But there’s something important to know about Frost: Nothing matters more than a championship. Not the championship, but a championship — in anything, at any time, in football or elsewhere, the former Nebraska quarterback is driven by the chase. In early 1998, he had to stand before the masses and plead his case for giving Nebraska a share of the national title. He won’t ever do that again. Frost just wants to win, and to do so on his own terms.
“There’s nothing better than winning a championship,” he said. “We’re not done yet, but it was a pretty emotional feeling when you see your plan work and you win a championship.”
So when he does leave UCF — and he is going to leave UCF, very likely soon, and if not this month then a year from now — it’ll be because he’s scaled one mountain, and it’s time to tackle the next summit. Because the American championship is one thing. The national championship is another. Frost wants that title. He can’t win it at UCF. Whether that’s fair or not, it’s the truth.
Nebraska will tug at the heartstrings.
A few weeks ago, Frost and his quality-control administrator, former Nebraska linebacker Barrett Ruud, sat in Frost’s office and took a quiz: name the 300 most populous cities, towns and villages in Nebraska in 20 minutes. The pair got more than 200. His parents still reside in Wood River, Neb., and Tom Osborne still looms over the university and its football program. At some point, if he hasn’t already, Osborne will place a call: Are you ready to come home, he’ll ask. Frost would have to say no to his mentor and “hero in coaching,” as he called Osborne in
a recent interview with USA TODAY Sports.
