ARLINGTON, Texas — The UCF Knights stepped up to the microphones at their first Big 12 football media days, with Coach Gus Malzahn, quarterback John Rhys Plumlee and defensive end Josh Celiscar representing the Knights in interviews Thursday.

Malzahn is back in a Power 5 conference for the first time since leaving Auburn.

"It's a huge moment," Malzahn said.

“It’s just the excitement of playing some of the best teams in college football week in and week out and that grind that goes with it,” said Malzahn, who is entering his third season as UCF's coach. “That’s what excites me. Just the profile of our program taking that next step.”

Malzahn said joining the Big 12, a conference that has schools in three time zones, is a game-changer.

The move has opened doors to recruits that weren't available to UCF until they decided to transfer from their original choices previously, he said.

"I think it (the Big 12) is a great fit for us," Malzahn said. "Right now, we're the only team in Florida. It's a great place to recruit. It's really changed the landscape for us recruiting."

UCF, BYU, Houston and Cincinnati are the four new teams, bringing the conference to 14 teams this season.

The session Thursday appeared almost as much about the Big 12 getting to know the Knights as about UCF's excitement to be part of the conference. Knights fans probably already knew most of what Malzahn and his offensive and defensive leaders discussed.

The Knights will face all new conference opponents this year, except for Cincinnati and Houston. Malzahn said his primary focus on Big 12 opponents so far has been mostly on the first two — Kansas State on Sept. 23 and Baylor on Sept. 30 — and that he also is planning for UCF's first three games against nonconference teams.

Malzahn explained how he hopes the roster changes and plans for the offense will help Plumlee improve on a strong performance last season.

"He can't be our leading rusher. We ran him too much (last season)," Malzahn said. "You've got to keep in mind, he didn't play quarterback for a year-and-a-half before last year. He was learning as we were playing games. And then he hit a stride and started playing at a high level. And if he hadn't gotten hurt, we would have finished really, really well. But he is a completely different quarterback right now than he was."

As Malzahn has explained since naming former UCF quarterback Darin Hinshaw as his new offensive coordinator, the team plans to throw the ball down the field more this season.

"You've got to score points," Malzahn said. "It's a great offensive league. You look at — top to bottom — it's deep. There's no off weeks, like, most normal — in any other conference, really, for that matter....So, you've got to bring your lunch every day."

On defense, he said the emphasis will be on "putting more pressure on the quarterback" to try to slow down those offenses.

Malzahn said they've had more than a year since learning they would become part of the Big 12 to prepare and add quality depth. He said he feels confident right now that they are ready to compete throughout the season.

Plumlee said he still is getting to know Hinshaw, a former star at UCF, because he knows what Plumlee goes through as a quarterback, especially what he faces when standing in the pocket.

He will have a mostly new offensive line to protect him, too.

"The physical aspect of those guys, you're not hiding that from anybody," Plumlee said, noting that they call themselves the Hogs.

Celiscar is excited about the magnitude of becoming part of the Big 12 and seemed to think the site for media days, AT&T Stadium, is a symbol of how big it is.

He said he is focused on learning the offenses in the new league.

"With us, the standard is the standard," Celiscar said. "So, we always have to work really hard every day, never take anything for granted as a team. As a defense, we have to hold each other accountable and make sure that we uphold the standard."

UCF was not the only team to meet with reporters and analysts as the Big 12 wrapped up its media days.

Houston coach Dana Holgorsen is again overseeing a team’s transition into the league, like he did just more than a decade ago at West Virginia.

While BYU is giving up its football independence, coach Kalani Sitake has experience with a program moving up to the highest level. And Scott Satterfield’s first season with Cincinnati — and the Bearcats’ debut in the Big 12 — comes after four seasons in the Atlantic Coast Conference as Louisville’s coach.

“I do think all four schools will be competitive in this league,” Satterfield said. “The thing that as a newcomer into the league, you don’t know the makeup of the teams. We haven’t played in this league. We haven’t played the teams that are in this league, so you don’t really understand the ins and outs of the teams that we’re getting ready to play.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.