Cole Kozlowski is back in the picture for UCF at exactly the moment the Knights need another steady linebacker.
A recent ruling has cleared him to play for the rest of the 2026 season, giving a battered UCF defense a badly needed boost. Kozlowski said on X that he’s blessed to suit up, play the sport he’s loved since he was five and thanked McCarter & English, a New Jersey law firm that helped him secure eligibility.
The timing could hardly be tougher for the Knights. They’re heading into a three-week stretch that includes No.
19 Oklahoma State and No. 10 BYU, and they’re coming off a rough one after blowing a 17-point third-quarter lead to No.
20 Houston on Saturday.
UCF’s linebacker room has been hit hard by injuries. Lewis Carter has missed the last two games, and trainers worked on Jayden Jennings against the Cougars before Jennings was ruled out for the rest of the game and later seen with his arm in a sling.
Carter and Jennings are the two most experienced linebackers in defensive coordinator Alex Grinch’s system, so their absences have forced transfers Tackett Curtis and Jahleel Culbreath into bigger roles. Both have been asked to step up, and they have.
Now Kozlowski adds another proven piece. He arrives with real production already on his résumé, having earned All-Big 12 Third Team honors last season after transferring from Colgate. As a senior, he finished second on the team with 82 tackles, including 48 solo stops, and added 7.5 tackles for loss.
That kind of presence matters for a defense that has been asked to do too much. The linebacker spot is central to stopping the run, covering the middle and spying the quarterback, and those were exactly the areas that hurt UCF against Houston. Conner Weigman kept finding room with throws across the middle and ran for three touchdowns.
The Knights have missed Carter’s leadership, and Kozlowski could be the next man to help hold things together until Carter is healthy again.
His path to this point has been anything but simple. Courts initially denied his appeal, then another court overturned that ruling several months later. UCF put him on the roster, and he appeared during fall camp, only for the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to pause his return and leave his career in limbo.
Through it all, he remained with his teammates on the sideline. Now he finally gets to join them on the field, with UCF trying to piece together a defense and snap a two-year bowl drought.
In Other News...
UCF Suddenly Has A Bigger Concern Than The Houston Loss
The Houston loss ended up being only part of the concern for UCF, because the Knights came out of the game with a few health questions layered on top of the result. Quarterback Keyone Jenkins was dealing with cramps during the game, but he got treatment and returned, while wide receiver Josh Derry also worked through an ankle issue and was able to keep going in the second half.
The bigger concern centered up front, where center Jacob Maiava left with a hip injury and had X-rays afterward. With Maiava out, Cooper Terpstra had to step in at center, leaving UCF to sort out what the line looks like if the injury lingers and whether the offense can keep its stability after already absorbing one tough night in conference play. [Read more 🡒]
UCF's Road Problem Just Got More Frustrating
For much of the afternoon in Houston, UCF looked ready to turn a road trip into something useful, building a 17-0 lead midway through the third quarter against No. 20 Houston. The Knights had enough early control to make the game feel tilted in their favor, even with backup quarterback Keyone Jenkins trying to manage the offense under pressure.
Then the second half turned into the kind of collapse that keeps a road streak hanging around. UCFs offense stalled badly over its final five possessions, and Houston answered with Conner Weigman powering in three rushing touchdowns after halftime as the Knights watched another winnable game slip away on the road. [Read more 🡒]
UCF Collapse Raises A Bigger Question Than Just Another Road Loss
UCF had a road result slip away in a way that felt all too familiar, building a 17-0 lead midway through the third quarter before leaving Houston with a 27-17 loss to No. 20 Houston. The Knights still showed enough early control to make it look like a breakthrough was possible, but the defeat became another entry in a growing road skid, one that now stands at 11 straight away from home.
The bigger issue is how much the night demanded of a lineup already stretched thin, with quarterback Keyone Jenkins starting in relief of the injured Alonza Barnett III and finishing with 253 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception. UCF also had to keep moving after multiple injuries in the lineup, and by the time Houston found its rhythm, the Knights were left wondering whether the collapse was just one bad finish or a sign of something deeper on the road. [Read more 🡒]