UCF quarterback Cam Fancher, who kicked off the season as the starter against Jacksonville State but had to exit with an injury, will be sidelined for this week’s matchup against North Carolina A&T.
Coach Scott Frost announced an appearance on SiriusXM College Sports Radio’s Dusty and Danny in the Morning with Dusty Dvoracek and Danny Kanell on Thursday.
“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 (Jackson) and JB (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.”
UCFSports was the first to report the news.
Jackson stepped in for Fancher during the second quarter of the Knights’ 17-10 victory over Jacksonville State last Thursday. He completed 17 of 24 passes for 282 yards, delivering two crucial touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including a game-winning 33-yard throw to receiver DJ Black with just 1:03 left on the clock.
Fancher was 5 of 9 for 32 passing yards and 39 yards on the ground.
Frost held off on naming a starter earlier in the week, opting to monitor Fancher’s condition. The sophomore quarterback had suffered a back injury after taking a brutal hit from former UCF safety Tre’Quan Fegans early in the second quarter.
He indicated during his weekly KnightTalk radio show on Wednesday that it was trending in the direction of Fancher missing this week’s game.
According to Frost, Fancher was dealing with a back injury from the hit.
Jackson, meanwhile, impressed coaches with his ability to step up and make plays.
“What I was impressed with was his ability to handle that and prepare himself for the game,” said Frost. “He went in and didn’t have an issue with the plays we were running and handling everything and he stepped into a tough situation and played well under some pressure.”
“It was cool to see Tay come in and react,” added offensive coordinator Steve Cooper. “He executed when we needed to make some really nice throws and ran the offense pretty well.”
Jackson and Fancher were involved in a three-man battle during the spring and fall camps, competing alongside Jacurri Brown. Ultimately, Fancher was named the starter for the season opener just last week.
“After he got the news that Cam [Fancher] was starting [last week], I saw an uptick in him,” Frost said of Jackson. “If it takes something to make him angry, to get him to play the way he played, then I’m going to keep him angry all the time. Whatever I need to do to make sure that we get that level of intensity from him.”
“I’ve lost three or four quarterback jobs during my whole career. I just always wait for my moment, and my moment comes, and then I seize it,” Jackson said after the win last Thursday. “I felt like I did a good job with that last year and doing the same thing this year.”
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