Scott Frost talks Peach Bowl prep, commitment

Scott Frost might have two jobs, but he wants to make it clear that he and his staff are 100 percent committed to UCF and the Peach Bowl preparations for Auburn.

During his Tuesday post-practice interview, Frost took issue with talk that he wasn't completely focused because he spent time recruiting for Nebraska over the last week.

"I was on a plane on Tuesday to California to recruit and got back at six in the morning so I could be here with these guys," Frost said. "A lot of the guys on the staff have been doing the same thing. Auburn didn't practice for this (bowl) game until Saturday. We practiced Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with almost an entire staff. A lot of that stuff is not out there. I understand some of the frustration, but I can promise you that our staff is dialed in and ready to do absolutely everything we can for these kids."

Here's everything Frost had to say.

On the Tuesday practice:

This is the most people we've had here all year... Great practice today. We got three in last week. I thought they were good. But we needed to start focusing and start dialing in on this thing. Today was the first day with really the full game plan. I thought the guys had a great practice today.

On balancing the responsibilities:

"It's hard. I know the meaning of the word 'wearing two hats' now. They're both full-time jobs. We're doing absolutely everything we can to give these guys the best chance that they have. It's not easy, but I appreciate people on both sides allowing us to do this. Like I said, the players were focused today. The coaches are focused. And we've got quite a bit of time here to get right for this game."

On the early signing period and coaching in a bowl game:

"(Directed to Mike Bianchi) Good to see you, man. Nice of you to come out with all the small people... I don't know if it's been done. I heard Urban Meyer coached Utah after he left Utah back in the day. I sat behind Dave Doeren at the awards show and he said one of his biggest regrets in coaching was not coaching Northern Illinois in the bowl game when he went to North Carolina State. The thing that has changed this year is the early signing period. Most of the time in years past the coaching changes haven't happened until this past week and then you still have quite a bit of time to get a signing class taken care of. There's a lot more urgency out there this year because if you don't get in on some of these kids, a bunch of them are going to sign Wednesday. That has changed things. I don't know if they thought about coaching changes when they changed that rule, but it has made it harder. At the end of the day, I don't care what other people have done. I want to do what's right by these guys. Our whole staff being here coaching them gives them the best chance they can possibly have."

On how he determined his itinerary between bowl prep and Nebraska recruiting:

"We are kind of figuring this out as we go along. There's been a lot of narratives out there and they're all wrong. Sometimes we don't have the chance to correct them. I misspoke at the press conference. This is my 10th New Year's Day bowl or national championship as a player or a coach. I can tell you, every single time I was a receivers coach at Oregon, and the practices we had last week, I was never there. I was out recruiting. The practices basically happened with the head coach and the GAs. Those three practices we had last week were necessary to make sure we shook the rust off and we stayed in game shape, but there's not a staff in the country if they're getting ready for a bowl that would have their entire staff there. We made a commitment to having the majority of our staff here because we wanted our kids to know we were committed. If things hadn't changed, we would have been on the road recruiting here and there probably would have been fewer people at practice. I want to make sure people understand that. Not to throw anybody under the bus, but I guarantee you Tennessee's new coach hasn't been at Alabama's practices. Shoot, Josh Heupel hasn't been at Missouri's practices and Willie Taggart wasn't at Oregon's. We're here because we care about these kids and we want to do what's best for them."

More on the 'false narrative:'

"I think people think we're not committed to this. I was on a plane on Tuesday to California to recruit and got back at six in the morning so I could be here with these guys. A lot of the guys on the staff have been doing the same thing. Auburn didn't practice for this (bowl) game until Saturday. We practiced Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with almost an entire staff. A lot of that stuff is not out there. I understand some of the frustration, but I can promise you that our staff is dialed in and ready to do absolutely everything we can for these kids."

Another question about the 'itinerary:'

"We're doing everything and more. Like I said we've done at Oregon and the time I was there and we were in six of these bowl games. We've got more coaches at practice. We're practicing on the exact same schedule as we did trying to get ready for these games. We're game planning at the same time. Like I said, we're ahead of our opponent. They started practicing on Saturday. It has been difficult getting on a plane and flying somewhere and getting back here. It's not ideal for me to be honest with you. But it's the right thing to do and it's the best thing for these young men that have played for us."

