Malzahn Realized Something about His Obsession He Never Could Have Admitted as UCF Coach

Photo credit: UCF athleticsLong before the bright lights of college football, the Gus Bus drove at a much slower pace in small-town east Arkansas.

In 1992, Gus Malzahn earned his first head coaching gig at Hughes High, just a stone’s throw from the Mississippi River. The first-year head coach had big ideas as he constructed the offensive playbook for the Blue Devils.

Teaching world geography became an afterthought for the Fort Smith native as he poured over scouting reports he’d saved from his days as a wide receiver and punter at Arkansas, where he was a walk-on, and Henderson State.

Concepts that years later would change the face of the game began as scribbled Xs and Os on the back of…