Meet The 2026 UCF Knights: Countdown To Kickoff - No. 24 Tackett Curtis and Arthur Lewis IV

With 24 days to go until the 2026 UCF football season kicks off, learn more about the players wearing the Knights' No. 24 jerseys: linebacker Tackett Curtis and running back Arthur Lewis IV.

Sep 13, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama tight end Josh Cuevas (80) catches a pass over the middle with Wisconsin linebacker Tackett Curtis (4) pursuing at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

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 24 days to go, let's meet UCF linebacker Tackett Curtis and running back Arthur Lewis IV:

1. Who is Tackett Curtis?
2. What did Curtis do last season?
3. What role is Curtis going to have in 2026?
4. Who is Arthur Lewis IV?
5. What did Lewis IV do last season?
6. What role is Lewis IV going to have in 2026?

Position: Linebacker

Class: Senior

Height/Weight: 6-foot-2 / 230 pounds

Hometown: Many, Louisiana

High School: Many High School

Tackett Curtis' college football journey has been predominantly linked to defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, following him from USC in 2023 to Wisconsin in 2024, and after they "hit it off" while he was in the portal, they are now back on the same team again in Orlando.

Curtis hails from Many, Louisiana, a town with a population of just over 2,500 people in the 2020 census. However, even with his move to large cities for college football, he is still a country guy, he said following an April 28 practice session.

"Whenever I get the opportunity to go home, I always go home," Curtis said. "I don't do nothing when I go home, but for some reason I just like being back in Many, Louisiana, but I love my time here too, so nothing against Orlando."

2. What did Curtis do last season?

Curtis played in all 12 of Wisconsin's games last season, and started the first seven of them. He tallied 29 tackles, 15 of them solo, a sack, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup.

With linebacker Lewis Carter serving as one of the team's primary leaders, that leaves one more starting linebacker spot up for grabs, and Curtis is a contender to earn it. While coach Scott Frost said he does not say a lot, he is a leader who "backs it up with how he hustles and plays, and he shows up a lot."

Transfer Jahleel Culbreath and returners Jayden Jennings are also going to be a factor in this competition, with Cole Kozlowski also having the potential to make a run for it later on. However, even if he ends up not being at the top of the depth chart, his experience with Grinch's defense should at least allow him to carve out a spot in the playing rotation at the position.

4. Who is Arthur Lewis IV?

Welcome to UCF, @ArthurlewisIv0 ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/EyZxblS9jk

— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) December 3, 2025

Position: Running Back

Class: Freshman

Height/Weight: 5-foot-10 / 180 pounds

Hometown: Palatka, Florida

High School: Bartram Trail High School

Arthur Lewis IV is one of two true freshman running backs joining the UCF running back room in 2026. Initially committing to Liberty in March 2025, he flipped to the Knights after receiving an offer from them on June 30, according to 247Sports.

5. What did Lewis IV do last season?

Bartram Trail Bears running back Arthur Lewis (0) runs with the ball against the Buchholz Bobcats during the first half at Citizens Field in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, October 23, 2025. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun] | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

In his final season playing for Bartram Trail, Lewis tallied 35 carries for 360 yards and three touchdowns, 40 passes for 447 yards and three touchdowns and 402 kick return yards.

During the Knights' local media day, quarterbacks coach McKenzie Milton said Lewis has turned his head the last few days. However, he is still part of a deep running back room featuring the likes of Duke Watson, Landen Chambers, Agyeman Addae, Taevion Swint and fellow freshman Kaj Baker.

So, while some impressive moments in practice can definitely earn Lewis some playing time in 2026, it is not going to be a very large snap share unless the injury bug strikes.

Catch up on the rest of the list below:

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