Commencement at the University of Central Florida went viral when Humanities students booed a speech that praised AI. It was a moment that launched think pieces on AI and how students feel about it, while at the same time, UCF Knights football coach Scott Frost has been thinking about whether there’s ways to implement AI into coaching.
The truth is that AI has come to coaching. It’s used in scouting, film study, and various other ways a program is run. So, maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that Frost has expressed some interest in it.
“It’s funny you ask that,” Frost said. “I have a friend that is involved with a company like that that we just met with the other day called Tracker. There are several others… I relate it to the scene in Moneyball where they’re sitting around talking about on-base percentage, and the old scouts were reluctant to adopt that kind of thinking.”
In particular, Frost thinks UCF may be able to use AI as a way to become more efficient as a coaching staff. So, the Knights are looking into it.
“I think there are some ways that it’s going to be obvious that it can help you immediately, and some other ways that we’re going to have to get used to doing things a different way if it is going to help,” Frost said. “I think it’ll keep getting better over time. We’re taking a hard look at that and seeing if it can help us, number one. Number two, like you said, if it can save us some time. We don’t want to waste time to save time, but if it’s something that clearly can help us, then we’re going to be interested.”
Scott Frost is far from the only coach who is looking into AI. Former Notre Dame and LSU head coach Brian Kelly has publicly come out in favor of using AI. Then, coaches around the country are using it to help scout high school talent, while some high schoolers are even using it to fake game tape.
“They have technology that can look at how a player moves on tape and determine ankle flexibility and hip movement and predict injuries,” Frost said. “I think there are ways to relate players that you’ve liked before to other players and try to identify them that way. I think there are ways to break down film that it’s going to be able to do over time.”
Scott Frost Still Wants to Trust His Instincts as the UCF Knights’ Coach
GettyUCF Knights head coach Scott Frost
In all of this, Scott Frost did make one thing clear. He isn’t ready to completely give in to AI just yet. As the UCF Knights head coach, he still wants to trust his instincts.
“At the end of the day, in my experience, the best thing you can rely on is your intuition and your gut after you’ve been around football a long time,” Frost said. “So it’s not just what information it gives you. It’s how you use it and to what degree you trust it compared to your own intellect and experience. I think there’s got to be a balance there.”
So, for now, UCF will look into AI. However, that’s only at an entry level, with actual coaches and scouts doing the majority of the work.
“I think we’re at the front end of it right now,” Frost said. “There’s starting to be talk about how it can apply to football. It intrigues me, just the idea of it. I won’t spend a ton of time on it, but enough to see if there are ways at this entry level, with AI starting to get into football, that can help us.”
Scott Frost Needs a Bounce Back Season at UCF
GettyUCF Knights head coach Scott Frost
2025 was the first season of Scott Frost’s second tenure at UCF. That came after he flipped UCF from the winless team inherited following the 2015 season to an unbeaten season where the school claimed a national championship in 2017.
After that year, he left for his alma mater, Nebraska. However, after a rough tenure there, he was fired during the 2022 season, eventually returning to Orlando and UCF for the 2025 season. Again, Frost was asked to rebuild the program, inheriting a team that went just 4-8 in 2024.
Frost went 5-7 in his first season back with UCF. That came with just a 2-7 record in Big 12 play. However, there were several missed opportunities to make it back to a bowl game, including a pair of one-score losses in conference play. Quarterback and offensive line play, in particular, proved to be major issues.
So, now, Frost and UCF are looking for a way to bounce back. If this tenure is anything like his first, the Knights will have a massive second-season bounce. However, that does seem unlikely given their current standing in the Big 12.
UCF Knights HC Scott Frost Shares Honest Thoughts on AI in Coaching