On his new baby:

"The new baby adds to the lack of sleep. Ashley wakes up most of the time and helps him. Anybody that's had a baby understands that I'm not sleeping for long stretches at a time without him waking us up. It's hard, but I wouldn't trade it for the world."

On how the players have responded to him:

"There's a lot of love on this team with coaches and players. I think it was important, we had a talk with the players on Thursday about how these things go. There were some people who don't understand how these practices go and how they work. Whether we were here or somewhere else, we were going to be out recruiting last week. Now it's a dead period and our focus 100 percent turns to this. I think our players needed to know that. You could feel the same camaraderie and unity on the field today that I felt all year. The players are going to be dialed in and we're going to be dialed in. It's going to be a tough game, but win or lose they're going to get our best shot."

On Paul Finebaum's comment that Auburn should 'dust' UCF:

"I don't listen to Paul Finebaum because unless you're a SEC fan he doesn't have much to say that you like."

On whether he favored the early signing period:

"I think it can be a good thing. I do. Because recruiting gets kind of nasty in January. For those kids that don't want to be a part of that and want to get it over with, I think the December signing period is good. I can't remember, but I would be for it. Circumstances that changes that is coaching changes. That makes it really hard. There were a lot of them in the country this year and there will be a lot of them every year. I kind of saw some of the negative results of the signing period this year."

On his thoughts about Josh Heupel:

"I'm excited for UCF. I think these last two years, particularly this year, have shown the potential that we've been talking about for a long time here. There's no reason UCF shouldn't continue to ascend. I know Josh a little bit. Not well. I know Randy (Shannon) a little bit. Not well. They're both proven coaches. I know they're inheriting a lot of good players and a lot of good people. I'm excited for them."

On working alongside the new staff:

"It's different having two staffs in the building. But the cooperation has been good. For the most part, we're in the lab trying to figure out the best offenses and defenses to run and they're focused on recruiting. Which at times this week we had been focused on recruiting. Now we're all here and ready to focus 100 percent on this game."

On last year's bowl focus and discipline issues at the Cure Bowl in 2016:

"I think this is different. I talked to the players about that five minutes ago on the field. In my opinion, watching college football, the result of bowl games have more to do with which team is motivated to be there than it does with talent. Last year, as hard as I fought it, I think we had a team that was just happy to be there and we played a team that was hungry to win the game. And it showed on the field. We had that talk with our guys today about being the hungry team in this bowl game, having a chip on our shoulder and knowing we have something to prove. We need that mindset right now so we can prepare the right way."

On whether UCF has a chance to make the top four of the playoff:

"Based on where they put UCF in the rankings this year, I don't know if a team can make it. I hope so. Because there's a lot of good football players on this team and this team has earned it. I think it's unfortunate that a lot of determination could depend on this game. If we play well and show up and compete or win, I think that's only going to help teams in the future. It shouldn't depend on one game. It really shouldn't. There's been a lot of teams. Houston, Boise over the years, Utah, that have gone into these games and won. Everything shouldn't hang on this game. I kind of understand how important this game is for Group of Five teams in the future."

On what winning this game would mean:

"These are tough circumstances to go into a bowl game. We're going to do the absolute best we can. I'm going to be really proud of this team and happy if we show up and play as well as we can play and compete. Win or lose, if the guys can rally and come together one more time, and play like we've played all year with that kind of passion and effort and unity, then win or lose it'll be a victory for us."

On his impressions of Auburn:

"Listen, they're a good team. I've watched about eight games yesterday and a bunch of other stuff on them. They've beaten a Georgia team that was ranked No. 1 and an Alabama team ranked No. 1 and handled them. Their strength really is up front on both sides of the football. If we can neutralize that, we're going to have every chance in the world to win. I think our kids can execute and play as well as anybody in the country. If we can block them and tackle them, then I like our chances."

On how Auburn has 'never seen speed' like UCF, a reference to Adrian Killins' comment last week:

"Well, sometimes when you're young you say things you shouldn't say. I'm always going to back our players and I don't know if there is a player in the country as fast as Adrian Killins. But they have a lot of big guys that can run."