UCF’s countdown to kickoff reached jersey No. 14, and this stop comes with two very different stories: quarterback Alonza Barnett III and defensive back Kahmel Johnson.
Barnett arrives in Orlando with a football lineage that already runs deep. His uncle, Troy Barnett, played defensive line at North Carolina before spending three years in the NFL.
His father, Alonza Barnett Jr., was originally recruited as a quarterback at North Carolina A&T, then got shifted to defensive back after the coach who brought him in left for the NFL. The move turned into a big one.
Barnett Jr. picked off a program-record 11 passes as a junior, was named a captain as a senior, earned All-MEAC First Team honors twice and was selected as an All-American in 1992 by Sheridan Broadcasting News. He was inducted into the Aggies’ Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021.
Barnett III took a more familiar path at quarterback, and he did it with a strong résumé before ever getting to college. According to his UCF Athletics profile, he was part of Grimsley High School’s National Honor Society, Spanish Honors Society and Chess Club.
He committed to James Madison, where he made his first start as a redshirt freshman in 2023. By 2024, he had taken over as the Dukes’ full-time starter in the first season of the Post-Cignetti era.
Even a torn ACL that ended his season at JMU’s regular-season finale didn’t change his role for 2025, when he was back as the starter. He completed 216 of 370 passes for 2,806 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions, while also rushing 127 times for 589 yards and 15 scores. Those numbers helped James Madison reach its first College Football Playoff and earned Barnett the Sun Belt’s Player of the Year award.
That’s the version of Barnett UCF is banking on. He was viewed as the Knights’ 2026 starter almost immediately after arriving, and the staff held him out of spring practice to make sure he was healthy for preseason camp. Even then, he still became a presence in the locker room.
"He's been a sponge just in terms of learning our offense and getting the guys around him to compete at a high level," UCF quarterbacks coach McKenzie Milton said during the Knights' local media day. "So excited for what he's already brought. Excited for what he's going to bring, and you know he's just been fun to coach so far."
Barnett should also be part of the ground game. UCF used quarterback runs 117 times last season across all four of its quarterbacks, and that points to plenty of rushing work for him as well.
Johnson’s path is different, but it brings its own intrigue. After two seasons at Wayne State in Wayne, Nebraska, he is back in his home state for 2026. He listed offers on X from Buffalo, New Mexico State, UTSA, FIU, New Mexico State, Arkansas State and Akron.
Last season, Johnson started all 11 games he played for Wayne State and produced 37 tackles, 18 solo stops, 0.5 tackles for loss, nine pass breakups and three interceptions. That production earned him All-NSIC South First Team honors.
He enters a UCF secondary that already has experience at safety with Demari Henderson, Braeden Marshall and Jayden Williams in the mix for starting jobs. The rest of the rotation is coming through the transfer portal: Ty Bartrum, Caleb Flagg, Matt Irwin, TJ Branch and Johnson.
Among those newcomers, Johnson is the only one arriving from Division II. That said, UCF has already seen Division II players make an impact, with Owen Spell and DJ Black showing last season that a move up to the FBS level doesn’t automatically rule out early playing time.
Johnson is still unlikely to open the year as a starter unless injuries change the picture. The depth chart ahead of him is too experienced, and this is his first FBS season. But UCF defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said after an Aug. 11 practice session that he was "building a defense that allows for as many guys as possible to play at a high level," and Johnson’s skill set could put him into that rotation.
There’s also a longer view here. With likely returning starters and even some transfers in the safety room entering their senior or fifth-year seasons, Johnson, a redshirt sophomore, has a chance to spend 2026 adjusting to the FBS level before pushing for more snaps in 2027.
So while his first season in Orlando may not come with a starter’s workload, it should still give Johnson a foothold at a new level and set him up for what comes next.
In Other News...
UCFs Linebacker Picture Just Got Much Murkier Before The Opener
The linebacker group at UCF was already a position to watch, and it got a lot more complicated with the season opener nearing. Cole Kozlowski, who had been granted a fifth year of eligibility by a U.S. District Court judge, is now ruled ineligible to return after the NCAA obtained a stay from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. The uncertainty leaves the Knights trying to sort out a key piece of their defense with little time left before games start counting.
Coach Scott Frost has made it clear the situation is still fluid, which fits a roster that has already seen some help arrive through the transfer portal to soften the impact if Kozlowski is ultimately unavailable. For now, UCF is left waiting on what comes next while preparing as if the answer could still shift, and that kind of uncertainty is never ideal when a team is trying to settle its linebacker rotation before Week 1. [Read more 🡒]
UCF Needs A Healthy Horace Lockett More Than Ever This Fall
Horace Locketts return gives UCF something it badly needs on the interior, especially after he missed most of last season with a torn pectoral muscle. The defensive tackle is back for his final college campaign and is expected to battle for the starting nose tackle job, a role the Knights need solidified if they want more consistency up front.
Locketts offseason also has put him on a more visible pro path, with a spot on the 2026 Panini Senior Bowl Top 300 drawing notice around the program. His journey to this point has not been straightforward, and the reason he chose to stay in Orlando when he had other options says plenty about what this season means to him and to UCF, even as the bigger question is how much he can give them now that he is healthy again. [Read more 🡒]
Lewis Carter Is Becoming The Standard For UCF's Defense
Lewis Carter has spent the offseason collecting the kind of recognition that usually follows a breakthrough year, not just another preseason. The UCF linebacker, who paced the Knights in tackles last season, has been placed on the Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List after posting a career-high 92 stops and earning a spot on the leagues radar with All-Big 12 Honorable Mention and preseason second-team nods from Phil Steele and Athlon Sports.
For UCF, the broader significance goes beyond the individual honors. Carter is starting to look like the standard by which the Knights measure their defense, the player opposing offenses have to account for first and the one his own team can point to when talking about consistency and production. The next step is where the real pressure comes in, because the watch lists are in place and the accolades are stacking up, but the season will determine whether Carter can turn that status into something even bigger. [Read more 🡒]