The undefeated
Starting left tackle to miss Peach Bowl following surgery
Knights (12-0) need to overpower one of the best defenses in college football in Auburn (10-3) without Aaron Evans, the team’s long-time starting left tackle.
UCF tight end Jordan Akins will graduate Friday with a bachelor’s degree in communications and an unofficial master's in adversity management after weathering a football season littered with challenges.
Losing the team’s entire coaching staff to Nebraska within the past 10 days was emotional enough for some players. Now the undefeated Knights (12-0) need to overpower one of the best defenses in college football in Auburn (10-3) without Aaron Evans, the team’s long-time starting left tackle.
The teams will face off during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day.
“It’s huge. I’m not gonna lie,” Akins said. “He’s our best offensive lineman and I had my hand in the dirt beside him all year and I’m really comfortable with him making play calls. But next man up. We’re looking forward to Jake [Brown] in that spot and we’re gonna go forward from there.”
Evans, a senior who started the past 37 games at left tackle, had surgery Wednesday afternoon to address a nagging injury dating back to last season. Brown will shift from left guard to left tackle and Sam Jackson
and Tyler Hudanick will likely share rotations at left guard.
The loss of Evans is a major blow to UCF, which finished the regular season as the No. 1 scoring offense in the nation. But the Knights have become quite adept at pushing past physical and mental hurdles.
The past 10 days have been an emotional roller coaster for younger players, who were new to the experience of enduring a coaching transition. Some were shocked when coach Scott Frost took the Nebraska job and took his entire coaching staff with him. But veteran offensive and defensive players stepped up during the past few weeks to keep emotions and perspectives in check during private player-only team meetings and casual conversations.
“Emotions have been all over the place. Some kids have been worried about what they should do and how things are gonna play out and you could even tell coach Frost was emotional,” Akins said. “[There have been] tears of joy [and] tears of sadness with him leaving and it’s all over the place. But when it comes to business we all pull together and focus on the main goal which is to get a win. We’re trying to win out, not only for ourselves but for the coaches as well.”
Freshman receiver Otis Anderson Jr. admitted he experienced some hurt feelings over the coaching transition, but his understanding about the realities of college football grew during the past few days.
Hitting the football field and getting their American Athletic Conference championship rings sized Tuesday certainly helped move the players' recovery process along.
“[It] feels like we got new bodies, honestly,” Anderson said of the recent break. “We’ve been having 12 weeks straight of practicing so finally getting a week off and being able to come back and just work feels great. We’re knocking the rust off now and I feel like we’re playing a lot faster than what we have been playing.”
Keeping the close-knit family environment has been the focus for UCF players during the break. It’s the trust and relationships built among this group that has helped the program to make history with the school’s first perfect regular season.
And senior linebacker Shaquem Griffin believes the unique chemistry and close bond of this 2017 team is its best weapon to date.
“It’s gonna take us being together every step of the way. Ups and downs, we’re gonna have to be able to stick it out. Auburn is an amazing team but we’re an amazing team also,” Griffin said. “It’s gonna come down to who can fight through adversity.”
Email Shannon Green at sgreen@ orlandosentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter at @osknights and like the Sentinel’s UCF Facebook page to get all the latest updates on the Knights.