NEWPORT, R.I. _ UCF kicks off preseason camp in a few weeks and nobody is more excited to get back to work than second-year coach Josh Heupel.
"When our staff comes back a week before we open training camp, when that Tuesday morning hits, I'll be invigorated, excited and ready to go," Heupel told the Orlando Sentinel during American Athletic Conference media day.
The Knights enter this season winners of 25 of their past 26 games, including back-to-back conference championships. Thanks to that run of success, this year's team is the preseason favorite to win another AAC title in 2019.
"It's not going to be easy _ it's never been easy. We definitely have a target on us now," UCF defensive back Richie Grant said. "Everybody wants to knock us off. Nobody likes to see UCF win, so we know we have to come in with a mentality of win or go home."
UCF receiver Gabe Davis added, "We have something to prove this year. Definitely we want to show we're the same team that we've been for the past two years. Every time that you think someone has left, someone else has come in and someone will be here to fill that spot. So we're here to show that this year."
Offensive lineman Jordan Johnson, who is entering his final season at UCF, knows it's now or never for him.
"I don't want to be that guy who is like, 'I could have been this.' I want to do it now," Johnson said. "I want to grind as hard as I can now and not try and work out when I'm 30 years old and it's too late. I want to put in that work right now."
