With UCF’s 2026 season-opener against Bethune-Cookman set for Sep. 3 at 7 p.m., the Knights’ countdown to kickoff has reached No. 33: linebacker Phil Picciotti.
Picciotti came to Orlando last season with fellow former Oklahoma linebacker Lewis Carter, returning to Florida for the first time since his senior year at IMG Academy. According to his UCF Athletics profile page, he piled up 63 tackles there.
His path in Norman was interrupted by a leg injury, which kept him from making his college football debut during his two years at Oklahoma.
That changed in 2025, when Picciotti finally got on the field for UCF. His work came mostly on special teams, and he appeared in the Knights’ final six games of the season.
After an April 28 practice, linebacker coach Mark D'Onofrio pointed to the long road Picciotti has been on.
"He missed so much time, and he was behind those other guys for so long; he's just now, in my opinion, starting to have confidence that he's got the strength in his leg to change direction the way he previously did, and all that kind of stuff," D'Onofrio said.
UCF’s linebacker room is crowded, with Lewis Carter, Jayden Jennings, Jahleel Culbreath, Tackett Curtis, Rashad Henry and Arthur Kingdom all in the mix. That means Picciotti’s most straightforward path in 2026 may be a continuation of the special teams role he handled last season.
If injuries open the door, Picciotti could also work his way into defensive snaps. To get there, though, he’ll have to stack up with Matthew Occhipinti, Dylan Bennett and Preston Hall and climb as high as he can on the depth chart.
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