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Meet The 2026 UCF Knights: Countdown To Kickoff - No. 3 Jonathan Bibbs

With three days to go until the 2026 UCF football season kicks off, learn more about the player wearing the Knights' No. 3 jersey: wide receiver Jonathan Bibbs.
Oct 4, 2025; Evanston, Illinois, USA; ULM Warhawks wide receiver Jonathan Bibbs (8) catches a pass as Northwestern Wildcats defensive back Dillon Tatum (8) defends him during the second half at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images
Oct 4, 2025; Evanston, Illinois, USA; ULM Warhawks wide receiver Jonathan Bibbs (8) catches a pass as Northwestern Wildcats defensive back Dillon Tatum (8) defends him during the second half at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES 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.

So, with three days to go, let's meet UCF wide receiver Jonathan Bibbs:

  1. Who is Jonathan Bibbs?
  2. What did he do last season?
  3. What role is he going to have in 2026?

1. Who is Jonathan Bibbs?

Position: Wide Receiver

Class: Redshirt Sophomore

Height/Weight: 6-foot-1 / 180 pounds

Hometown: Birmingham, Alabama

High School: Spain Park High School

Shortly after entering the transfer portal from Louisiana-Monroe, Jonathan Bibbs did not initially commit to UCF, but rather to one of its 2025 opponents: North Carolina. This lasted for four days before the Knights flipped him from the Tar Heels on Jan. 8.

2. What did he do last season?

Bibbs played in all 12 games for Louisiana-Monroe in 2025, even starting in three of them. He caught 26 passes for 383 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran 11 times for 58 yards.

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

UCF wide receivers coach Sean Beckton acknowledged Bibbs' production at Louisiana-Monroe, along with calling him a "smart kid," following an April 18 practice session.

However, with wide receiver being one of the Knights' deeper position groups, bringing back Waden Charles and Duane Thomas Jr. alongside a healed DayDay Farmer, plus two other new additions in FCS All-American first-teamer Josh Derry and lauded freshman Tyren Hornes, Bibbs is likely not going to be the first in line for snaps in 2026.

This is not to say that Bibbs is not going to see the field at all. His production for the Warhawks shows he can succeed on the field, and that should translate into getting into several games throughout 2026. It just would not be the same extent as primary receivers like Thomas, Charles and Derry.

However, as a redshirt sophomore, Bibbs can afford to take a year with a reduced on-field role to get acclimated to the Power 4 level, and with Thomas and Derry both entering their senior years, taking that time could pay off for him come 2027.

Catch up on the rest of the list below:

No. 4 Braeden Marshall and Taevion Swint

No. 5 Josh Derry and DJ Bell

No. 6 Isaiah Nixon and DayDay Farmer

No. 7 Duane Thomas Jr. and Antione Jackson

No. 8 Demari Henderson and Rocco Marriott

No. 9 Waden Charles

No. 10 Kaleb Annett and Sincere Edwards

No. 11 Landen Chambers and Ken Talley

No. 12 Keyone Jenkins and Aymeric Koumba

No. 13 Caleb Rollerson

No. 14 Alonza Barnett III and Kahmel Johnson

No. 15 Will Stone and Preston Hall

No. 16 Dante Carr and TJ Branch

No. 17 Jailen Duffie

No. 18 Caleb Flagg and Caden Piening

No. 19 Rashad Henry

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 Cole Kozlowski

No. 44 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. 90 Mujahid Jefferson

No. 91 Donteye Drew

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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Bryson Turner
BRYSON TURNER

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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