Quarterbacks are brothers in arms

Bond between Mack, Milton fuels Knights’ success

It’s hard to truly imagine what must have been going through Darriel Mack Jr.’s mind when he saw his friend and teammate McKenzie Milton go down with a gruesome leg injury.

As Milton was hoisted onto a cart before leaving the field at Raymond James Stadium Friday evening, Mack leaned in and offered words of encouragement to his fallen teammate. Moments later, he took the field as Milton’s replacement in a key game against rival USF.

“It was very emotional for me,” Mack said following the 38-10 win over the Bulls.

“I’m always so it just kind heart.”

As Mack prepares to play in the biggest game of his young career Saturday afternoon when he leads No. 8 UCF against Memphis in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game, he does so with the full confidence of his teammates.

“I have tremendous faith in him that he’s going to lead us to a W and we’re going to have his back like he’s got ours,” tight end Michael Colubiale said.

“DJ’s a confident kid, he’s a tough kid and he’s done a really job preparing and that’s what it’s all about,” said UCF quarterbacks coach Jeff Lebby. “That’s what’s going to give us the opportunity to win on Saturday, the preparation he’s put in not only the last two days but all year, and that’s going to give us a chance to be confident and go play ball with him.”

His teammates believe the bond between Mack and Milton will give the backup an edge as he steps into the starting role.

Not only are they close friends, but they roommates as well. The younger Mack is eager to soak up around him, of hurts my

Up next

AAC championship: everything he can from Milton, who has rewritten the record books at UCF in a short time.

“They’re kind of similar. They hang out all the time and they kind of rub off on each other,” Colubiale said of the quarterbacks.

Mack wasn’t made available to speak with media this week by the school as he prepares for the championship game. His teammates said they have no doubt he’ll be ready for Saturday.

“He’s doing tremendous. You’ll see on Saturday,” receiver Dredrick Snelson said.

Senior offensive lineman Wyatt Miller said one of the first things that impressed him about Mack was his size, with the 6-foot-3, 230-pounder showing off a mix of speed and strength.

“He’s almost as big as me and he’s pretty tough to tackle,” Miller said.

But Miller also insists there’s more to Mack than his obvious physical strengths.

“His football IQ is extremely high. He knows what’s going on on the field. He knows what to expect. He’s a gamer, too. McKenzie’s the same way,” Miller said.

So far, Mack’s success has been built on his ability to run the football. He’s gained more than 280 yards and has two touchdowns on the ground this season with an impressive 7.0 yards per carry average.

Mack’s grasp of the offense isn’t the only thing that endears him to his teammates.

“He always has a smile on his face,” Colubiale said. “His smile is really contagious and he brightens the locker room up.”

Miller added Mack’s personality has been a key characteristic that has helped him throughout the process of quickly replacing Milton.