USF’s Jeff Scott welcomes UCF’s Gus Malzahn to War on I-4 rivalry

USF’s Jeff Scott is familiar with new UCF coach Gus Malzahn both as a coach and a neighbor.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Coach Malzahn,” Scott said Tuesday following the Bulls’ first practice of the spring. “I’ve gotten to know him a little bit through the years. It started out with the relationship I had with [former Clemson co-offensive coordinator] Chad Morris and Chad is very close to Coach Malzahn. We made that connection a few years back and stayed in touch.”

Morris spent a season as Malzahn’s offensive coordinator at Auburn in 2020 after brief stops at SMU and Arkansas.

“A lot of the things we did offensively go back to a lot of the things that he was doing many years ago,” Scott added.

Scott spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach at Clemson, first as a receivers coach before eventually moving into the role of co-offensive coordinator in 2005. During that stretch, Scott and the Tigers faced Malzahn’s Auburn teams twice in 2016-17. Clemson came away with wins both times.

“We’ve had some great games. I remember when I was at Clemson and he was at Auburn and excited to bring that to the War on I-4,” said Scott, who led USF to a 1-8 record in his first season including a 58-46 loss to UCF in Tampa on Nov. 27.

The UCF and USF coaches have one other connection.

“We actually both have a condo in the same building in Destin, Florida,” Scott said. “That’s going to be an interesting summer if he’s out there. Will have to have a little preview of the rivalry game.”

This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Matt Murschel at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com.