Malzahn named finalist for Steve Spurrier First Year Coach Award
For the second time in his career, UCF coach Gus Malzahn was named a finalist for the Steve Spurrier First Year Coach Award, which goes to the best coach in his first year at a school, the Football Writers Association of America announced Wednesday.
The Knights coach was one of three finalists, including Tennessee coach Josh Heupel and South Carolina coach Shane Beamer.
Malzahn won the award in 2013 at Auburn.
Heupel also won the award in his first season at UCF in 2018. Three years later, Heupel departed for Knoxville, following former UCF athletics director Danny White to Tennessee.
UCF AD Terry Mohahir hired Malzahn in February after Heupel’s departure.
Malzahn led the Knights to a 9-4 season, including a Gasparilla
Bowl victory over Florida, a three-winimprovement from 6-4 last season despite losing several key players, including starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
Malzahn finished the season coaching with a broken lower right leg after being injured in a sideline collision, working some games from a sideline platform rather than the coach’s box, and just landed the best recruiting class in school history.
“This award is given to the coach in his first year at his school who comes in and exceeds expectations,” Steve Spurrier said in a press release. “All three of these coaches got their programs heading in the right direction and they didn’t make any excuses. They took what was there and started running with it and they all had outstanding seasons.”
Heupel led the Vols to 7-5 after taking over a program that went 3-7 and was mired in an NCAA investigation.
If either Heupel or Malzahn won, they’d become the first two-time winner of the Spurrier Award.
Beamer helped the Gamecocks improve from 2-8 to 6-6. Beamer had to win games with three different quarterbacks, using a former FCS quarterback and another a former graduate assistant coach.
This will be the 20th straight season in which the FWAA has had the First Year Coach Award, although the first time with a namesake for the award, Steve Spurrier. The winner of each award will be announced in January.
Spurrier, along with former player Chris Doering, is planning a February dinner to honor the winners. The site of the dinner, which will occur in Florida, will be announced at a later time.