Welcome to UCF Knights on SI’s countdown to kickoff, where the roster gets broken down one name at a time ahead of the 2026 season.
With 21 days left before UCF opens against Bethune-Cookman on Sep. 3 at 7 p.m., the spotlight lands on Ty Bartrum, a kicker defensive back who arrives in Orlando after spending his first four college seasons at Harvard.
Bartrum’s football roots run deep. He is one of three brothers to play college football: Cody played linebacker at Charlotte, while Zach lined up at wide receiver for Old Dominion.
All three are sons of Mike Bartrum, the former tight end and long snapper who was part of Marshall’s 1992 FCS National Championship team and later played 13 seasons in the NFL. Mike Bartrum also enters 2026 with a new role of his own, having been named head coach of the NAIA’s Rio Grande RedStorm.
After UCF’s Aug. 12 practice, Bartrum said his father taught him "a bunch of things" about the long snapper position and that he could be the Knights' long snapper if they needed him to.
Bartrum’s final season at Harvard was a big one. He wore the captain’s title in 2025, then finished as an Associated Press FCS All-American Honorable Mention and a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given to the FCS National Defensive Player of the Year. His numbers backed that up: 83 tackles, 27 solo stops, 0.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, three pass breakups and an interception.
That kind of production is why he should have a real role for UCF. Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has said he wants to "play the most guys that we possibly can" in the secondary, and Bartrum fits that plan. He joins a safety room that already includes returning starters Demari Henderson and Braeden Marshall, while a recovered Jayden Williams looks like his main competition for a starting spot.
Bartrum’s value does not stop on defense, either. He is also lined up to serve as the PP, or Personal Protector, on special teams.
"We put Ty there for a reason," special teams coordinator Pete Alamar said following an April 7 practice session. "Guy's played a lot of football, a guy that's been a communicator as a defensive back, so it's pretty natural for him to stand in there and communicate. So, like that part about him, and that's just him now, learning our system and, you know, and being that authoritative figure."
Between the secondary and special teams, Bartrum looks positioned to be one of UCF’s most important non-offensive transfer additions in 2026.
In Other News...
UCF's New Backfield Could Decide How Far Scott Frost's Offense Goes
A new look in the backfield could end up telling the story of how far Scott Frosts offense can go at UCF. The Knights went into the transfer portal to patch a rushing attack that lost production from its previous running backs, bringing in Duke Watson from Louisville and Landen Chambers to compete with Taevion Swint for the starting job.
Watson has leaned into the battle, saying he welcomes the competition and sees a fit in Frosts wide zone scheme because of his versatile running style. With multiple options now in the mix, UCFs challenge is less about finding bodies and more about finding the right combination to lift a ground game that needs to take a step forward. [Read more 🡒]
UCF Defense Has A Reason For Real Hope This Season
Alex Grinch spent this offseason looking for the kind of stability UCFs defense has often lacked, and the clearest place to find it may be right up the middle. The Knights are trying to toughen the defensive interior with veteran edge and a linebacker group that now has more continuity, thanks in part to the return of familiar faces such as Lewis Carter and Jayden Bellamy. For a unit that wants to play with more consistency snap to snap, keeping experienced pieces in place matters almost as much as any schematic tweak.
Cole Kozlowski could be the biggest reason that optimism feels real. The linebacker made an immediate impact after arriving from a mid-major program and earned All-Big 12 Third Team honors last season, and his pending return gives UCF another proven presence in the middle of the defense. If the Knights are going to turn that offseason hope into actual improvement, the interior is where it likely starts, and Kozlowskis availability is the detail that could shape how far this group can go. [Read more 🡒]
UCFs Big 12 Path Looks Tougher With One Contender Setting The Pace
Texas Tech enters the Big 12 race looking like the team to beat again, and that matters for UCF because the path through the league already appears crowded at the top. The Red Raiders are favored to repeat as conference champions at -105, a reflection of a roster that returns 65% of its production and should again bring the league's best defense into the fall.
Houston is part of the reason the middle of the Big 12 could be so unforgiving for everyone else. The Cougars bring back the conference's second-highest share of production and have shown real growth recently, giving the league another team with the pieces to push for the title chase while Texas Tech remains the standard. [Read more 🡒]