Another former Tennessee quarterback has earned the nod to start this week after UCF head coach Scott Frost announced Tayven Jackson will start for the Knights in Week 2.
Jackson played in a backup role in UCF's season debut, leading the Knights to a 17-10 win over Conference USA's Jacksonville State.
It was a disappointing offensive performance for the first three quarters, with both teams tied with 3 points apiece heading into the fourth quarter.
Jackson took it upon himself to take over the game after that, leading UCF to two touchdowns through the air with 282 passing yards and five rushing yards.
On3's UCF writer Brandon Helwig reported on Thursday that the former Vol has earned the starting quarterback job for Week 2 after Frost's appearance on Dusty and Danny in the Morning on SiriusXM. He shared that Jackson will be the starter this week with starting quarterback Cam Fancher out this week with a back injury.
"Cam’s going to be out this week," Frost said. "He just kind of landed on his back funny and has some back issues that I think are going to go away fairly soon, but we’re going into the game with Tayven and [Jacurri Brown], and that’s fine. Tayven did a great job coming in and replacing him last week, and he’s getting another shot this week."
Frost also shared that Jackson's late-game performance last week could, and should, be a major confidence boost for the former Tennessee and Indiana quarterback heading into this week.
"That was a big confidence builder for him," Frost continued. "You can talk about building a team, but until you have some shared experiences—success and adversity—a team doesn’t really come together. That was a big moment for us."
UCF will welcome North Carolina A&T to the Bounce House this week. Jackson has the opportunity to secure his spot as the Knights' starting quarterback moving forward with another dominant performance in Week 2.