ORLANDO (UCFKnights.com) – Following a perfect 11-0 regular season, the UCF football team continued to set records heading into the weekend's championship game. The Knights hauled in an American Athletic Conference record 16 All-Conference honors, highlighted by Offensive Player of the Year McKenzie Milton and Coach of the Year Scott Frost.
The Knights put 16 players on the First and Second Teams, the most by any team in the history of The American. UCF's nine First Team honorees was also a record for the league.
The American
Offensive Players of the Year: McKenzie Milton
Coach of the Year: Scott Frost*
First Team All-Conference
Aaron Evans – Senior Offensive Lineman
Jordan Johnson – Sophomore Offensive Lineman
Jordan Akins – Senior Tight End
McKenzie Milton – Sophomore Quarterback
Adrian Killins Jr. – Sophomore Running Back
Jamiyus Pittman – Senior Defensive Lineman
Shaquem Griffin* - Senior Linebacker
Mike Hughes – Junior Defensive Back
Kyle Gibson – Junior Defensive Back
Second Team All-Conference
Tre'Quan Smith – Junior Wide Receiver
Wyatt Miller – Junior Offensive Lineman
Trysten Hill – Sophomore Defensive Lineman
Chequan Burkett – Senior Linebacker
Matthew Wright – Junior Kicker
Mac Loudermilk – Junior Punter
Mike Hughes – Junior Return Specialist
*Unanimous selection
Coming into the 2017 season, UCF had earned 12 First Team honors and 24 total All-Conference honors in the program's first four seasons of play in The American. As a comparison, during the Knights' first undefeated season in the conference in 2013, they garnered six First Team accolades and five Second Team nods.
Milton is the second Knight to be named the American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, joining Blake Bortles, who won the award in 2013. He is just the third UCF player to win Offensive Player of the Year in any FBS conference, as Kevin Smith was Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year in 2007.
Milton has had an impressive sophomore season, throwing for 3,301 yards, completing 69.1 percent of his passes, and tossing 30 touchdowns. The Kapolei, Hawaii native has also run for 429 yards and six rushing touchdowns in 2017.
He is one passing touchdown shy of tying and two short of breaking the UCF record for touchdowns thrown in a single season. He is also in the Top 10 in program history for completions (10th), yardage (4th), 300-yard passing games (3rd) and completion percentage (2nd).
Frost is just the second UCF coach to earn Coach of the Year honors. Since taking over the UCF program, Frost has taken the Knights from winless to a perfect 11-0 regular season in just two years. Since UCF joined the FBS (1996), no other team has achieved that type of turnaround.
His Knights lead the nation in scoring with 48.3 points per game and are the best in turnover margin with a mark of 1.55. UCF is ranked 11th, 12th and 14th in the national polls and have wins over multiple ranked teams.
Last year's American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year Shaquem Griffin was a unanimous selection to the All-Conference First Team. In fact, he was the only player to be chosen as a unanimous selection in 2017.
Griffin leads the Knights with eight tackles-for-loss and 3.5 sacks, while adding 56 tackles, an interception, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. The senior scored his first career touchdown in the UCF win over Austin Peay back on Oct. 28.
The Knights are set to continue the ride Saturday when they host No. 14/16 Memphis in the American Athletic Conference Championship. Kickoff is set for noon at Spectrum Stadium with coverage on ABC and FM 96.9/AM 740 The Game.
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