First day of practice is Monday, March 11. There will be three practices the first week, then they'll take a week off for spring break before resuming March 26.
Here's an updated roster/scholarship breakdown:
**Portal addition
*HS signee enrolled
=HS signee that won't until summer below the break
QB (6)
KJ Jefferson (Arkansas)**
Timmy McClain
Xavier Williams
Dylan Rizk
Riley Trujillo*
=
EJ Colson*
UCF got their portal QB in KJ Jefferson. Will the room remain at six heading into the season? EJ Colson wasn't expected to be in the 2024 class but reclassified, which makes the room even more crowded. He won't arrive until summer though.
RB (6)
RJ Harvey
Johnny Richardson
Demarkcus Bowman
Myles Montgomery (Cincinnati)**
=
Stacy Gage*
Frankie Arthur*
Somewhat crowded room, especially since RJ would be expected to get the bulk of carries. Who wins the battle for No. 2 RB? Can Bowman make an impact after missing most of last season due to a concussion issue?
WR (10)
Kobe Hudson
Xavier Townsend
Trent Whittemore
Chauncey Magwood
Jarrad Baker
Tyree Patterson
Goldie Lawrence (FSU)**
Jordyn Bridgewater*
Bredell Richardson*
Kason Stokes*
Hudson and Townsend are the leaders here... who else emerges? Can Whittemore and Magwood step up in the rotation? Which freshman WR will make an impact?
TE (5)
Randy Pittman Jr.
Evan Morris (Michigan State)**
Jordan Davis
Grant Stevens
Kylan Fox*
Pittman is ready to emerge in the spotlight and Morris brings a reliable blocker. Can Jordan Davis rebound from injury? UCF is also bringing in TE transfer Reece Adkins, who is a PWO walk-on from Eastern Kentucky.
OL (13)
Amari Kight
Marcellus Marshall
Adrian Medley
Jabari Brooks (Samford)**
Wes Dorsey (Western Kentucky)**
Caden Kitler
Paul Rubelt
Cameron Kinnie
Johnathan Cline
Keyon Cox
Patrick Barnett
Waltclaire Flynn*
=
Chase Malamala*
Jabari Brooks, Caden Kitler and Waltclaire Flynn will battle it out at center. Brooks can also play guard. I would think Kight, Marshall and Medley are set as starters, then Brooks/Kitler will emerge at center. Wes Dorsey could slide into RT.
DT (7)
Ricky Barber
Lee Hunter
John Walker
Matthew Alexander
Derrick LeBlanc
Andrew Rumph
Marcus Downs*
All DTs returning from last season. I'll be curious to see how Derrick LeBlanc is progressing after redshirting last season following his transfer from Oklahoma.
DE (5)
Malachi Lawrence
Daylan Dotson (UT Martin)**
Jamaal Johnson
Isaiah Nixon
Kaven Call
Malachi and Dotson return with the most experience. The others are young. I'm listing UNLV transfer Zavier Carter under LB because that's what his commitment graphic says, though I'm wondering if he'll really be at DE.
LB (10)
Jesiah Pierre (Texas Tech)**
Ethan Barr (Vanderbilt)**
Xe'ree Alexander (Idaho)**
Andrew Harris
Kam Moore
TJ Bullard
Troy Ford Jr.
Zavier Carter? (UNLV)**
DJ McCormick*
=
Qua Birdsong*
Lots of portal attention at LB this offseason. UCF went from having meager depth to significant depth, especially when you consider a guy like Ladarius Tennison can play LB if needed.
S (9)
Ladarius Tennison (Ole Miss)**
Bryon Threats (Cincinnati)**
Deshawn Pace (Cincinnati)**
Demari Henderson
Nikai Martinez
Quadric Bullard
William Wells
Jashad Presley*
Jakob Gude*
CB (10)
Ja'Cari Henderson
Brandon Adams
Braeden Marshall
Antione Jackson (ECU)**
Ja'Maric Morris
Jason Duclona
Jarvis Ware
Christian Peterson*
Chasen Johnson*
=
Jaylen Heyward*
I lumped everybody between S and CB until it's clear who the nickels would be. Tennison? Pace?
Ja'Cari suffered an injury this past season. Is he back for spring? Will Jarvis Ware ever make an impact? He's been injury prone his entire career - he missed the entire 2021 and 2023 seasons.
DB as a whole could be the most intriguing position group as there are some incredibly talented transfers and it'll be interesting to see where they'll line up.
Specialists (4)
K Colton Boomer
K Grant Reddick
P Mitch McCarthy
LS Gage King
Curious what happens with Colton Boomer this spring. I have to believe he wasn't 100 percent as the season progressed.
