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 93 days to go, let's meet UCF defensive tackle Brad Gurley:

Who is Brad Gurley?
What did he do last season?
What role is he going to have in 2026?

1. Who is Brad Gurley?

Position: Defensive Tackle

Class: Redshirt Senior

Height/Weight: 6-foot-2 / 290 pounds

Hometown: Bowling Green, Kentucky

High School: Bowling Green High School

Gurley's arrival in Orlando is the culmination of a college football career in which he did not have a full scholarship to start out with. Only after redshirting his first season and playing one game in his second season with Eastern Kentucky did he earn his full scholarship in 2024. The moment that his mother, Crystal Smith, gave him the news during a team meeting was featured in a segment on NBC Nightly News.

A moment to last a lifetime for our man, Brad Gurley!

🎥: @NBCNightlyNews #E2W | #MatterOfPride https://t.co/NNm71cWCL6 pic.twitter.com/KidCC3lIrf
— EKU Football (@EKUFootball) August 26, 2024

Following a spring practice session on April 30, Gurley said he "chose" UCF defensive tackles coach Kenny Martin, who spent several years of his coaching career in the defensive tackle's hometown of Bowling Green, Kentucky, first as a defensive coordinator at Warren Central High School in 2014 before returning in 2016 to be a graduate assistant for his alma mater, Western Kentucky, also located in Bowling Green. He served in that role from 2016 to 2017 before becoming the Hilltoppers' defensive line coach from 2018 to 2020.

2. What did he do last season?

Gurley made the most of his first season of college football as a starter, doing so for all of Eastern Kentucky's 12 games. He was named to the All-United Athletic Conference Second Team after leading the Colonels with 10.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks, finishing seventh in the conference in sacks per game. He also recorded 45 tackles, 21 of them solo, five quarterback hurries, three passes defended and one forced fumble.

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

The Knights are no strangers to a transfer from an FCS school emerging to become a starter after linebacker Cole Kozlowski pulled it off last season, even earning an All-Big 12 Third Team honor.

Gurley could have the opportunity to do something similar in 2026 if his production from Eastern Kentucky translates to the Big 12, something Martin said on April 30 he has seen. However, if he is to pull it off, he is going to have to stand out in a deep defensive tackle room, as described by Martin, that sports several other experienced players like RJ Jackson Jr., Thomas Collins and Horace Lockett.

As of this writing, Gurley looks most likely to be a meaningful piece in a defensive tackle rotation, even if it is not as a starter, given the presence of returners Jackson Jr. and Lockett. However, his share of playing time could increase, which could lead to a starting nod, with a standout fall camp performance, early-season production, injuries or a combination of all three.

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

Add us as a preferred source on Google