Gus Malzahn: 'Great offense' stands out in Big 12 teams

UCF head coach Gus Malzahn raved about the offensive talent around the Big 12 when he spoke at Media Days this week.

UCF is one of four new members of the conference with BYU, Cincinnati and Houston. Malzahn saw Power Five play when he coached Auburn and now the Knights get their first experience this season.

As the old adage went, the Big 12 is known for its offense. 

“Yeah. I mean, great offense is what stands out to me first,” Malzahn said. “You’ve got to play good defense or they’ll run you out of town. Then the second thing that stands out to me is there is big-time coaching. There’s some great coaches, not just head coaches, there’s some great coordinators in this league, too. It’s a really, really challenging league.”

Malzahn was asked about the depth of the conference going into 2023. Despite Texas and Oklahoma leaving for the SEC in 2024, it seems like it’s tough to find a program that’ll have a down year this fall.

“Well, I think it is the deepest, I will say that,” Malzahn said. “Those two examples you just used is a great example of that. As a matter of fact, our first conference game is on the road at Kansas State, and that’s no treat. Our first home conference game is Baylor. The last two champions, so that’s a huge challenge.

“But like I said, it’s a deep conference. There’s no — when you look at your schedule, there’s no off weeks. You’ve got to bring your A-game every week. That’s really what stands out to me coming in as a new kid on the block.”

The Big 12 is new territory for everyone involved. Malzahn talked about the comparisons of coaching big-time football in the SEC at Auburn and now with UCF in the Big 12.

“Yeah, well, to start with, the last two years I’ve Zoomed my Media Day, so I feel more comfortable right here today,” Malzahn said. “You know, it’s just the excitement of playing some of the best teams in college football week in and week out and that grind that goes with it. That’s what excites me. Just the profile of our program taking that next step.

“There’s a lot of excitement, and like I said earlier, I think the best thing for us is like we’re not in a rush. We had time to prepare for this moment and building our roster and our staff and everything that goes with that. Terry Mohajir is as good an athletic director as there is in the country, and me and him have worked together strategically to get this moment, so we’re really excited about it.”