“That was one of the things we wanted to keep,” senior left tackle Wyatt Miller said. “Obviously, it’s a tradition. And cheesecake is good.”

Things have changed quickly in the past few years at UCF, which is why its first-year head coach, Josh Heupel, made sure the cheesecake tradition that started under his predecessor Scott Frost stayed. It seems every other part of the Knights’ program goes fast.

AD

AD

They turned things around fast under Frost, from 0-12 in 2015, the year before he arrived, to 13-0 in 2017. They moved on fast, hiring Heupel from Missouri last December just 72 hours after Frost accepted the head-coaching job at Nebraska. And the offense goes fast, ranking sixth in the nation in yards per game (537.1) and points per game (44.4). The Knights (7-0) were No. 12 in the opening College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday — equal to their high point last year in their self-proclaimed national championship season — and look to rocket higher beginning with Thursday night’s home game against Temple.

Heupel fits that speed just fine. Before he arrived in Orlando in January for his first head-coaching gig, he spent two years supercharging a Missouri offense under Barry Odom: The Tigers finished No. 124 in the country with 280.9 yards per game in 2015 before jumping to No. 7 in the country with 511.5 yards per game last season. In three years he has risen from coordinator at Utah State to, at age 40, head coach of the team with the longest active winning streak in FBS, at 20 games.

Still, the road wasn’t without a speed bump. And as fast-paced as Heupel is, he has recognized moments that require taking things slow.

AD

AD

Fast track, derailed

Slow isn’t normally how Heupel operates. As a college quarterback, he transferred from junior college to Bob Stoops’s Oklahoma and in his second season with the Sooners led them to a 13-0 season and the 2000 national championship. As a coach, he worked with the quarterbacks at Oklahoma for four years, tutoring Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford and Landry Jones along the way. He was the co-offensive coordinator at 32.

Then the Sooners went 8-5 in 2014 and lost their bowl game against Clemson, 40-6. Heupel’s former coach — the man who gave him his first coaching job — fired him, derailing Heupel’s fast track.

“We picked up and — I’m a guy that pushes forward pretty quickly, you know?” Heupel said.

AD

Stoops didn’t leave Heupel much time to ponder. By the time he was fired in January 2015 there were only three coordinator jobs open in the country. He took the spot at Utah State because he had a few ties in the area from junior college and respected Coach Matt Wells greatly after having played with his brother at Oklahoma. Heupel spent a season there before heading back up the ladder, to Missouri.

AD

He still doesn’t love talking about Oklahoma.

“So going back to your alma mater — awesome, right? Great opportunity, got to work with some really good coaches, some great athletes, still got a ton of great memories from Oklahoma, a lot from my playing days, some of my best friends are guys that I played with and that type of thing,” Heupel said, rapid-fire.

AD

“At the same time, I’ve said this before: The best thing that happened to me was getting away from that place, too. I had really been under one tree, and some of the things that as a head coach I wanted to do or had thought about, if I wasn’t outside of that tree, I don’t know if I would have implemented.”

Heupel spent nine years — more than half of his coaching career — at Oklahoma, but said he grew the most in his three years away. From Wells he learned about the meticulous organization it takes to run a program. From Odom, at Missouri, he learned how important it is to take the time to pour energy into coach-player relationships.

AD

Those relationships are what he talked about most in his job interview with UCF Athletic Director Danny White.

AD

That ticked off one of White’s boxes. The other, after meeting with eight team representatives, was that whoever the new coach was had to be comfortable with going fast on offense.

“He just really excelled in the interview compared to other candidates,” White said of Heupel. “The way he talked about connecting with kids . . . we want coaches that have walked the walk and can give them some perspective, and Josh certainly has, he was runner-up for the Heisman. He’s been through the same things they’re going through. I think that for today’s student-athlete, that’s critically important.”

‘Move in small increments’

Heupel not only nailed White and the team’s two main requirements in a head coach, he brought along a third factor as well.

AD

AD

Asked about the pressure of living up to Frost and that 13-0 season as a first-year head coach, Heupel shrugged, then apologized. Not everyone understands how the experience of operating at Just because he’s been operating the upper-tier of college football coaching at Mach 5 doesn’t mean everyone understands what that does to a person.

“As a player, I played at a program that won a national championship in their second year under a head coach that flipped a program quickly,” Heupel said. “I coached in a program where you're expected to win every ballgame, I mean, it's just — it’s just everyday life.”

Heupel knew he was walking into a group of veteran players who would do well enough without much interference. But he had worked under a big logo before, and at UCF, he wanted to build his own foundation.

AD

AD

He started by getting to know the players. From January up until spring ball, coaches had breakfast and lunch with the team. Those coaches whose families hadn’t yet moved out ate dinner with their players, too.

Heupel has made UCF his bit by bit. The differences have mainly been small but meaningful, players said, and Heupel is willing to compromise on everything from the nutrition center to play calls. The Knights use most of the same terminology they did under Frost, at the players’ request.

“He’s a really good communicator as far as getting stuff across and letting us know what he wants. It’s easier to get guys to move in small increments. I think that’s why we’re where we are now, because if you come in and try to change everything about this program, you’re starting completely over.”

AD

The players got to know their new coach and his staff gradually, at regular position player dinners at coaches’ homes. The get-togethers are a new practice Heupel implemented that didn’t take place under Frost. They seemed the most natural way to get to know his new team, and there have been four or five so far this year.

AD

Heupel made sure they weren’t all during spring ball or training camp, but rather purposefully spaced. He believes building relationships, like building his program, takes the proper time.