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 81 days to go, let's meet UCF wide receiver Zack Palmer:

Who is Zack Palmer?
What did he do last season?
What role is he going to have in 2026?

1. Who is Zack Palmer?

Position: Wide Receiver

Class: Redshirt Freshman

Height/Weight: 6-foot-0 / 190 pounds

Hometown: Orlando, Florida

High School: Boone High School

Just like two of his fellow wide receivers, Chase and Carson Hinshaw, Zack Palmer has a family history with the UCF Knights football team.

Palmer's father, Mike, was a linebacker for the Knights from 1994 to 1998. During that time, he became a team captain, snagged two interceptions in 1997, lost his father to cancer in January 1998 and capped it all off by proposing to his girlfriend, who went on to become Zack's mother, on the field at the Citrus Bowl after his final game, a win over New Mexico on Nov. 21, 1998, that got the Knights to 9-2.

2. What did he do last season?

Just like his father did back in 1994, Palmer redshirted his true freshman season, working mostly with the scout team. However, he did see the field once against North Carolina A&T.

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

Barring an impressive showing in fall camp, Palmer is likely going to primarily work with the scout team again in 2026. With more experienced wide receivers like Duane Thomas Jr., Josh Derry, Waden Charles, Jonathan Bibbs and DayDay Farmer in the picture, there are not too many more looks available for him.

However, given the youth of most of the position group, this season could be an opportunity for Palmer to make his case for getting some looks in future seasons.

Catch up on the rest of the list below:


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

Catch up on more UCF news below:

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 UCF Women’s Soccer Team

Why UCF Losing Jamichael Stillwell Is Not As Bad As You Think

UCF Knights Class of 2026 Early Signing Day Tracker

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