Meet The 2026 UCF Knights: Countdown To Kickoff - No. 68 Ethan Higgins

With 68 days to go until the 2026 UCF football season kicks off, learn more about the player wearing the Knights' No. 68 jersey: offensive lineman Ethan Higgins.

Nov 1, 2025; Waco, Texas, USA; UCF Knights head coach Scott Frost leaves the field following the game against the Baylor Bears at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

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 68 days to go, let's meet UCF's offensive lineman Ethan Higgins:

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

1. Who is Ethan Higgins?

Position: Offensive Lineman

Class: Redshirt Junior

Height/Weight: 6-foot-6 / 270 pounds

Hometown: Brooksville, Florida

High School: Hernando Christian Academy

Higgins was a three-sport athlete at Hernando Christian Academy, playing basketball and baseball in addition to football. He was joined on all three teams by his younger brother, Brandon Higgins, who began his own college football career last season at the NAIA's Webber International University, also as an offensive lineman. This season, he is transferring to Sul Ross State, a Division II school in Alpine, Texas, according to a June 3 Instagram post.

2. What did he do last season?

Higgins was a member of the scout team, though he did see the field in one game last season against North Carolina A&T. It was the first time he entered a game in his college football career.

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

Considering Higgins has just one game of college football experience in three seasons in Orlando, he is likely not going to be a part of offensive line coach AJ Blazek's "eight or nine guys" that take a majority of the snaps during the season. 

However, given that he saw time in the Knights' game against an FCS opponent last season, Higgins could very well make an appearance in the Knights’ season-opener against Bethune-Cookman, which would be the second appearance of his college football career. Any more appearances after this hinge on his progress during fall camp.

Even if he does only make one appearance in 2026, however, a scout team role would still see him work with and assist in the development of the Knights' young linemen like Kasiyah Charlton, RaiShaun McHaney and Amahn Williams.

Click a name below and catch up on the rest of the list:

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