Coach AJ Blazek rebuilds UCF's shattered offensive line, injecting discipline and toughness to conquer last season's penalty woes.
UCF's offensive line was decimated entering the transfer portal window, but offensive line coach AJ Blazek has played a significant role in revamping his position group for next season.
The offensive line lost nine players — seven to expired eligibility and two to the transfer portal. Most of these departures were starters, and the position group became a top priority to address when the portal opened.
Four offensive linemen — Cooper Terpstra, Brady Wayburn, Tyler Gibson and Henry Tabansi — have committed to play for coach Scott Frost and learn under Blazek. Frost sang high praises for his new position coach in the program's press release on Blazek's hiring.
“AJ has a gift for developing offensive linemen," Frost said. "He knows how to teach the details, build toughness and create a standard in that room. His experience gives him a great perspective, and our players are going to benefit from that every day.”
Blazek's last coaching stop was in the Big Ten with the Wisconsin Badgers for two years. Their offensive line was successful under his tutelage and was the second-least penalized team in the conference last season, with 43 penalties.
They were the seventh-least penalized team with 63 in 2024. Penalties were the Knights' Achilles heel last season, as the team led the Big 12 with 91 penalties before Cincinnati, Arizona State and No. 4 Texas Tech played bowl games.
"Where they're happening is the most frustrating to me because they're happening for the most part in the red zone," Frost said after UCF's 20-11 loss to Cincinnati. "It's starting to be a pattern, and we have to address that."
Penalties made converting first downs difficult because the team would often get pushed back five to 10 yards. Sometimes, it would negate a big play the Knights made and prevent them from gaining any momentum.
"We overcame a holding on another drive and then got a chop block later in the drive," Frost said. "Those things hurt you, and we played well, but not disciplined enough and not with enough detail."
A key theme in Frost's quotes is detail, something his squad struggled with and Blazek knows how to teach. The details are significant in reducing penalties: knowing the snap count and filtering outside noise to hear the snap count.
Blazek can impart his teachings to his new offensive linemen to improve a position that struggled last year. All four lineman played 10 or more games at their previous schools, replacing experience with experience.
Also, Blazek posted on X about how excited he is to teach 2026 recruits Kasiyah Charlton and Amahn Williams. He ended his post with a hashtag that resonates with Frost's vision for his program's future.
"Recruit, Develop, Retain," Blazek posted.