A year ago at this time, McKenzie Milton was still unproven as UCF's quarterback after coming off an up-and-down freshman season and then a tumultuous summer.
Then his sophomore season was one for the storybooks. The Knights, led by their dynamic Hawaiian quarterback, shocked the world with an undefeated season while Milton put up eye-popping marks. Now as a junior, Milton is arguably the nation's top returning quarterback and a bonafide Heisman Trophy candidate, though now he'll have to prove himself again playing under a new head coach, Josh Heupel.
Following Wednesday's first practice of camp, Milton fielded a variety of questions from local media.
"I told the guys yesterday at the team meeting I felt like a freshman coming in to this camp," Milton said. "You know, having some anxiousness and some butterflies, but I think that's just because you love the game and you know you're just excited to get back out there with the with some of the same guys from last year, some of the same guys from my freshman year and some new guys and new coaches. This is a lot of fun. It's all part of a journey and I'm glad to get to play with these guys."
In between team workouts and classes, Milton traveled quite a bit this summer. He spent several days in Los Angeles at the Elite 11 Finals and another weekend in Louisiana at the Manning Passing Academy.
"The Manning Camp and getting to learn from Peyton, Eli and Archie, three of really probably the best quarterbacks of all time," Milton said. "I mean, that's something you dream about. I've heard of the camp throughout high school and stuff like that. Obviously heard of Elite 11, but didn't get invited in high school. I got to go there as a counselor which is even cooler in my opinion. And you know, just getting to hang out with some of the best guys in the country and getting to pick their brains. We all go through the same thing. You see them on TV making plays but they're going through the same thing as you."
And what of the "attacking champions" mentality Heupel has said he wants to instill in the team?
"Say you come off a winning year and teams might tend to get lackadaisical in the way they approach things," Milton said. "They might get complacent. That can't be us because I felt like we caught some teams off guard with the way we played and the way we won last year. We're not going to catch anybody off guard now. We're going to get everybody's best shot in this conference, and we're going to get Pitt, North Carolina and FAU's best shot. Those are all really good teams. If we go through camp lackadaisical like, 'We got this,' we're gonna have a rude awakening come August 30."
Milton said his primary offseason strength and conditioning goal was to gain flexibility.
"You get big guys falling on your legs at awkward angles, so you've got to be able to withstand and take a bunch of hits throughout a long season, so durability is a big one for me."
UCF strength coach Kurt Schmidt also implemented weekly yoga for the entire team.
"I thought that was a great asset for us in the offseason," Milton said.
Though Milton does lose a couple favored receiving targets in Tre'Quan Smith and Jordan Akins, the Knights do have plenty of talent returning there.
"Those guys make me look a lot better than I am," Milton said. "Obviously Tre'Quan, you look what he's doing at the Saints camp and it's nothing different than what he did at UCF. But I think those young guys are ready to step up. I think Gabe Davis, Tre Nixon, Otis Anderson, Dredrick Snelson... Snelson is probably the most veteran guy we have besides Michael Colubiale who has been here for about 10 years. But I think those young guys, having game experience, Otis played a lot as a freshman, Snelson has been starting since his freshman year, Gabe started last year as a freshman. Tre played a lot at Ole Miss. It's going to be big. We've got a stable of running backs coming back. I'm like a kid in the candy store with the guys we got. It's about getting them the ball and letting them make plays."
Milton also spoke of the growing relationship with his new head coach.
"He's a great guy," Milton said. "First and foremost, he's a family oriented guy and I think that's huge when it comes to the football team. Second of all, from a football standpoint, he's a great teacher. He's got the resume, but being in the film room with him, in the meeting room, you see it. I've learned a lot as a quarterback. I think I'm going to grow a lot as a quarterback and leader on this team."