Total
This is EXACTLY 85 players between the returners and portal/high school commits/signees.
Here's an updated roster/scholarship breakdown:
**Portal addition
*HS signee enrolled
=HS signee that won't until summer below the break
QB (6)
KJ Jefferson (Arkansas)**
Timmy McClain
Xavier Williams
Dylan Rizk
Riley Trujillo*
=
EJ Colson*
UCF got their portal QB in KJ Jefferson. Will the room remain at six heading into the season? EJ Colson wasn't expected to be in the 2024 class but reclassified, which makes the room even more crowded. He won't arrive until summer though.
RB (6)
RJ Harvey
Johnny Richardson
Demarkcus Bowman
Myles Montgomery (Cincinnati)**
=
Stacy Gage*
Frankie Arthur*
Somewhat crowded room, especially since RJ would be expected to get the bulk of carries. Who wins the battle for No. 2 RB? Can Bowman make an impact after missing most of last season due to a concussion issue?
WR (10)
Kobe Hudson
Xavier Townsend
Trent Whittemore
Chauncey Magwood
Jarrad Baker
Tyree Patterson
Goldie Lawrence (FSU)**
Jordyn Bridgewater*
Bredell Richardson*
Kason Stokes*
Hudson and Townsend are the leaders here... who else emerges? Can Whittemore and Magwood step up in the rotation? Which freshman WR will make an impact?
TE (5)
Randy Pittman Jr.
Evan Morris (Michigan State)**
Jordan Davis
Grant Stevens
Kylan Fox*
Pittman is ready to emerge in the spotlight and Morris brings a reliable blocker. Can Jordan Davis rebound from injury? UCF is also bringing in TE transfer Reece Adkins, who is a PWO walk-on from Eastern Kentucky.
OL (13)
Amari Kight
Marcellus Marshall
Adrian Medley
Jabari Brooks (Samford)**
Wes Dorsey (Western Kentucky)**
Caden Kitler
Paul Rubelt
Cameron Kinnie
Johnathan Cline
Keyon Cox
Patrick Barnett
Waltclaire Flynn*
=
Chase Malamala*
Jabari Brooks, Caden Kitler and Waltclaire Flynn will battle it out at center. Brooks can also play guard. I would think Kight, Marshall and Medley are set as starters, then Brooks/Kitler will emerge at center. Wes Dorsey could slide into RT.
DT (7)
Ricky Barber
Lee Hunter
John Walker
Matthew Alexander
Derrick LeBlanc
Andrew Rumph
Marcus Downs*
All DTs returning from last season. I'll be curious to see how Derrick LeBlanc is progressing after redshirting last season following his transfer from Oklahoma.
DE (5)
Malachi Lawrence
Daylan Dotson (UT Martin)**
Jamaal Johnson
Isaiah Nixon
Kaven Call
Malachi and Dotson return with the most experience. The others are young. I'm listing UNLV transfer Zavier Carter under LB because that's what his commitment graphic says, though I'm wondering if he'll really be at DE.
LB (10)
Jesiah Pierre (Texas Tech)**
Ethan Barr (Vanderbilt)**
Xe'ree Alexander (Idaho)**
Andrew Harris
Kam Moore
TJ Bullard
Troy Ford Jr.
Zavier Carter? (UNLV)**
DJ McCormick*
=
Qua Birdsong*
Lots of portal attention at LB this offseason. UCF went from having meager depth to significant depth, especially when you consider a guy like Ladarius Tennison can play LB if needed.
S (9)
Ladarius Tennison (Ole Miss)**
Bryon Threats (Cincinnati)**
Deshawn Pace (Cincinnati)**
Demari Henderson
Nikai Martinez
Quadric Bullard
William Wells
Jashad Presley*
Jakob Gude*
CB (10)
Ja'Cari Henderson
Brandon Adams
Braeden Marshall
Antione Jackson (ECU)**
Ja'Maric Morris
Jason Duclona
Jarvis Ware
Christian Peterson*
Chasen Johnson*
=
Jaylen Heyward*
I lumped everybody between S and CB until it's clear who the nickels would be. Tennison? Pace?
Ja'Cari suffered an injury this past season. Is he back for spring? Will Jarvis Ware ever make an impact? He's been injury prone his entire career - he missed the entire 2021 and 2023 seasons.
DB as a whole could be the most intriguing position group as there are some incredibly talented transfers and it'll be interesting to see where they'll line up.
Specialists (4)
K Colton Boomer
K Grant Reddick
P Mitch McCarthy
LS Gage King
Curious what happens with Colton Boomer this spring. I have to believe he wasn't 100 percent as the season progressed.
Total
This is EXACTLY 85 players between the returners and portal/high school commits/signees.
