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 66 days to go, let's meet UCF's offensive lineman Brady Wayburn:

Who is Brady Wayburn?
What did he do last season?
What role is he going to have in 2026?

1. Who is Brady Wayburn?

Welcome to UCF, @WayburnBrady ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/BZZNFkxyEy
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) January 5, 2026

Position: Offensive Lineman

Class: Redshirt Senior

Height/Weight: 6-foot-5 / 305 pounds

Hometown: Gastonia, North Carolina

High School: Loomis Chaffee School

While he began his high school career at Forestview High School in his hometown of Gastonia, North Carolina, Wayburn moved to Connecticut and finished it as one of fewer than 800 students at the Loomis Chaffee School, a combination boarding and day school that opened its doors in 1914.

Wayburn was a team captain for a Loomis Chaffee football team led by coach Jeff Moore. Wayburn's senior season was actually Moore's last at the school before he moved on to become UMass' tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator, a role he still holds at the time of this article's writing.

2. What did he do last season?

Wayburn played in 12 games for UConn last season and was its starting right guard in six of them. He finished the season with a 77.4 PFF run-blocking grade, which ranked him No. 42 overall among offensive guards and No. 12 among run-blocking tackles, according to his UCF Athletics profile page.

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

With both UCF's starting and backup right guards graduating after last season, Wayburn looks like the favorite to take over at the position in 2026, barring a potential move inside from Preston Cushman.

Offensive line coach AJ Blazek, following an April 9 practice session, likened Wayburn to a hammer; it does not make a lot of noise, but it hits.

"He ran a lot of wide zone at UConn, which we knew he could do that, but to get him here and see how strong he is has been the impressive part," Blazek said. "So, he's a guy that, you get him and [Connor] Meadows in there, and they're gonna be able to set some edges, I think, as we go."

Even if Wayburn is not a starter, whether that is due to Cushman moving into the starting right guard role or another player emerging at the position, that strength and experience running wide zone should get him opportunities to see the field very often in 2026.

Catch up on the rest of the list below:

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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