The Daytona News-Journal’s 105-man roster of all-time UCF greats included seven special teams standouts from the Knights’ FBS era, a group that stretches across kickers, punters, a long snapper and two dangerous return men.
At kicker, Matthew Wright stands out as one of the most precise boots UCF has had. He picked up back-to-back All-C-USA Second Team honors in 2017 and 2018, and as a senior he became the eighth kicker in program history to go perfect on extra points in a season, drilling 74. Over his career, Wright hit 55 of 74 field goals, a 77.4% mark that ties the school record, and he also set the UCF standard with 212 PATs made, including 153 in a row.
Before Wright, Shawn Moffitt held down the position and left his own mark. His final season came in 2014, and at the time he owned the program records for points with 314 and field goals with 53 before those numbers were later surpassed.
UCF’s punting history on the list starts with Matt Prater, who handled punting duties before moving on to kicker in the NFL. He still leads the Knights’ all-time charts with a 47.6-yard average per punt, and in 2003 he uncorked a 74-yard punt while earning Second Team All-American recognition.
Mitch McCarthy also earned his place among the program’s specialists. The Australian-born punter spent three seasons with UCF, then transferred to the eventual national champion Indiana Hoosiers in 2025. During his Knights career, he logged 117 punts and averaged 43 yards per boot.
The lone long snapper on the list is Alex Ward, who was a finalist for the Mannelly Award in back-to-back seasons. That honor goes to the nation’s best long snapper, and Ward’s repeated inclusion says plenty about his consistency.
The return game brought the flash. Quincy McDuffie left UCF as the program’s all-time leader in kickoff returns with 90, kickoff return yards with 2,501 and kickoff return touchdowns with six. His senior season brought C-USA Special Teams Player of the Year and First Team All-C-USA honors.
Rannell Hall was right there with him in 2014, giving the Knights a dangerous duo on special teams. Hall averaged 27.5 yards on 12 kickoff returns and piled up 959 all-purpose yards in his senior year.
In Other News...
UCF Suddenly Has A Specialist Battle Fans Cannot Ignore
Rocklyn Kellys name is starting to surface in a part of UCFs roster that usually stays out of the spotlight, but special teams can turn into a real battleground when a program starts sorting out its depth. The long snapper was part of the Big 12 Beyond Borders program, giving him a chance to represent the Knights in Washington, D.C., and he also spent last season redshirting while backing up Dalton Riggs.
Now Kelly is on the 2026 roster as the apparent backup at his spot, and special teams coordinator Pete Alamar has said he has come along and shown a lot of improvement since spring practice. Kelly has not yet appeared in a college game, so the next step is clear enough, even if the path to snaps is not, with UCF still sorting out how that job will be handled moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Scott Frost Finally Has The UCF Stability Fans Have Been Waiting For
Scott Frost is making a clear bet on continuity as he tries to drag UCF out of its bowl drought, and this offseason looks a lot different from the kind of roster churn that can leave a program starting over. The Knights are bringing back a veteran core headlined by wide receivers Duane Thomas Jr. and Waden Charles, defensive backs Jayden Bellamy and Braeden Marshall, and defensive tackle Horace Lockett, giving Frost a foundation he can actually build around instead of patching together from scratch.
For a team that has spent too long searching for stability, the approach matters almost as much as the names. Frost still has holes to fill, but the plan is to use the transfer portal to address those spots rather than remake the entire roster, a sign that UCF sees more value in continuity than in another reset. The result is a quieter offseason, but one with a lot riding on whether this returning group can finally turn familiarity into the kind of season the program has been chasing. [Read more 🡒]
UCF May Have Finally Found The Receiver Its Offense Was Missing
UCFs passing game spent much of last season searching for a true difference-maker on the outside, and Josh Derry looks like the kind of transfer who can change that conversation quickly. The Monmouth product arrives with FCS All-American credentials after a huge final season, and the early numbers around his profile suggest the Knights are getting more than just a depth addition.
What makes Derry so intriguing is how he stacks up against the rest of the Big 12s returning receivers despite never playing Power Four football before. He is expected to give Alonza Barnett III a much-needed downfield target and help reshape a receiver room that needed a proven playmaker, with UCF hoping his production translates as smoothly as his reputation. [Read more 🡒]