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.

This entry, however, will deviate a bit from that formula. While there are no players on UCF's roster wearing jersey numbers 62-65, as of July 3, new players have been added to the roster who have received jersey numbers we have already passed along in our countdown.

So, with this spare time until No. 61 Owen Spell's entry on July 4, let's take a moment to meet UCF wide receiver Elijah Hardy:

Who is Elijah Hardy?
What did he do last season?
What role is he going to have in 2026?

1. Who is Elijah Hardy?

Position: Wide Receiver

Class: Freshman

Height/Weight: 6-foot-0 / 180 pounds

Hometown: Miami, Florida

High School: Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory

Before he finished up his high school career at Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory, Elijah Hardy spent his first three years of high school at Miami Northwestern. As a junior, Hardy rushed 62 times for 440 yards and seven touchdowns, in addition to catching 13 passes for 196 yards, to help the Bulls, led that season by coach Teddy Bridgewater, to an FHSAA Class 3A State Championship.

2. What did he do last season?

On offense, Hardy rushed 15 times for 110 yards and caught five passes for 38 yards during his senior season of high school at Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory. On defense, he snagged three interceptions and recorded eight pass breakups.

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

The wide receiver room is one of the deepest position groups on the Knights' squad this season, featuring not just returning faces like Duane Thomas Jr., Waden Charles and Caleb Rollerson, but also a pair of high-profile transfers in Josh Derry and Jonathan Bibbs and even Ric'Darious "DayDay" Farmer, who sat out all of 2025 due to injury.

Considering Hardy is a fall arrival, featured more as a rusher than a receiver on offense during his high school career and part of the last recruiting class that can use a redshirt due to changing NCAA eligibility rules, a season not seeing the field would likely do him good for his development. Using a redshirt year can help him acclimate to a college football program and learn from experienced receivers like Thomas Jr. and Derry.

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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