Key losses - Jason Johnson, Walter Yates III
Top returners - Andrew Harris, So. (6-2/210, former four-star LB from the '23 class), Troy Ford Jr., RS Fr. (6-2/235, former top-30 LB from the '23 class)
New additions - Ethan Barr, 5th yr. (6-3/245, 219 career tackles at Vanderbilt, two-time team captain), Jesiah Pierre, 6th year (6-2/240, played two seasons at Florida & three seasons at Texas Tech, 133 career tackles), Deshawn Pace, 5th year (6-2/220, 247 career tackles at Cincinnati), Xe'ree Alexander, So. (6-2/215, led Idaho in tackles last season as a true freshmen with 75), Ja'Qualin Birdsong, Fr. (6-3/200, four-star LB from '24 class), DJ McCormick, Fr. (6-1/200, three-star LB from '24 class)
What a difference one year makes. Clearly, one of the major points of emphasis for UCF's staff this past offseason was to add experienced P5 depth to the LB room. The Knights were able to do that in a major way with Barr, Pierre, and Pace. In Barr, UCF picked-up a three-year starter (and two-time captain) to quarterback their defense in 2024 (39 starts at Vanderbilt from 2020-23). Pierre is a hometown kid from Mt. Dora, who started his career in Gainesville before transferring to Texas Tech (20 career starts in Lubbock). UCF's program is very familiar with Pace, who played the last four seasons against the Knights as a member of the Cincinnati program (has played both safety and linebacker). Losing Jason Johnson becomes quite a bit more manageable when you add 79 career starts and 599 career tackles to the roster between Barr, Pierre, and Pace.
UCF was also able to quietly add Alexander, who can help the Knights both in the present as well as in the future. The sophomore, who led Idaho in tackles last season as a true-freshmen, will have three more years with the UCF program. And the Knights return highly-touted LB's Andrew Harris (played sparingly in '23) and Troy Ford Jr. (redshirted) from the '23 class. With so much depth now at the linebacker position, I wouldn't be surprised if both Birdsong and McCormick end up redshirting this upcoming season.
There's no question which position group added the most talent since UCF last took the field in December. Now we just have to hope that talent comes together quickly for the Knights in 2024 (and stays healthy).
Prior Positional Previews:
Defensive Line - https://ucf.forums.rivals.com/threads/2024-position-preview-defensive-line.117479/
Offensive Line - https://ucf.forums.rivals.com/threads/2024-position-preview-offensive-line.117554/
Top returners - Andrew Harris, So. (6-2/210, former four-star LB from the '23 class), Troy Ford Jr., RS Fr. (6-2/235, former top-30 LB from the '23 class)
New additions - Ethan Barr, 5th yr. (6-3/245, 219 career tackles at Vanderbilt, two-time team captain), Jesiah Pierre, 6th year (6-2/240, played two seasons at Florida & three seasons at Texas Tech, 133 career tackles), Deshawn Pace, 5th year (6-2/220, 247 career tackles at Cincinnati), Xe'ree Alexander, So. (6-2/215, led Idaho in tackles last season as a true freshmen with 75), Ja'Qualin Birdsong, Fr. (6-3/200, four-star LB from '24 class), DJ McCormick, Fr. (6-1/200, three-star LB from '24 class)
What a difference one year makes. Clearly, one of the major points of emphasis for UCF's staff this past offseason was to add experienced P5 depth to the LB room. The Knights were able to do that in a major way with Barr, Pierre, and Pace. In Barr, UCF picked-up a three-year starter (and two-time captain) to quarterback their defense in 2024 (39 starts at Vanderbilt from 2020-23). Pierre is a hometown kid from Mt. Dora, who started his career in Gainesville before transferring to Texas Tech (20 career starts in Lubbock). UCF's program is very familiar with Pace, who played the last four seasons against the Knights as a member of the Cincinnati program (has played both safety and linebacker). Losing Jason Johnson becomes quite a bit more manageable when you add 79 career starts and 599 career tackles to the roster between Barr, Pierre, and Pace.
UCF was also able to quietly add Alexander, who can help the Knights both in the present as well as in the future. The sophomore, who led Idaho in tackles last season as a true-freshmen, will have three more years with the UCF program. And the Knights return highly-touted LB's Andrew Harris (played sparingly in '23) and Troy Ford Jr. (redshirted) from the '23 class. With so much depth now at the linebacker position, I wouldn't be surprised if both Birdsong and McCormick end up redshirting this upcoming season.
There's no question which position group added the most talent since UCF last took the field in December. Now we just have to hope that talent comes together quickly for the Knights in 2024 (and stays healthy).
Prior Positional Previews:
Defensive Line - https://ucf.forums.rivals.com/threads/2024-position-preview-defensive-line.117479/
Offensive Line - https://ucf.forums.rivals.com/threads/2024-position-preview-offensive-line.117554/
