On Aug. 18, UCF head coach Scott Frost told reporters that he was not ready to announce the team’s starting quarterback during a press conference, adding that, “the battle is still ongoing.”
UCF has not since provided official word on the starting QB situation.
UCF QB Cam Fancher playing history
Fancher, a left-handed dual-threat, opened the 2023 and ’24 seasons as QB1 for Marshall and Florida Atlantic, respectively. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Ohio native has completed 60.6% of his career passing attempts for 5,294 yards with 27 touchdowns and 23 interceptions, and he has rushed 331 times for 1,122 yards and eight scores.
Since fall camp broke July 28, Fancher consistently repped with the Knights’ expected first-team offensive line and skill position players in tempo drills during portions of practice open to the media.
“Early on, (Fancher) did the best job of getting in the huddle, having command, making the calls precisely and helping everybody else get lined up,” Frost said. “And that speaks to the experience level, that he’s played more ball. The other guys have caught up a great deal and done a good job with that, but you could recognize early on that Cam’s been in that position before.”
Fancher played nine games for FAU last season prior to sustaining a broken clavicle in a Nov. 8 loss to East Carolina. He threw for 1,528 yards with six touchdowns and six picks, and ran for 365 yards with three TDs.
Frost has stated that he’s prepared to do whatever it takes to win, including playing multiple quarterbacks if necessary. However, he does not envision splitting the reps among all three competitors once the season begins.
“I think playing three equally in a game, I don’t think you’ll get any kind of rhythm with that,” Frost said. “We’re going to have to make a hard decision. Playing two is hard. I don’t think rotating three is probably something that’s very likely.”
UCF started four quarterbacks — KJ Jefferson (five games), EJ Colson (one), Brown (two) and Dylan Rizk (four) — during the 2024 season despite not sustaining an injury at the position. The Knights went 4-8 and missed out on a bowl game for the first time in nine years, resulting in Gus Malzahn’s resignation.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF Knights football: Cam Fancher wins QB battle, will start opening game, per report
Reporting by Chris Boyle, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
