Meet The 2026 UCF Knights: Countdown To Kickoff

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.

So, with 19 days to go, let's meet UCF kicker linebacker Rashad Henry:

Who is Rashad Henry?
What did he do last season?
What role is he going to have in 2026?

1. Who is Rashad Henry?

Welcome to UCF, @rashadhenry_5 ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/aucYUYmOgV
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) January 11, 2026

Position: Linebacker

Class: Redshirt Junior

Height/Weight: 6-foot-2 / 220 pounds

Hometown: Miami, Florida

High School: St. Thomas Aquinas High School

Hailing from Miami, Rashad Henry is making his football return to the state of Florida for the first time since playing for St. Thomas Aquinas High School in 2022. He spent the intervening three years at UMass, where he redshirted his true freshman season and only saw the field in five games in 2024 before breaking out in 2025.

2. What did he do last season?

2025 season tape pic.twitter.com/5JVcfuVvFx
— Rashad ⛷Henry (@rashadhenry_5) December 19, 2025

Henry played in all 12 games for the Minutemen in 2025, even drawing starts at outside linebacker in the last four. He recorded 67 tackles, 21 of them solo, three tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry.

3. What role is he going to have in 2026?

During UCF's local media day, linebacker coach Mark D'Onofrio said Henry was "continuing to develop and get better," though he grouped him with other additions to his position room from the transfer portal, like Jahleel Culbreath and Tackett Curtis. It's these players, along with a returning Cole Kozlowski, that Henry is going to have to contend with to earn snaps alongside Lewis Carter.

Considering Henry does not have as much starting experience as Carter, Culbreath or Kozlowski, or familiarity with the Knights' defense as Jayden Jennings, his snap share may not be the largest in the linebacker room. However, with defensive coordinator Alex Grinch talking on Tuesday about how he was "building a defense that allows for as many guys as possible to play at a high level," a non-starting role for Henry does not necessarily mean he is not going to get a sizeable snap share in 2026.

So, while it may not be likely that he ends up a starter, Henry can still play a crucial depth role in the linebacker room that can still afford him some playing time in 2026; and should the injury bug strike, then he can reliably step up to shoulder more playing time.

Catch up on the rest of the list below:

No. 20 Lewis Carter and Kaj Baker

No. 21 Ty Bartrum

No. 22 Amarion Queen

No. 23 Jordan Nunuha and Jayden Burnett

No. 24 Tackett Curtis and Arthur Lewis IV


No. 25 Rukeem Stroud	No. 26 Duke Watson and Elijah Keys	No. 27 Nicholas Antoine	No. 28 Matt Irwin	No. 29 Tyce Porcher
No. 30 Otis Hardy	No. 31 Noah McGough	No. 32 Matthew Occhipinti	No. 33 Phil Picciotti	No. 34 Jahleel Culbreath
No. 35 Agyeman Addae	No. 36 Dylan Bennett	No. 37 Rocklyn Kelley	No. 38 Jayden Jennings	No. 39 Andrea Parisi
No. 41 Bruno Dall	No. 42 Artavius Jones and Chance Nixon	No. 43 Kyle Hicks	No. 45 Quentin Hatch	No. 47 Arthur Kingdom and Sam Powell
No. 49 Atticus Bertrams and Donnell Johnson III	No. 53 LaParka Langston	No. 54 Cooper Terpstra and Trenton Turner	No. 55 Jacob Maiava and Noah Mercer	No. 56 Patrick Ryan
No. 57 Camp Lott	No. 58 Connor Meadows	No. 61 Owen Spell	No. 66 Brady Wayburn	No. 67 Noah Senka
No. 68 Ethan Higgins	No. 70 RaiShaun McHaney	No. 71 Amahn Williams	No. 72 Dominick Campbell	No. 73 Henry Tabansi
No. 74 Matthew Prigmore	No. 75 Tyler Gibson	No. 76 Justin Royes	No. 77 Kasiyah Charlton	No. 78 Preston Cushman
No. 79 Daniel Marcellinus	No. 80 Elijah Hardy	No. 81 Zack Palmer	No. 82 Jordyn Bridgewater	No. 83 Dylan Burk
No. 84 Thomas Wadsworth	No. 85 Carson Hinshaw	No. 86 Chase Hinshaw	No. 87 Brooks Hall	No. 88 Grayson Brousseau
No. 89 Caleb Rollerson	No. 90 Mujahid Jefferson	No. 92 Jeffson Lafontant	No. 93 Brad Gurley	No. 94 L A Jesse Harrold
No. 95 RJ Jackson Jr.	No. 96 Anthony Coaxum	No. 97 Josh Schell and Mason Denaberg	No. 98 Alhassan Iddrissu	No. 99 Thomas Collins

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