Meet The 2026 UCF Knights: Countdown To Kickoff - No. 94 L A Jesse Harrold
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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 94 days to go, let's meet UCF EDGE L A Jesse Harrold:
1. Who is L A Jesse Harrold?
Welcome to UCF, @JesseHarrold4 ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/SoqsmQ7kg2
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) January 12, 2026
Position: EDGE
Class: Redshirt Freshman
Height/Weight: 6-foot-5 / 260 pounds
Hometown: Tampa, Florida
High School: Gaither High School
Before transferring to focus solely on football at Gaither High School, Harrold was a multi-sport athlete at Robinson High School, also in the Tampa area. During his junior season, he was on the football team in addition to the basketball team and track and field team.
On the hardwood, Harrold played in 26 games, averaging 8.7 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game as Robinson made it to the FHSAA 4A quarterfinals. On the track, he was a jumper, primarily competing in the high jump and the long jump. He qualified for the FHSAA regionals in the high jump thanks to a personal best 1.82-meter jump that got him third place at the district meet.
A short time after Harrold completed his track and field season at Robinson, 247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins wrote that Harrold was "one of the more boom or bust recruits of the 2025 cycle" and had "NFL upside if it all comes together and he keeps developing."
2. What did he do last season?
Harrold redshirted his true freshman season in 2025 with Florida State, though he did appear in the Seminoles' Nov. 1 matchup against Wake Forest.
Before that, Harrold was a four-star EDGE at Gaither High School who recorded 38 tackles, 29 of them solo, 16 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, four fumble recoveries, an interception and six passes defended in his senior season.
3. What role is he going to have in 2026?
The EDGE position is going to look fairly different for the Knights in 2026 after the two starters at the position last season, Malachi Lawrence and Nyjalik Kelly, departed for the NFL, with Lawrence even getting selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. Coach Scott Frost even said to 96.9 The Game's Marc Daniels on April 28 that it would be "a challenge to be as good at that position."
Harrold is one of only two underclassmen in the EDGE room, joining Alhassan Iddrissu. So, from a pure experience standpoint, he would likely not be in line for many snaps in 2026.
However, EDGE coach Mike Dawson said on April 21 after a spring practice session that Harrold was "mixing well" with the group. So, if he impresses during fall camp with his raw athletic potential, with the help of his jumping ability that he honed during his high school days playing basketball and competing in the jumping events on the track and field team, he could find his way into the playing rotation in 2026.
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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