UCF football makes QB splash in transfer portal, signs CFP starter

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ORLANDO — UCF wasted little time sorting out its quarterback depth chart for 2026, plucking a College Football Playoff starter out of the transfer portal.

Former James Madison starter Alonza Barnett III signed with the Knights on Sunday, Jan. 4, following an official visit. Barnett, a 5-foot-11, 216-pound dual threat, helped the Dukes win the Sun Belt Conference and earn the No. 12 seed in the CFP, eventually losing a first-round game at Oregon.

As a redshirt junior, Barnett earned Sun Belt Player of the Year honors, at the controls of the nation’s No. 10 scoring offense (37.8 ppg) when the regular season concluded.

Over the last two seasons, Barnett has thrown for 5,404 yards with 49 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He has added 1,031 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns on the ground. James Madison went 21-6 during that time.

UCF has struggled to sort out the quarterback spot for the better part of the decade, rolling out six starters in the past two seasons alone. Tayven Jackson, Cam Fancher and Jacurri Brown — the Knights’ top three passers at the start of fall camp in August — have all declared intentions to transfer.

Expected to join Barnett, as things stand, next fall are rising redshirt sophomore Davi Belfort and incoming true freshmen Rocco Marriott and Dante Carr. UCF flipped Marriott, a consensus four-star recruit out of Platte City, Missouri, away from James Madison in November.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF Knights football signs QB Alonza Barnett III from transfer portal

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