#Knightlanta Report
Sami Kincaid is in #Knightlanta to keep Knight Nation up-to-date on what the UCF football team is up to as we lead into Monday's Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Click the play button above or the "watch" link to the right to check out the third #Knightlanta Report of the week.
#Knightlanta Feature – McKenzie Milton's Journey to Stardom
UCF quarterback used hard work and dedication to lead Knights to undefeated season
UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton has become a star in 2017. The sophomore signal caller was the 2017 American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, an All-American, and finished eighth in the Heisman voting.
Although coaches and teammates will tell you they always had confidence in their QB, it wasn't an immediate success story for Milton in Orlando. He was thrusted into the starting lineup as a true freshman in 2016 after an injury to senior Justin Holman.
Milton had highs and lows last year, finishing with 10 touchdowns, seven interceptions, and 1,983 passing yards in 10 games.
He impressed against Maryland and Temple, and dominated at UConn, but he was held without a score in losses to Houston, Tulsa and USF. The toughest spot for Milton, however, was likely the loss to Arkansas State in the 2016 AutoNation Cure Bowl.
"Probably hearing some boos in the Cure Bowl," Milton recalled as a difficult moment from his freshman season.
As a rookie, Milton led a UCF team that went 0-12 the year before to a 6-6 record and a bowl berth, undoubtedly an incredible feat. But after going 22-of-39 for just 175 yards at Camping World Stadium, it wasn't enough for some.
"Nobody deserves that, especially as a true freshman," offensive lineman Wyatt Miller remarked. "Nobody should have to go through that."
Luckily, for UCF fans everywhere, it helped Milton.
"It made me hold myself to a higher standard," he said of that moment. "I think it's just how you perceive things. I use that kind of stuff as motivation.
"I'm just trying to give my team the opportunity to win games," Milton continued. "As long as we're winning games, I'm good with that."
In striving to do that, to win more games, Milton not only worked on his game on the field, he worked on the bond with his teammates off of it.
"I had talks with him on how this was his time to shine," offensive lineman Tyler Hudanick remembered of this past offseason. "He's put in the work. He knew that this year was big for him. We also took it into our hands, as an offensive line, to prepare him and set him up for greatness."
Miller: "I've never been a part of a group that is this close. Having that trust in every one of those five guys and the guy behind you, (knowing) if you give him time, he's going to make something special happen. That changes a lot of things."
It certainly changed a lot. It transformed the UCF offense into the highest scoring in the nation. It made Milton a superstar.
"He was young, but I still think he was ahead of the game than most freshmen," Hudanick said. "A lot of what McKenzie saw should have been going towards us up front, because we didn't give him enough time. We made his job more difficult than it should have been for a true freshman."
"He's grown up a lot in a year," Miller said. "I'm so proud to have been through this with him and see him grow as a person and a man."
Milton set new UCF records with 35 passing touchdowns, 3,795 passing yards, a 184.8 passing efficiency, and 4,292 yards of total offense. His teammates credit him with being cool, calm and collected in each and every one of the Knights' 12 wins.
"He was always locked in with the same look on his face," Hudanick said. "He was ready to go. No matter if something wasn't going good or something was going great, he always had the same mindset."
Milton didn't disagree.
"I've never been one to panic, because all the guys are looking at me," he said. "If they see a sense of that in me, then they might start freaking out."
He never panicked. And they never freaked out.
Milton and UCF won all 12 games, brought home The American Championship and earned a spot in the 2018 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
"There's no individual success without team success," Milton concluded. "If I'm doing my job and everyone else is doing their job, we're going to be just fine, and that's the way things have been rolling this year. Hopefully it happens on January 1st, too."
Kickoff against Auburn is set for 12:30 p.m. on Monday.
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