Meet The 2026 UCF Knights: Countdown To Kickoff - No. 16 Dante Carr and TJ Branch
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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 18 days to go, let's meet UCF quarterback Dante Carr and defensive back TJ Branch:
1. Who is Dante Carr?
Position: Quarterback
Class: Freshman
Height/Weight: 6-foot-4 / 220 pounds
Hometown: Minersville, Pennsylvania
High School: Minersville High School
Back in December, for Early Signing Day, coach Scott Frost said Carr was "a great all-around athlete," and his high school career goes to back that up.
Carr played three sports in addition to football for Minersville High School: basketball, baseball and track and field, according to his UCF Athletics profile page. On the basketball court, he crossed the 1,000-point milestone, while on the track he holds the school's long jump record at 22 feet, 10 inches.
Carr comes from an athletic background. His mother, Katie Rowlands Carr, also scored 1,000 points during her days at Minersville and played softball for Division II's Shippensburg University. She was inducted into Shippensburg's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016 after hitting for a .354 batting average, 15 home runs and 129 RBIs, plus recording a career 2.13 ERA and going 12-5 as a pitcher.
2. What did Carr do last season?
Dante Carr, roll the tape🎥 https://t.co/Shkax6lNQN pic.twitter.com/PgxA35mzre
— UCF Football Recruiting (@UCF_Recruiting) December 3, 2025
Carr finished his high school career throwing 181 times for 1,822 yards, 29 touchdowns and eight interceptions, plus rushing 135 times for 1,396 yards and 19 touchdowns. This helped him earn a second Class 2A All-State honor from PA Football Writers.
3. What role is Carr going to have in 2026?
With Alonza Barnett III firmly entrenched as the Knights' starting quarterback, Dante Carr's focus in 2026 is set to be firmly on the future.
He has not been getting as many practice reps as Kaleb Annett, Keyone Jenkins or fellow freshman Rocco Marriott, which seems to indicate he is not as high on the depth chart, but Frost said he has "done great" in the reps he has taken.
So, while Carr may end up being at the bottom of the Knights' quarterback depth chart in 2026, the fact that the starting job is already solidified means he has the time to prepare, develop and potentially make his case for the starting job in 2027.
4. Who is TJ Branch?
Welcome to UCF, @3gumpp ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/KZ0STJX7YO
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) January 15, 2026
Position: Defensive Back
Class: Redshirt Freshman
Height/Weight: 6-foot-3 / 175 pounds
Hometown: Miami, Florida
High School: Miami Northwestern Senior High School
Born Antonio Branch Jr., but known by his nickname "TJ," Branch was a part of the 2024 Miami Northwestern football team coached by NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater that went 12-2 en route to a FHSAA Class 3A Championship. It was that same season in which he was nominated for the Nat Moore Trophy, which is awarded to the "most outstanding high school football player in South Florida," according to CBS News.
Coming out of high school, Branch was ranked 524th in his recruiting class nationally, 68th in the state of Florida and was the 46th-highest-rated safety, according to 247Sports' Composite ratings.
Branch was not the only one of his siblings who has taken up football. His younger brother, Antron, is a wide receiver for McArthur High School entering his junior season and has already received offers from Oregon, Georgia Tech, Florida, Georgia and more.
5. What did Branch do last season?
Branch redshirted the 2025 season after he did not see any game action with Colorado.
6. What role is Branch going to have in 2026?
Listed as a safety on 247Sports, Branch is in a position group that is already filled with several experienced players, from returners Demari Henderson and Jayden Williams to other transfers like Caleb Flag and Ty Bartrum. However, with all four of these players being seniors, along with several other prominent defensive backs, Branch is likely not going to get as large of a snap count as they would.
However, given defensive coordinator Alex Grinch is "building a defense that allows for as many guys as possible to play at a high level," he said following an Aug. 11 practice session, Branch factoring at least somewhat into the Knights' rotation at the position is not outside the realm of possibility, especially if he may want to prepare Branch to become a central figure of the secondary in seasons to come.
Catch up on the rest of the list below:
No. 18 Caleb Flagg and Caden Piening
No. 20 Lewis Carter and Kaj Baker
No. 43 Cole Kozlowski | ||||
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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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