On Wednesday, UCF head football coach Scott Frost and USF head football coach Charlie Strong Frost were named to the 2017 Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award Watch List.
In its 32nd year, the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award recognizes the nation’s top college football coaches for their contributions both on and off the field. It is selected after all bowl games are concluded and is voted on by the National Sports Media Association.
Frost has UCF at 5-0 for the first time since 1988 and ranked 20th in both the Coaches and Associated Press national polls. The Knights lead the nation in scoring with 50.6 points per game and are fifth in total offense, totaling 547.2 yards per contest.
The Bulls are 6-0 and Strong has led USF to three straight 30-plus point victories and the Bulls have won every game by two or more touchdowns on the year. Long regarded for his defensive mastery, Strong’s USF team ranks 12th in total defense (290.3 ypg), 16th in scoring defense (17.2 ppg) and third in rushing defense (77.8 ypg) nationally. That is a vast improvement from last season’s rankings of 120th, 92nd and 84th, respectively, in those categories.
Frost and Strong are joined on the 20-member watch list by Paul Chryst (Wisconsin), Mark Dantonio (Michigan State), Dave Doeren (N.S. State), James Franklin (Penn State), Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State), Clay Helton (USC), Brian Kelly (Notre Dame), Mike Leach (Washington State), Rocky Long (San Diego State), Urban Meyer (Ohio State), Mike Norvell (Memphis), Gary Patterson (TCU), Chris Petersen (Washington), Mark Richt (Miami), Lincoln Riley (Oklahoma), Nick Saban (Alabama), Kirby Smart (Georgia) and Dabo Swinney (Clemson).
MORE FROM USF
Senior USF kicker Emilio Nadelman (Miami) is on a tear and the national media have taken note as the Bulls’ leading scorer has been named to the AP Mid-Season All-America Second Team. The team was selected by a panel of 16 AP Top 25 poll voters.
Following a 4-for-4 performance on field goals and 15-point scoring effort in USF’s 33-3 victory over Cincinnati on Saturday, Nadelman earned his second American Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honor of the season. On Saturday, he tied Marvin Kloss for the longest string of consecutive made field goals in USF history as he moved his current streak to 13 in a row. Nadelman is 14-of-15 on field goals on the season, having one blocked, and is 29-of-31 on PAT.
Nadelman ranks second in the nation in field goals made per game (2.33 fpg), third in scoring (11.8 ppg), fourth in field goal percentage (93.3%) and seventh in total points (71). He leads The American in field goal percentage and field goals per game. His 14 field goals are just five away from the USF season record of 19 (Maikon Bonani, 2011 & Delbert Alvarado, 2007) and his field goal percentage is well ahead of USF season record pace. Nadelman’s 36 career field goals are tied with Bill Gramatica (1998-2000) for the third-most in USF history and his 242 career points stand just four shy of Santiago Gramatica (246, 2001-04)) for second-most all-time at USF.
