Nothing’s better than a coach who played at the position. Even better if it’s the same program. UCF Knights quarterback coach McKenzie Milton is one of the rising young minds. A face fans recognize not just for the visor and whistle, but for the scars and triumphs of a player who once took the same path. Milton first played under Scott Frost in 2016, and is now is in the same room guiding a new crop through one of football’s timeless crucibles: the QB1 battle.

Milton knows the terrain all too well. As a freshman, he faced his own gauntlet and leaned on lessons that came as much from setbacks as highlights. On an interview uploaded by UCF Knights on August 23, he said, “I always feel like, you know, you want competition because it brings out the best in yourself… It’s like, ‘Oh, good ball here. Watch what I can do.’ You know what I’m saying?” That attitude, iron sharpening iron, is at the heart of how he coaches. The goal isn’t surviving camp. It’s thriving inside of it.

His own climb at UCF wasn’t smooth, and he doesn’t sugarcoat it. Justin Holman was coach KZ’s competition at that time. “I had to compete my sophomore year in high school. So that wasn’t anything new to me. I embraced it. I wasn’t expecting to play my freshman year ’cause Justin Holman, like one of the best teammates I ever had… And then in fall camp when I got my opportunities, I just tried to make plays.” Those plays stuck.

One clip still resonates. Milton remembered escaping the pocket, spinning out, then launching across his body. That became a clear breakout moment for the young Milton. “The whole team went crazy,” KZ said. “What I learned the most out of that was just to be a G, like Coach Frost, be a good teammate. And when I got thrust into the starting role, Justin was never toxic to me. Like, he would never—you could tell he was upset at times because of competitiveness—but he would help me, you know what I mean? Like he would help me as a freshman trying to figure it out like, ‘Hey, bro, what do you think here?’ And he would help me.” This is the attitude that Coach KZ wants to imbibe in his young QB candidates.

The bond ran deeper than competition. Holman, he recalled, wasn’t threatened but instead supportive. That became clear during a breakout moment for the young Milton. “When we win the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, he’s from Georgia. One of the first people I see in the huddle or in the tunnel is Justin Holman, the guy whose spot I took the year prior.” That’s the paradox of QB battles: tension on the surface, respect at the core. For Milton, that’s the blueprint he preaches now. A room built not just on who wins the job, but who can lift the whole locker room in the process.

Now, handling a battle between Indiana transfer Tayven Jackson, returner Jacurri Brown, and Florida Atlantic transfer Cam Fancher remains “ongoing,” and that the staff was “not ready yet” to make a decision. What complicates the picture in Orlando is timing. UCF opens against Jacksonville State, and the QB room is as unsettled as it’s been since Frost’s first year.

The Knights slipped last fall without a consistent hand under center, and with the Big 12 proving to be unforgiving terrain, the choice at QB1 is more than a depth chart line. It’s the engine of their identity. Adding to the stakes, Scott Frost may be watching a piece of his program’s DNA fade. With the SEC mandating a nine-game league schedule in 2026, the long-standing Florida rivalry series could be cut down to a single game, or wiped away entirely. For a staff trying to establish rhythm, losing that high-wire test against Florida is another layer of uncertainty.

McKenzie Milton’ from QB battles to 30 under 30

The former Knights legend isn’t just making waves in Orlando. He’s already been named to 247Sports’ prestigious “30 under 30” list, spotlighting the rising stars in the college football coaching ranks. Not bad for a guy who turns 28 in October.

For Milton, though, it’s all about perspective. “Honestly, I don’t feel like I’ve done much yet,” he told CBS Sports. “I kind of inherited a great program at Tennessee and I feel blessed to be here with Coach Frost and offensive coordinator Steve Cooper. I’m just trying to be a sponge with all the great coaches we have here at UCF right now.”

That humility feels like classic Milton. The same competitor who once won a QB1 battle as a freshman under Scott Frost and is now helping guide another three-man showdown in Orlando. The journey has been fast but steady. Before coming back to UCF, Milton cut his teeth as an offensive analyst at Tennessee, working alongside Josh Heupel and developing young quarterbacks like five-star Nico Iamaleava during the Volunteers’ CFP run last fall.