With 12 days left in the countdown to UCF’s season opener, the Knights’ No. 12 spot brings two players who could end up in very different places on the field this fall: quarterback Keyone Jenkins and EDGE Aymeric Koumba.
Jenkins arrives in Orlando after three seasons as Florida International’s starter, bringing the kind of experience that stands out in a quarterback room still sorting itself out behind Alonza Barnett III. Nicknamed “Lights Out,” Jenkins explained after UCF’s open practice on May 2 that the name started on the basketball court, then followed him once he “went crazy” and “won MVP.” The label stuck, and so did his reputation as a veteran passer.
At FIU, Jenkins was the Panthers’ primary starter for three seasons, beginning in his freshman year, when he earned All-CUSA Freshman team honors. In 2025, he started all 10 games he played, completing 164 of 263 passes for 1,742 yards with nine touchdowns and six interceptions. He also carried 51 times for 132 yards and five scores.
Even with that résumé, Jenkins is not in line to win the starting job at UCF. Barnett is already locked in as the No. 1 quarterback, which means Jenkins’ path to snaps in 2026 likely runs through injury or garbage-time work. Still, both Scott Frost and quarterbacks coach McKenzie Milton have spoken positively about him, calling him “awesome” and saying he has “done great,” even if they haven’t gone much deeper than that publicly.
Where Jenkins does separate himself is experience. Among the quarterbacks competing for the backup role, he has the most of it by far.
Kaleb Annett has yet to appear in a college football game after two seasons, while Rocco Marriott and Dante Carr are true freshmen. That makes Jenkins the safest depth option in the room, especially with fall camp still leaving questions about how the younger passers will handle game action if called upon.
Koumba’s path to UCF looks different, but it carries its own intrigue. He grew up mostly as a rugby player before taking up football in France at around 16 or 17, he said after an April 21 practice. He credited former UMass defensive tackle Brandon Collier and PPI Recruits for helping him get to “a couple of camps,” where he picked up “a couple offers.”
When Koumba talks about France, the first thing he misses is the food. He singled out African meals as his favorites, tied to his father’s Gabonese background.
“Oh, it’s great,” Koumba said. “The way they cook chicken, the beef, even some exotic animals.”
After transferring from Michigan, Koumba played in nine games in his first season in Orlando and recorded one solo tackle. His UCF debut also made him the first Frenchman to play in a Knights uniform.
On the depth chart, though, he’s still fighting uphill. UCF EDGE coach Mike Dawson has mentioned Koumba as one of the returning players who already knows his language and style, but he doesn’t bring the same game experience as returners Isaiah Nixon and Sincere Edwards or transfers Bruno Dall and Ken Talley. That makes a spot higher than third string unlikely.
Even so, Koumba looks positioned to be the Knights’ top third-string option, especially with L A Jesse Harrold injured, Alhassan Iddrissu and Patrick Ryan still true freshmen, and Quentin Hatch and Anthony Coaxum lacking Division I experience. If injuries hit Nixon, Edwards, Dall, or Talley, Koumba would be one of the first players to see his role grow.
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Scott Frost has already pointed to improvement along the defensive line during camp, and Lockett is a big reason the conversation has started to shift. There is still a layer of uncertainty attached to his recent path, though, after the injury that cost him most of last season and sent him to surgery. If UCF is going to keep building real belief around its front, how Lockett handles the next step may matter as much as anything else on the roster. [Read more 🡒]