UCF’s quarterback room has one of the clearest starting jobs on the roster and one of the murkiest backup races.
Alonza Barnett III is set as the Knights’ No. 1, but the spot behind him is wide open heading into fall camp. That makes the backup battle one of the most important competitions UCF will sort through, especially after last season’s injury issues forced four different quarterbacks onto the field.
The fight for that role has been going since spring and now comes down to four names: Keyone Jenkins, Kaleb Annett, Dante Carr and Rocco Marriott.
Jenkins brings the most obvious resume to the mix. The FIU transfer spent three years as a starter and made 33 starts for the Panthers, finishing his career second in program history in touchdown passes with 42, third in passing yards with 6,713 and third in completions with 546. For a UCF team that needs stability if Barnett misses time, that kind of experience matters.
Even with that edge, Jenkins made it clear in the spring that he sees real quality across the room. On May 2, he said, "A lot of guys can do a lot of things differently, but I feel like the whole room is able to scramble and make plays and extend plays as a group," Jenkins said on May 2.
Carr arrives with plenty of buzz of his own. The freshman starred at Minersville High School in Pennsylvania, where he threw and rushed for more than 1,000 yards in his senior season. He got to campus early so he could take part in spring camp and start adjusting to the college game sooner.
Scott Frost said he was eager to help Carr clean up his mechanics, while also pointing to the quarterback’s athletic traits as a foundation for what he can become.
Marriott’s path to Orlando comes with plenty of production attached. The freshman won back-to-back state titles at Platte County High School in Missouri and left behind a record-setting prep career. He finished with more than 10,000 passing yards and 160 touchdowns, then became one of UCF’s biggest recruiting wins after flipping from James Madison.
Marriott has already noticed how quickly the game speeds up at this level. UCF’s highest-ranked quarterback commit said college quarterbacks do not have the luxury of standing in the pocket and waiting around for plays to develop.
Still, the freshmen may not be asked to carry much right away. Carr and Marriott could redshirt this season and spend the year learning behind Barnett and Jenkins, with an eye toward 2027.
That leaves Annett as the wildcard. The Boise State transfer has not seen game action in three years after two seasons without playing at his previous stop. He came out of high school in 2023 as a three-star recruit and helped Corona del Mar reach the Southern Section Division 4 championship game.
Annett’s high school numbers were strong, too: 4,163 passing yards, 41 touchdowns and nine games with at least three touchdown passes. For UCF, the question is whether that past production can translate into a role that suddenly matters a lot if the Knights need someone ready behind Barnett.
In Other News...
Paul Carrington Is Bringing Back A UCF Postgame Favorite
A familiar postgame voice is coming back around for Knights fans in 2026, with Paul Carrington set to revive his Five Point Stance analysis for UCF football. The former Knights player, assistant coach and NFL veteran will once again help break down the biggest moments from each game, offering a sharper look at what went right, what went wrong and what needs to change moving forward.
Carrington will team with Knights247 senior writer John Weis on the feature, which will run exclusively on Knights247. For a fan base that has long appreciated the added layer of football detail after the final whistle, the return of that kind of inside-the-game perspective should be a welcome addition, even if the full rollout still leaves one thing to be watched closely once the season gets going. [Read more 🡒]
Why UCF Fans Should Watch Freshman Linebacker Dylan Bennett
Freshman linebacker Dylan Bennett is one of the more intriguing new names on UCFs 2026 roster, especially for fans who like to keep an eye on the future of the defense. Bennett spent his final two high school seasons at American Heritage and arrives as part of a young linebacker group that gives the Knights some developmental depth at a position where size, speed and instinct tend to matter quickly.
The immediate path to snaps, though, is not especially clear. Bennett is one of four true freshmen at linebacker, and he will be trying to work his way past more experienced options already in the program, including Matthew Occhipinti and Preston Hall, who were active in spring practice. Even with the roster spot secured, his first season could be more about learning and waiting for an opening than jumping straight into the rotation. [Read more 🡒]
Former UCF Guard George Beale Jr. Just Made His Next Move
George Beale Jr. is wasting no time getting his pro career underway after his run at UCF, where the former Knights guard carved out a role with his shooting and made the jump to Orlando after starting at Hampton. His college path included some memorable three-point flashes, the kind that made him a useful backcourt piece and helped him leave with a rsum that was always going to keep him on the radar overseas.
Now Beale has landed his next stop with Enosis Neon Paralimni in Cyprus, a move that also makes him the first player from last seasons UCF roster to turn pro. He will step into a locker room with Brandon McKissic, Aaron Cook Jr. and Stephen Ugochukwu, giving him an immediate American presence as he begins the adjustment to his first season in the professional game. [Read more 🡒]