Myles Montgomery, Jaden Nixon lead speedy, well-rounded UCF football backfield (2025)

ORLANDO — Jimmy Beal, UCF's first-year running backs coach, thinks he can still give his players a run for their money if they line up for a race. His résumé, which dates back to 2006, includes a spell as a Division II track and field coach (Montana State-Billings), so Beal knows what speed looks and feels like.

During his first press conference Thursday, Beal mentioned the potential for a race following spring camp. Asked about the challenge, Myles Montgomery let out a laugh.

"Coach Beal swears to God if he gets two months of training he's going to get a 4.6 (40-yard dash). First of all, that's not good enough to beat anybody in the room," Montgomery said. "Secondly, I don't think that would be smart for his health. He might pull something, I don't know."

UCF Knights football: Dylan Rizk, starting QB for 4 games in '24, intends to enter transfer portal

As Knights head coach Scott Frost said following Saturday's open spring practice, "This is Florida, and we're fast. We've got to play that way all the time." Nowhere is that more apparent than in the UCF backfield, where several all-purpose burners are emerging as potential impact players.

That list starts with Montgomery, a Jacksonville native who spelled NFL-bound RJ Harvey for 51 carries, 293 rushing yards and four touchdowns during UCF's 4-8 campaign in 2024. He's become a leader not only among his position group, but for the entire offense throughout the spring.

Myles Montgomery, Jaden Nixon lead speedy, well-rounded UCF football backfield (1)

Jaden Nixon, a newcomer from Western Michigan, described Montgomery as a "workhorse." And that's what the redshirt senior hopes to showcase this fall. Through 30 college games, the first 18 at Cincinnati, the 5-foot-11, 205-pound Montgomery has carried the ball just 131 times.

"Let's just be real; I've been a career-long backup. And now it's my time," Montgomery said. "I want to prove everybody wrong — that I'm really good enough, and that I can take over a team and be a great leader, win some games."

Nixon, to date, is UCF's only portal addition at the position. The cousin of former Minnesota Vikings star Adrian Peterson, Nixon rushed for a career-best 921 yards and scored 12 touchdowns for Western Michigan after spending the previous three seasons at Oklahoma State.

While at Oklahoma State, Nixon got a field-level taste of the Bounce House experience — a bitter one on the day as UCF thumped the then-No. 15 Cowboys 45-3 in 2023 for a seventh consecutive Space Game triumph.

"Everybody was bouncing around, taking their shirts off, swinging them around. It's pouring down rain, and everybody's going crazy," said Nixon, who was on the receiving end of Colton Boomer's late hit out of bounds on a kick return early in the third quarter. "The light show was nice. The uniforms were nice. Thinking about that game … oh yeah, I love that energy. That's what I live for."

Myles Montgomery, Jaden Nixon lead speedy, well-rounded UCF football backfield (2)

Nixon has Oklahoma State's Nov. 22 return trip to Orlando circled on his calendar. He accounted for 1,447 all-purpose yards and seven touchdowns during his 27-game Cowboys career.

UCF's other four running backs — redshirt freshman Stacy Gage, true freshman Taevion Swint and walk-ons Tyler Wrenn and Agyeman Addae — have yet to log a collegiate rushing attempt.

Beal complimented Gage's growth and ability to play faster, and he produced an impressive long gain during the open portion of Thursday's practice. Swint, the Knights' prized recruit from Kissimmee Osceola, has practiced with a non-contact jersey throughout camp after undergoing a procedure on his shoulder.

Addae, whose father Jahmile was a two-time All-Big East safety at West Virginia and currently serves as the Buffalo Bills' cornerbacks coach, impressed during Saturday's scrimmage drills in running and pass protection. He gained 1,637 career rushing yards and scored 13 TDs for Miami Columbus, one of South Florida's perennial powerhouses.

"He's a freshman walk-on, and you can't even tell," Montgomery said over the weekend. "Usually (pass blocking) is a problem with freshmen, and you don't even see it with him.

"He's surprised me. He reminds me a lot of myself when I was a freshman, but he's just way better. I can't even explain it."

Once spring practices end, Beal points out there will be nobody considered a "young guy" moving forward. He wants his entire group to be ready to contribute at a moment's notice — and to do so in all facets within Frost's scheme.

"We do whatever we can, whether it's pass-blocking, running the ball, running routes. We can do it all," Beal said. "And it starts from the bottom to the top. That's how we all prepare. We're not just a one-trick pony."

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF Knights football: Running backs full speed ahead for Scott Frost