Meet The 2026 UCF Knights: Countdown To Kickoff - No. 36 Dylan Bennett

With 36 days to go until the 2026 UCF football season kicks off, learn more about the players wearing the Knights' No. 36 jersey: linebacker Dylan Bennett.

Nov 1, 2025; Waco, Texas, USA; UCF Knights head coach Scott Frost on the sidelines against the Baylor Bears during the second half at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-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 36 days to go, let's meet UCF linebacker Dylan Bennett:

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

1. Who is Dylan Bennett?

Thank you God, Commited!! @247 @CoachDOnofrio @UCF_Recruiting @UCF_Football @247recruiting @EraPrep #ChargeOn #AGTG pic.twitter.com/nDSlK54m5e

— Dylan Bennett (@DylanBenne18263) April 23, 2026

Position: Linebacker

Class: Freshman

Height/Weight: 5-foot-11 / 210 pounds

Hometown: West Palm Beach, Florida

High School: American Heritage High School (Plantation)

Bennett began his high school career as a middle linebacker at Cardinal Newman High School before transferring to American Heritage High School's Plantation campus for his final two seasons.

Both Bennett and Arthur Kingdom were a pair of late additions in the linebacker room for the Knights, with both of their commitments announced during the spring. According to an Instagram post in which Bennett was a collaborator, he was initially committed to a school closer to his native West Palm Beach, Florida Atlantic, before flipping to the Knights in late April.

2. What did he do last season?

American Heritage LB Dylan Bennett celebrates his sack of Choctaw QB Tamen Zabetakis during their District 4A State semifinal football game at Choctaw. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Bennett finished off his high school career last season with 69 tackles, 29 of them solo, 21 tackles for loss, seven sacks and a fumble recovery on defense and 50 carries for 192 yards and three touchdowns on offense, according to MaxPreps. His contributions helped American Heritage to an FHSAA 4A State Championship.

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

Bennett is one of four true freshman linebackers on the Knights' 2026 roster, so the chances of him checking into a game or two in his first college football season are slightly more possible than other fall arrivals to Orlando. However, he is going to have to stand out against the likes of a pair of his fellow true freshmen, Matthew Occhipinti and Preston Hall, who did participate in spring practice.

Even if Bennett can do that, there are still several experienced linebackers likely to take a lion's share of the snaps this season, like Lewis Carter, Jayden Jennings, Jahleel Culbreath, Tackett Curtis, Rashad Henry and Arthur Kingdom. So, barring an outbreak of the injury bug, Bennett is unlikely to see many snaps, if any, in 2026.

Catch up on the rest of the list below:

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