Five centers. Three decades. One program that kept turning out big-time blockers.
The Daytona News-Journal put together a 105-man all-time UCF roster, and five Knights centers made the cut on its All-FBS team list since the program moved to the FBS 30 years ago. The group spans undefeated-season starters, NFL draft picks and linemen who left their mark in Orlando before moving on to pro football.
Jordan Johnson is on the list after anchoring the Knights at center during the 2017 undefeated season and again in 2018. He followed that run with back-to-back First-Team All-AAC honors, a stretch that helped fuel one of the nation’s top offenses.
Chris Lorenti also earned his place. He started 44 games at center and spent much of that time protecting Daunte Culpepper as the Knights’ lead quarterback.
Lorenti later signed with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2001, was waived shortly after, then landed with the Miami Dolphins. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Texans.
Mabry came to UCF after beginning his college career at Southwest Mississippi Community College from 1999 to 2000. He started his final two seasons with the Knights from 2001 to 2002, starting 23 games in all.
That play earned him a seventh-round selection by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2003 NFL Draft. His NFL career didn’t take off, but he found success in the Arena Football League, where he was Second-Team All-Arena in 2007 and won an ArenaBowl championship the next season.
Cedric Gagné-Marcoux added another decorated name to the group. He was first-team All-C-USA in 2005 and went in the first round of the 2006 Canadian Football League Draft, where the Hamilton Tiger-Cats took him eighth overall.
He played three seasons in Hamilton, then signed with the Toronto Argonauts in 2010 and earned his first CFLPA All-Star appearance. He also won a Grey Cup with Toronto in 2012.
Matt Lee rounds out the five centers on the News-Journal’s list.
In Other News...
Scott Frost Sees One Encouraging Sign And One Real UCF Concern
UCFs quarterback room looks a lot different heading toward 2026, and thats a good thing for a program that learned the hard way how thin things can get at the position. The Knights have rebuilt their depth through the transfer portal, headlined by Alonza Barnett III coming in to compete for the starting job, with Keyone Jenkins and Kaleb Annett also added to give the room a much sturdier feel.
Scott Frost sees the obvious upside in having more proven options, especially in a Big 12 landscape where roster churn is now part of the job. The concern, though, is the one every coach in college football is wrestling with: how quickly all those new faces can turn into a cohesive unit, and whether UCF can build enough chemistry before the season starts. [Read more 🡒]
How UCF Fans Can Track Three Key Early Opponents This Week
The Big 12s media days have wrapped, but UCFs early-season scouting file is still getting a fresh layer of detail this week as three non-conference opponents step into their own conference spotlight. Bethune-Cookman, Pittsburgh and Georgia State are all making the rounds at media days, giving coaches and players a chance to explain where they stand heading into 2026 while also offering a useful peek at the Knights first stretch of the schedule.
For UCF fans, the timing makes this a handy week to follow along. Bethune-Cookman, Pittsburgh and Georgia State each have their own media-day windows, and all three games land early enough to shape the tone of the season before conference play really takes hold. The Knights will open with Bethune-Cookman in Orlando, then head to Pittsburgh before bringing Georgia State in for Family Weekend, so the updates coming out now could matter more than usual once the games arrive. [Read more 🡒]
UCF History Fans Know Has A Forgotten Offensive Line Chapter
The Daytona News-Journals latest all-time UCF football roster is a reminder that the Knights history is deeper than the usual headline names, especially up front. Among the 105 players selected, the offensive line gets a deserved spotlight, with a group of guards who helped define different eras of the program after UCF moved into the FBS 30 years ago.
Josh Sitton is the familiar anchor of that story, but he is hardly alone. The list also points to players such as Jordan McCray and Cole Schneider, whose careers stretched beyond college into the pro game and, in some cases, into alternative leagues where they kept winning. It is the kind of forgotten chapter that suggests UCFs rise was built not just on flash and skill talent, but on a steady run of interior linemen who gave the program a foundation worth revisiting. [Read more 🡒]