According to UCF linebacker Keli Lawson, the Knights are trending in the right direction.
In fact, the team’s ceiling is nowhere in sight.
“We got a group of guys that have really bought in,” Lawson said during UCF Football’s 2025 player media availability. “We’re working, and we’re making strides.”
Lawson enters his first season at UCF as a redshirt senior after spending four years at Virginia Tech. Now, the Knights get a 6-foot-4, 223-pound athletic linebacker who led the Hokies with 80 tackles (39
solo) in 2023 as a redshirt sophomore.
Lawson emphasizes the versatility of his game and wants others to understand he is not a one-dimensional player.
“I don’t want to just put one label to it and say I’m doing one particular thing,” Lawson said. “Because, quite frankly, I’m not.”
Eight players beyond Lawson make up the linebacker room, one of which includes Lawson’s former Virginia Tech teammate, redshirt senior Jayden McDonald. Like Lawson, McDonald spent the first three seasons of his collegiate career with the Hokies.
Other names include TJ Bullard, one of the few returners from the 2024 roster, and Oklahoma junior transfer Lewis Carter.
While Lawson believes the linebackers and the roster in general have a lot of untapped potential, the national media does not view the Knights through the same lens. Recently, ESPN released a 2025 Big 12 football preview, ranking UCF No. 15 out of 16 teams.
To add insult to injury, Unnecessary Roughness host Brandon Walker recently lambasted UCF defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, who is entering his first season with the program.
“Is Alex Grinch your defensive coordinator? If the answer is yes, you’re the worst team in the conference,” Walker said.
Lawson hears the criticism. It’s not hurtful, it’s motivating.
“We know the expectations people have for us,” Lawson said. “We know the low standards they already have, and to that end, all we have to say is, good.”
“We’re happy that people feel that way, and we’re excited to show them the exact opposite.”
