Ryan Held joined the UCF football coaching staff in December of 2015 as the Knights' running backs coach.
Held helped oversee an offense that exploded in 2017. The Knights' offensive output helped lead to UCF's first-ever undefeated regular season, a victory in the 2017 American Athletic Conference Championship game and a berth in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The Knights scored more than 60 points a school-record four times, while putting up 50 or more a school-record five times. UCF scored a school-record 73 points in a victory over Austin Peay on Oct. 28, 2017.
The following is a look at the Knights' national rankings for 2017:
2017 Offensive Stats (National Ranking)
- Scoring Offense - 49.4 (1st)
- Total Offense - 540.4 (5th)
- 3rd Down Conversions - 45.7% (16th)
- First Downs - 307 (10th)
- Fumbles Lost - 5 (16th)
- Passing Offense - 339.3 (7th)
- Rushing Offense - 201.2 (34th)
- Sacks Allowed - 1.00 (7th)
- Passing Efficiency - 183.66 (2nd)
- Turnovers Lost - 14 (25th)
- Turnover Margin - +12.5 (2nd)
Held coached a running backs group that included sophomore running back Adrian Killins earning First Team all-conference accolades from The American. Kilins rushed for 762 yards and 10 scores, averaging 6.8 yards per carry. His 96-yard sprint for a touchdown vs. Memphis was a UCF and American Athletic Conference record for longest play from scrimmage. It also broke his own school record for longest run.
In addition to Killins, many other Knights contributed out of the backfield in 2017. True freshman Otis Anderson was listed as a wide receiver but was often lined up at running back, as well. He rushed for 456 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 7.9 yards per carry. Junior Taj McGowan scored eight touchdowns on the season. True freshman Cordarrian Richardson scored twice, as did red-shirt freshman Greg McCrae.
Veterans and freshmen alike had success under Held during the Knights' turnaround in 2016. Senior Dontravious Wilson led UCF with eight rushing touchdowns and nine total TDs out of the backfield. Freshmen Jawon Hamilton and Adrian Killins also impressed in their first season in Orlando. Hamilton led UCF with 495 rushing yards and had four scores, while Killins finished the year averaging 6.5 yards per carry and four touchdowns.
An experienced college head coach at the NCAA Division II and junior college ranks, prior to his time at UCF, Held was the head coach at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College from 2014-15. In his second season, 22 Norsemen earned All-Southwest Junior College Football Conference honors.
Prior to his stint in Oklahoma, Held was the head coach at Highland Community College during the 2012-13 seasons. That 2013 campaign witnessed Highland reach the playoffs for the first time in the modern era.
Held was the offensive coordinator at Butler Community College in 2011, helping to guide the Grizzlies to an 11-1 record and a top-five national ranking. Their offense ranked second overall as well as No. 1 in the conference with a 513.7 yards-per-game average.
From 2005-08, Held worked as the head coach for Southwestern Oklahoma State. The NCAA D-II member was at the bottom of the Lone Star Conference until Held eventually won the North title in 2006 and 2007, and he was named the division's coach of the year in 2006. That year, the Bulldogs were voted as one of the Top 10 Most Improved Teams in America.
Held's first trip in D-II was as the head coach for Oklahoma Panhandle State from 2002-04. The Aggies had back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in 20 years, and they also were named one of the most improved programs in the country.
In 2001, Held received his first full-time coaching gig as he was named the head coach for the NAIA's Peru State Bobcats in Nebraska where he was the youngest head football coach at the time in the country. Peru State finished second in its league and won the Wheat Bowl vs. Baker University.
A native of Kansas City, Mo., Held was a defensive graduate assistant at Tennessee from 1998-99, highlighted by the Volunteers winning the national title in 1998.
Held (1993-96) was a college teammate of Frost (1995-97) at Nebraska. With Held on the roster as a receiver and quarterback, the Cornhuskers won two national titles and three conference championships, while they won it again in 1997 when he was an undergraduate assistant coach.
Held received his bachelor's degree in community health from Nebraska in 1998, and his master's degree in sport management from Tennessee in 2001. He has a daughter, Rhylan, and is married to the former Katie Herbst.
Coaching Experience
1997 -- Nebraska -- Undergraduate Assistant Coach
1998-99 -- Tennessee -- Defensive Graduate Assistant
2001 -- Peru State (Neb.) College -- Head Coach
2002-04 -- Oklahoma Panhandle State -- Head Coach
2005-08 -- Southwestern Oklahoma State -- Head Coach
2011 -- Butler (Kan.) Community College -- Offensive Coordinator
2012-13 -- Highland (Kan.) Community College -- Head Coach
2014-15 -- Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College -- Head Coach
2016 -- UCF -- Running Backs
As of December 2017