Meet The 2026 UCF Knights: Countdown To Kickoff - No. 78 Preston Cushman
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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 78 days to go, let's meet UCF offensive lineman Preston Cushman:
1. Who is Preston Cushman?
Position: Offensive Lineman
Class: Redshirt Senior
Height/Weight: 6-foot-5 / 305 pounds
Hometown: St. Petersburg, Florida
High School: Calvary Christian High School
Cushman is a "big outdoors guy," he told 96.9 The Game's Marc Daniels back on Jan. 8 during an episode of "Knight Talk. At the time, he mentioned he was trying to bring his girlfriend along on a hunting trip.
"I've shot some deer and some ducks and stuff like that, and tried to shoot some pigs," Cushman said.
Since that interview, he also shot his first turkey, posting about it on Instagram on March 22.
2. What did he do last season?
After transferring in from Ole Miss, Cushman made the most of his first season in Orlando. He started in all 12 of the Knights' games at right tackle, led the team with 753 snaps and recorded a 63.1 grade on Pro Football Focus, according to his UCF Athletics profile page. That PFF ranking was the Knights' fourth-highest-graded among their offensive lineman.
3. What role is he going to have in 2026?
Cushman is set to lead the offensive line into the 2026 season and would be a prime candidate for a team captain role. Being a team leader was even one of the reasons he returned to his home state in the first place; he said in a June 6 video feature on the UCF Knights YouTube channel.
"This is the place I wanted to come back to and be a leader and leave my mark on this place, because this place provided me the opportunity to play college football," Cushman said. "I want to be a guy that people can look up to, because I want to lead guys and help them. I was a young guy once, and watched guys do the right things, and it helped me grow up a little bit faster and get a little bit better at football."
While they had not been acquainted for very long at the time, new UCF offensive line coach AJ Blazek said following an April 9 practice session that Cushman's leadership "has been the biggest thing" he has seen from him so far.
Following an April 3 practice session, Cushman said that he felt at home at right tackle, but he knows he can move inside, even if he has not done it much.
So, depending on how the rest of the position group's talents stack up, Cushman seems the most likely to return to right tackle, just this time with a leadership role on the team to go along with it.
Catch up on the rest of the list below:
No. 97 Josh Schell and Mason Denaberg
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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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