Meet The 2026 UCF Knights: Countdown To Kickoff - No. 11 Landen Chambers and Ken Talley
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Welcome to UCF Knights on SI's countdown to kickoff!
In this series, we are going to introduce you to every single player on the 2026 UCF football roster so that you can know what to expect from them or even pinpoint the ones you want to follow throughout the coming season. We are going to go through the Knights' roster in reverse jersey-number order, with the day each player's entry is published corresponding to the number of days remaining until UCF's season-opener on Sep. 3 at 7 p.m. against Bethune-Cookman.
For this entry, we have two players with the same jersey number. So, with 11 days to go, let's meet UCF running back Landen Chambers and EDGE Ken Talley:
- Who is Landen Chambers?
- What did Chambers do last season?
- What role is Chambers going to have in 2026?
- Who is Ken Talley?
- What did Talley do last season?
- What role is Talley going to have in 2026?
1. Who is Landen Chambers?
Position: Running Back
Class: Redshirt Junior
Height/Weight: 5-foot-11 / 215 pounds
Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas
High School: Fossil Ridge High School
Coming out of Fossil Ridge High School, Landen Chambers was offered by FBS programs like Navy, Colorado State, Texas State, Tulsa, Sam Houston and Colorado, according to 247Sports. He even committed to BYU in June 2022, but ended up decomitting a few months later in November.
Chambers signed with the FCS' Central Arkansas on Early Signing Day, but even there, he did not earn his first start until 2025.
2. What did Chambers do last season?
Chambers had his breakout year in 2025, getting named an All-UAC First Teamer after rushing 242 times for 1,273 yards and 10 touchdowns and catching 27 passes for 238 yards for Central Arkansas.
3. What role is Chambers going to have in 2026?
As early as spring practice, UCF running backs coach Jimmy Beal has had a role in mind for Chambers, who he called a "bigger back." Thanks to that size, he can help the Knights get the "hard yard," Beal said following an April 24 practice session.
Offensive coordinator Steve Cooper echoed similar thoughts following an Aug. 12 practice session, saying Chambers was "here for a reason" and that was to "do the assumed roles for a bigger back." With such consistency across two different coaches months apart, Chambers is looking very likely to be an integral feature of a committee of running backs for the Knights.
Back in 2017, coach Scott Frost's rushing attack mainly went through the speedy Adrian Killins, who was a smaller and lighter back. However, also in the running back room that season was Taj McGowan, a back who was on the larger side, weighing in north of 200 pounds. While McGowan only had about 56% of the number of carries that Killins had and was fourth on the team in rushing yards, he also got eight rushing touchdowns, the same number as McKenzie Milton.
This is not to say that Chambers is going to get deployed with the same regularity as McGowan, though. Cooper even said he was working on the running backs to be "more consistent out of the backfield catching the ball," Chambers included, which was something McGowan did only a few times in 2017. So, while Chambers is very likely to come on the field in situations needing a bigger back, playing into a kind of specialty that McGowan had, this focus on versatility hints that Chambers can be a factor in plays beyond that "bigger back" role.
4. Who is Ken Talley?
Position: EDGE
Class: Redshirt Senior
Height/Weight: 6-foot-3 / 260 pounds
Hometown: North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
High School: Northeast High School
Ken Talley is a self-described "football junkie" who started playing the sport at a young age, but did not fall in love with it until he was able to really know the game "around nine," he said following an Aug. 12 practice session. He even watched all of the NFL Hall of Fame Game, watching one of his former Penn State teammates, Zakee Wheatley, lead the Carolina Panthers in tackles in their win over the Arizona Cardinals.
UCF EDGE coach Mike Dawson, who had recruited Talley during his tenure at Nebraska, characterized Talley as an outgoing guy who has been a leader in the EDGE room following an April 21 practice session.
"The thing I've been impressed about him: wants success for himself, but also for the rest of the guys in the room," Dawson said. "Very mature, that way."
Talley ended up not choosing Nebraska, however, and instead attended Penn State, where he met Wheatley and redshirted his true freshman season before hitting the transfer portal for the first time. He stayed in the Big Ten, spending his next two seasons at Michigan State, where he played 15 games, recording 11 tackles, three tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
5. What did Talley do last season?
After hitting the transfer portal a second time, Talley played in three games for Arkansas last season, recording three tackles, one of which was solo.
6. What role is Talley going to have in 2026?
Talley's lack of starting experience so far in his college football career over the 18 games he has played does not do him many favors when it comes to competing for that role with the Knights this season. Fellow transfer Bruno Dall started all season for Akron in 2025, while Isaiah Nixon and Sincere Edwards may also not have recorded starts in their career so far, but are returning to a system they learned last season behind a first-round NFL Draft pick.
With that being said, however, the Knights are fairly thin on experience in the EDGE room. Aside from Talley, there is Aymeric Koumba, who recorded just one tackle for the Knights last season; L A Jesse Harrold, who was injured during fall camp; Quentin Hatch and Anthony Coaxum, who do not have Division I playing experience; and a pair of true freshmen: Alhassan Iddrissu and Patrick Ryan.
While Talley may not have starting experience, his three seasons of FBS playing experience so far give him the edge over several others currently in the EDGE room, making him a prime candidate for a backup role. So, with defensive coordinator Alex Grinch saying he was "building a defense that allows for as many guys as possible to play at a high level" on Aug. 11, such a role likely means some guaranteed snaps for Talley so long as he produces.
Catch up on the rest of the list below:
No. 12 Keyone Jenkins and Aymeric Koumba
No. 14 Alonza Barnett III and Kahmel Johnson
No. 15 Will Stone and Preston Hall
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Bryson Turner is a sports journalist who covers UCF Athletics. Turner has contributed to the Black and Gold Banneret, the home for UCF Athletics on SB Nation. He has called the Orlando area home since the age of 8 and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from UCF.
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