Schneider’s honor

When No. 8 UCF takes the field and faces off against No. 11 LSU in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day, it will have been close to a month since the Knights last played a game.

Normally that might be a concern, but for Knights quarterback Darriel Mack Jr. the additional time has been a welcome blessing.

“It’s definitely helped me out,” Mack said of the extra time he has to prepare for his third start of his career. “Just getting reps with the [first team] and just always being around and being in the building is always good.”

Mack took over the starting job after McKenzie Milton suffered a season-ending knee injury during the first half against USF on Nov. 23. A week later, the redshirt junior passed and rushed for six touchdowns while helping UCF overcome a 17-point first-half deficit against Memphis in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game. Mack helped UCF extend the nation’s longest win streak to 25 games.

UCF quarterbacks coach Jeff Lebby sees the extra time as invaluable on several fronts.

“It’s big, not just for him but for everybody,” Lebby said, acknowledging the other quarterbacks on the roster. “Our developmental work and being able to work the young guys and get extra practice. DJ is taking advantage of it, but so has Quad [Quadry Jones] and so has Hayden [Kingston] and it’s been good to see.”

Knights coach Josh Heupel said Mack is handling the shift from backup to starting quarterback well.

“He’s the same guy that he was in the lead-up to getting his opportunity against USF and in the championship game against Memphis,” Heupel said. “He’s had great urgency on the way he prepares since he got his first opportunity. He continues to grow as a player and has a lot of confidence in himself and the guys around him do, too.”

But true game experience is always more beneficial to a young player like Mack. He said he will lean on the lessons he has learned while leading the offense during the past seven quarters as well as a start against East Carolina on Oct. 20.

“Pretty much just experience and getting those game reps, meaningful reps, that always helps confidence-wise,” said Mack, who has accounted for 539 yards and six touchdowns since taking over for Milton. “Making plays when they needed to be made.

“Here at UCF, it’s just next-man-up type of mentality and having those guys believe in me has brought me up confidence-wise. I’m just trying to go out there and play for them and trying to put our guys in the best position possible.”

He’ll try to do that while facing off against a formidable defense. LSU is allowing only 21 points and 350 yards per game this season while leading the Southeastern Conference in interceptions (16). Mack isn’t shying away from the challenge.

“They’re a great team. We’re not going to treat them lightly,” he said when asked about LSU’s defense. “We’re going to go in there and try to play our game. I think they’re just another team. We’re going to go out there and play them like they’re any other team.”

Lebby agreed, adding, “I think we’re going to be who we are. We’re going to try and be incredibly balanced. I think we’ve shown that all year. We’re going to try and throw it around but we’re going to run the football and that’s not going to change regardless of who we’re playing or what the situation is, so we’ll go out and execute a game plan that we put together that puts our guys into position.”

Through it all though, Mack keeps working and is trying not let the moment overwhelm him.

“I’m just taking this as it comes, trying to stay ready,” he said.

The awards continue to pile up for UCF, with offensive lineman Cole Schneider named to the USA Today 2018 Freshman AllAmerica Team. He becomes the 15th Knight to receive the honor and the first since Chavis Dickey in 2014.

“It was pretty cool. I’m not really a big-accolades type of guy. I’m a little more humble. But it’s awesome,” said Schneider, who played in 12 games this season and started 11 at both guard positions.

“It’s a great thing to achieve but it’s not all just me. A lot of my teammates and a lot of my coaches help me out to become a better man and a better player, so I devote a lot of that to them.”

Schneider, who dyed his hair different colors throughout the season, said he has something special cooked up for the team’s appearance in the Fiesta Bowl, but he declined to share it.

“Tune in,” he said.