UCF’s final two players in its 2026 countdown to kickoff bring very different storylines, but both are set to matter when the Knights open the season on Sep. 3 at 7 p.m. against Bethune-Cookman.
Dylan Wade has already proven he can be a difference-maker in Orlando. After spending his first two college seasons at Maryland, where he started one of the 23 games he played in, the hometown tight end came back to UCF ahead of the 2025 season and immediately made his mark. His 43 catches for 523 yards and five touchdowns were the most by a Knights tight end since 1996, according to his UCF Athletics profile page, and he earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention recognition for it.
That kind of production turned Wade into a real piece of the passing game, and he enters 2026 back in the starting lineup. Still, his workload may look different this year.
UCF has one of its deeper groups at wide receiver, and fellow tight end Caden Piening is also back in the mix after being listed as a co-starter with Wade on the Week 1 depth chart. That could trim Wade’s target count compared with last season.
Even so, the staff clearly sees room for his game to keep growing. On his first weekly radio show of the 2026 season, Scott Frost told 96.9 The Game’s Marc Daniels that Wade was "even faster than he was, and he's blocking a lot better." Tight ends coach Cooper Bassett also said during spring practice that adding a slot-receiver element could be "the next element" for Wade.
"You know, he's not as big as your prototypical [slot receiver], but he is violent," Bassett said. "He's aggressive.
What's really stood out for me with Dylan is just he has a genuine love for his teammates, and that's showing up right now with how he's blocking downfield; he's finishing plays. There's a lot of thing we got to clean up, some details with his footwork and his pad level and sustaining and finishing blocks, but he's got an eagerness and a willingness, and he sets the tone for our room right now."
On the other side of the ball, Horace Lockett’s path back to UCF was shaped by family. He briefly entered the transfer portal in the offseason, then returned after what he described as a "family-based" decision during the Knights’ local media day.
"My mom was going through like a lot of health complications, especially like with her heart and her well-being, so most of it was just really to try to get back closer to home, so I can be near my mom," Lockett said.
Lockett also shared that his father died in 2021 from a post-surgery heart attack, leaving his mother as his only surviving parent. He said she used to drive him an hour away for rec ball practice even while she was sick.
"She all I really got, so it's like I got to be there for her with no doubt, so it was great," Lockett said.
Once he learned that "everything was gonna look good" for his mother, Lockett said he reached out to UCF defensive tackles coach Kenny Martin about coming back.
When healthy in 2025, Lockett showed why the Knights want him back in the middle of the defense. He posted 13 tackles, including eight solo stops, three tackles for loss, a sack and two pass breakups over the first four games before an injury ended his season. He had also missed the entire 2024 season because of injury.
Now recovered, Lockett said his hunger is "100 times worse" than it was after that lost 2024 campaign, and UCF expects him to be a major part of the defensive line in 2026. Martin went as far as saying in spring practice that Lockett could be "an all-conference, possibly an All-American guy."
The biggest hurdle is simple: staying on the field. Lockett has yet to play a full college season, and that remains the piece that could determine how high his ceiling really goes.
UCF appears to be managing that by listing him as a co-starter with RJ Jackson Jr. on the Week 1 depth chart, while Thomas Collins and Jeffson Lafontant are set up the same way at the other defensive tackle spot. Even if he isn’t asked to take every snap, Lockett’s size and the impact he made in a short stretch last season keep him squarely in the Knights’ plans up front.
In Other News...
UCFs Opener Carries Recruiting Stakes Fans Should Be Watching Closely
UCFs season opener against Bethune-Cookman is doing more than kicking off a new year on the field. The Knights are also turning it into an early recruiting showcase, with several priority visitors expected on campus from multiple classes as the program tries to build momentum before the schedule really gets rolling. Among the names drawing attention are committed players Noah Robinson and Kaneilius Purdy, along with a group of younger targets who could shape the next few cycles of the roster.
The visitor list gives the staff a chance to stay in front of prospects like Justin Kemp, KyMani Fils-Amie, Axzavious Hawkins, Jaden Parks, Jordan McCrimon and Tyrese Jefferson, while also making a local impression on a class that is still taking shape. Openers can carry extra weight in recruiting because they bring families, atmosphere and attention all at once, and UCF will be looking to make this one count as much in the stands as on the scoreboard. [Read more 🡒]
Scott Frost Still Has Key UCF Opener Decisions To Make
UCFs season opener against Bethune-Cookman brings the usual Week 1 mix of broadcast details, weather watching and betting interest, but the more immediate storyline is on the Knights depth chart. Scott Frost said the staff is still sorting through a few personnel questions, while the confirmed absence of edge rusher Bruno Dall already forces the defense to shuffle its early rotation and create a clearer path for younger players to get on the field.
Among the names to watch are backups Aymeric Koumba and Jeffson Lafontant, who could be asked to carry more of the load than expected in the opener. Frost also said decisions remain pending on defensive tackle RJ Jackson Jr. and wide receiver Duane Thomas Jr., leaving some of the game-day picture unfinished heading into a matchup that doubles as an early test of how much depth this roster really has. [Read more 🡒]
UCF Is Counting On Barnett To Deliver What Fans Have Waited For
UCF is heading into the 2026-2027 football season with Alonza Barnett III installed as the starting quarterback, and the messaging around him has been as much about belief as it is about production. Barnett and several teammates have leaned into a Why not us approach, with the kind of confidence that usually accompanies a program trying to turn expectation into something more tangible. For a Knights team looking to take a real step forward, the quarterback spot is where that ambition has to start.
Scott Frost and the players around Barnett have pointed to his leadership and steady play as central pieces of what could make the offense look different this fall. The optimism is real, but so are the stakes, because UCF is not just trying to feel better about itself - it is trying to build toward a Big 12 Championship conversation, and Barnett is the one being counted on to help make that case. [Read more 🡒]