Meet The 2026 UCF Knights: Countdown To Kickoff - No. 37 Rocklyn Kelley
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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.
So, with 37 days to go, let's meet UCF long snapper Rocklyn Kelley:
1. Who is Rocklyn Kelly?
Position: Long Snapper
Class: Redshirt Freshman
Height/Weight: 6-foot-1 / 225 pounds
Hometown: Denton, Texas
High School: Guyer High School
Rocklyn Kelley grew up in the shadow of the North Texas Mean Green in Denton, Texas. However, a different Texas school, UTSA, gave him his first in October 2024, according to 247Sports. He was not only a long snapper for Guyer High School, but he also competed in the discus throw on the track and field team, according to his UCF Athletics profile page.
Over the offseason, Kelley joined softball player Taylor Kittleman as UCF's representatives for the Big 12 Beyond Borders program, a two-year program first launched in 2024 that "immerses student-athletes, coaches and administrators in a variety of historical and cultural experiences in the U.S. and internationally," according to a conference press release.
Kelley began his experience in the program earlier this month in Washington D.C., where, according to the release, student-athletes got to meet with Congressmen, visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and engage with local middle school students.
2. What did he do last season?
Kelley did not see the field last season while serving as a backup for starter Dalton Riggs, allowing him to utilize his redshirt.
3. What role is he going to have in 2026?
Following an April 7 spring practice session, UCF special teams coordinator Pete Alamar described Kelley as having "come along" and "shown a lot of improvement."
When compared to the Knights' other long snapper, Kyle Hicks, Kelley has the disadvantage of not having any collegiate playing experience yet. Meanwhile, Hicks is coming off a season in which he was named an FCS Freshman All-American Third Teamer by Phil Steele.
While Alamar said that Kelley is going to push Hicks, and vice versa, Kelley's lack of in-game snaps up to this point puts him as the Knights' apparent backup long snapper in 2026 on paper. However, given how specialized of a position long snapper is, Kelley could make a bid for the starting role if he can distinguish himself enough from Hicks in fall practice.
Catch up on the rest of the list below:
No. 14 Alonza Barnett III and Kahmel Johnson
No. 15 Will Stone and Preston Hall
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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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