UCF may have to move forward without Alonza Barnett III for a while.
The Knights quarterback is reportedly set to miss several weeks after hurting his hamstring late in Saturday’s 12-7 loss at Pittsburgh, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. His return date is unclear.
Barnett exited after picking up a two-yard scramble on third-and-6 from the UCF 26 with 1:29 remaining. He came off the field holding his right hamstring, and backup Keyone Jenkins stepped in. Jenkins was then sacked on fourth-and-4, and the drive ended there.
After the game, Scott Frost said he still didn’t know exactly what happened.
“We’re not sure what it was yet. Hopefully, it’s just a cramp, but I don’t know yet,” Frost said of the senior’s status.
Barnett finished 20 of 31 for 186 yards and a touchdown, but he spent much of the afternoon escaping pressure and creating plays outside the pocket. He also led UCF on the ground with 47 yards on 13 carries.
The Knights, now 1-1, are back home Saturday against Georgia State at 7 p.m. on ESPN+, before opening Big 12 play at home against TCU on Sept. 26.
Barnett arrived at UCF after four seasons at James Madison, where the 5-foot-11, 210-pound right-hander was a two-year starter and helped the Dukes go 21-6. Last season, he quarterbacked JMU to a 12-2 finish, its ninth double-digit-win season, and the program’s 10th conference championship with a 31-14 win over Troy in the Sun Belt title game.
JMU then reached the College Football Playoff and fell 51-34 to No. 5 Oregon in the first round.
Barnett was named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year after completing 58% of his passes for 2,806 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also added 589 rushing yards and a team-best 15 rushing scores.
His health has been an issue before. He was limited during spring camp, with coaches keeping him on the sideline.
If Barnett is unavailable, UCF’s options include Jenkins, a multi-year starter who transferred from FIU, former Boise State transfer Kaleb Annett, and true freshmen Rocco Marriott and Dante Carr.
Quarterback turnover has been a familiar problem around UCF. Injuries and uneven play have forced eight different quarterbacks into action over the last 24 games.
When Frost came back last season, he overhauled the position group by adding transfers Tayven Jackson, Cam Fancher and Davi Belfort while also keeping Jacurri Brown in the mix.
Fancher won the job to start the season, but he suffered a broken collarbone early in the first half of the opener against Jacksonville State. Jackson ended up starting 10 games, though he was injured as well, and Brown also missed time.
The last UCF quarterback to start a full season was Dillon Gabriel in 2020.
In Other News...
UCF Heads Into Georgia State With One Offense Problem To Fix Fast
UCFs trip through Pittsburgh left a familiar concern hanging over the offense, and it showed up in a place the Knights cannot afford to ignore for long. The run game never got going, the ground attack stayed bottled up, and Scott Frost had already acknowledged earlier in the game that the team needed to do a better job establishing it.
The timing matters because Georgia State is next, and its defense has been vulnerable against the run, allowing an average of 77 rushing yards per game. For UCF, this is the kind of matchup that can either help reset an offense or keep the same issue front and center, which makes the Knights ability to find consistency on the ground one of the more important details heading into the week. [Read more 🡒]
UCFs Defense Looks Ready For Big 12 Pressure If The Offense Cooperates
Through two games, Alex Grinchs defense has given UCF a sturdy foundation while the rest of the team searches for a cleaner offensive rhythm. The Knights have looked especially sharp against the run, with Sincere Edwards, Tackett Curtis and Lewis Carter helping set a tone that has kept opponents from getting comfortable, even after the recent loss to Pittsburgh.
That kind of resistance matters in the Big 12, where surviving week to week often starts with refusing to get pushed around. UCFs defense has already shown it can travel well enough to keep games within reach, and now the bigger question is whether the offense can do enough to let that effort show up in the win column. [Read more 🡒]
UCFs Biggest Problem After Pitt Looks Way Too Familiar
The disappointment from UCFs 12-7 loss to Pitt had a familiar feel, because the Knights spent much of the night undoing their own work. Penalties kept putting the offense behind schedule, and a limited running game made it harder to recover when drives stalled. Players and coaches were left pointing to the same broad issue after the game: too many self-inflicted mistakes in a contest that never got away from them, but never quite tilted their way either.
Waden Charles summed up the frustration by saying Pitt did not really do anything to stop UCF and that the Knights stopped themselves, a blunt assessment after a game decided by details. The next step is straightforward enough, at least on paper, with film review and a reset before Georgia State, but the challenge is obvious - clean up the discipline issues and turn those missed chances into points before the same story repeats itself. [Read more 🡒]