Meet The 2026 UCF Knights: Countdown To Kickoff - No. 85 Carson Hinshaw
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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 85 days to go, let's meet UCF wide receiver Carson Hinshaw:
1. Who is Carson Hinshaw?
Position: Wide Receiver
Class: Redshirt Sophomore
Height/Weight: 5-foot-10 / 165 pounds
Hometown: Lake Mary, Florida
High School: Lake Mary High School
Hinshaw is the older brother of fellow wide receiver Chase Hinshaw, who we discussed in the previous entry. They are both following in the footsteps of their father, Tyson Hinshaw, a former UCF wide receiver who was the Knights' primary passing target during the 2000 season. His 89 receptions that season remain second-most in a single season in program history.
However, Tyson was not the first Hinshaw to play for UCF. That would be his older brother, and Carson and Chase's uncle, Darin, who played quarterback from 1991 to 1994. He set new program records with 9,000 career passing yards and 92 career passing touchdowns; marks that Daunte Culpepper ended up breaking a few years later. He has also had multiple coaching roles in Orlando, most recently being the Knights' offensive coordinator for two seasons under Gus Malzahn in 2023 and 2024.
2. What did he do last season?
Hinshaw was mostly with the scout team alongside his brother in 2025, though he did see the field for the Knights' contests against North Carolina A&T and BYU.
3. What role is he going to have in 2026?
Like his brother, Hinshaw has to contend with a wide receiver room that is packed with experience, both from returners, like Duane Thomas Jr. and Waden Charles, and transfers, like Josh Derry and Jonathan Bibbs, alike.
Even so, both brothers have the confidence of wide receivers coach Sean Beckton, who said he could put them on the field today and they would know exactly what to do.
However, with fellow redshirt sophomore Caleb Rollerson also getting some looks last season and another, DayDay Farmer, returning from injury, Hinshaw looks most likely to continue working with the scout team for most of the season unless the injury bug takes hold higher on the depth chart.
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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