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 2, 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 new UCF defensive tackle Mujahid Jefferson:

Who is Mujahid Jefferson?
What did he do last season?
What role is he going to have in 2026?

1. Who is Mujahid Jefferson?

Locked in ⚔️ @EHSTrojanFTBL @UCF_Football #ucf @Coach_Martin95 @CoachHand407 @trenchmenAC @247recruiting pic.twitter.com/EoUdY7OiOX
— Mujahid Jefferson (@407MJ) February 18, 2026

Position: Defensive Tackle

Class: Freshman

Height/Weight: 6-foot-3 / 280 pounds

Hometown: Orlando, Florida

High School: Evans High School

Nicknamed "MJ," Jefferson is joining the Knights alongside his Evans High School teammate, defensive back Otis Hardy.

Following his commitment, Jefferson exclusively said to UCF Knights on SI that his relationships with UCF, specifically defensive tackles coach Kenny Martin, whom he has known since his freshman year, helped him make his decision to become a Knight.

2. What did he do last season?

Jefferson recorded 42 tackles, 20 of which were solo, 11 tackles for loss and five sacks in his senior season with Evans High School. The Trojans finished 8-3 in 2025 and made it to the FHSAA regional quarterfinals.

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

With Jefferson being one of several fall freshman arrivals to the program and his recruiting class being the last that could make use of redshirts with recent NCAA rule changes, it is most likely that he is going to redshirt the 2026 season. However, it should give him the opportunity to acclimate to a college football program and build habits that he said would help him "improve year after year."

"Regardless of playing time I want to learn what it takes to compete mentally, physically, and academically at this high level of football," Jefferson said.

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

Add us as a preferred source on Google