It’s something we should be familiar with in the up-tempo era of UCF Football: If the offense is going to try and score a lot of points quickly, then the defense is going to have to live with giving up yardage in the pursuit of causing turnovers.
Last year, UCF failed to do that, causing only 11 turnovers in 12 games — 117th in the nation. But the one bright spot was that nine of those were interceptions.
That’s still way less than the 20 interceptions UCF grabbed in Frost’s last season here in 2017.
The secondary was arguably the heartbeat of the defense back then. If that is to happen again now, it will have to come from a mix of veteran transfers and developing talent that has held over from the Gus Malzahn regime.
The Man In Charge
The coach aiming to spark a renaissance is himself a veteran with major credibility: Brandon Harris.
Harris was an All-American at Miami, and left early for the NFL. He was drafted in the second round and spent four years in the NFL before moving up north to Canada, where he won a Grey Cup in 2017 as a teammate of UCF great Terrance Plummer.
After coaching at FIU, FAU and Florida State, he’s here in Orlando, hoping to bring his experience to the Knights’ corps of DBs. In some ways he already has, which we will get into later.
The Old Guys
The players Harris inherits are true believers, starting with the Henderson twins, Demari and Ja’Cari.
Both are in their fourth year at UCF, although Demari is coming off a medical redshirt after an injury sidelined him all year. He hopes to return to his All-Big 12 Honorable Mention form from 2023. Ja’Cari meanwhile only played in nine games and is aiming to break through
Alongside them are Braeden Marshall, perhaps the best returning DB from 2024, who tallied 22 tackles, three TFLs and a pick in only nine games last year, and Antoine Jackson, who posted similar numbers after coming over from East Carolina. Sophomore and former four-star recruit Jaylen Heyward is also looking to crack the depth chart.
But these returnees will get a lot of push from a crop of veteran transfers.
The New Guys
The losses of Chasen Johnson (transferred to USC), Mac McWilliams, BJ Adams, Sheldon Arnold and Ladarius Tennison (all to the NFL) still left massive holes for UCF to fill: A combined 149 tackles and five picks.
In come seven new DBs, but two pairs of them catch the eye — one from FAU and one from Syracuse.
Jayden Bellamy and Jaeden Gould (yes, they’re pronounced the same) come down from Central New York, with Bellamy carrying with him the best college resume — a redshirt junior with 22 games under his belt, including 37 tackles, two picks (one for a TD) and six break-ups in 2024. Gould was a contributor off the bench but obviously wants to start in his new digs.
Then there are the FAU guys. Jayden Williams is an experienced redshirt senior and former team captain who posted 26 tackles, three passes busted, two picks and a fumble recovery in just six games last year due to injury. Philip Dunnam was an All-AAC performer with 56 tackles three picks, seven passes defended and a forced fumble under his belt from last year.
Both guys come to Orlando alongside Coach Harris, who was the DB Coach at FAU since 2022 and co- and interim Defensive Coordinator the last two seasons. Their familiarity with Harris’ methods will be indispensible to all others on the unit.
Outlook
The secondary took a lot of losses this year, but supplemented them with some intriguing additions. Again, if UCF is to make a bowl game this year, these guys will have to play the roles that guys like Bam Moore and Tre Neal did for the Knights in 2017: Causing mass confusion for opposing QBs and forcing turnovers.
They’ve done it before both here and elsewhere. The question is if they can all come together to do it again here.
