7 days ago
These 5 UCF football veterans are most pivotal on 2025 roster
ORLANDO — Game week is fast approaching for UCF, a first opportunity for Scott Frost and the Knights to demonstrate they can exceed expectations.
More than half of last year's roster is gone, courtesy of graduation and a massive transfer exodus in the wake of Gus Malzahn's resignation. Frost and his staff patched plenty of holes through the portal and signed more than a dozen recruits from the high school and junior college ranks.
So who will emerge as the Knights' focal points over the next four months?
Jacurri Brown, Cam Fancher and Tayven Jackson are embroiled in a three-man competition for the starting quarterback spot. For now, let's shift the focus to other spots on the Knights' roster.
Here are five players, listed in alphabetical order, who will be crucial for UCF to achieve success in 2025.
DJ Black, wide receiver
Duane Thomas Jr. might lead the team in targets from the slot, and both Kylan Fox and Dylan Wade figure to be factors at tight end, but Black has the responsibility of stretching opposing defenses vertically to open things up underneath.
Black, brought in from shuttered Division II Limestone College in South Carolina, totaled 939 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in 11 games. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound redshirt junior has a track background as well, competing for South Carolina's indoor and outdoor teams in 2023. He set a wind-legal, 100-meter time of 10.5 seconds at the SEC championships.
"We haven't had that speed since Breshad Perriman," UCF wide receivers coach Sean Beckton said. "He was very raw when he first got here, but he's worked extremely hard on really understanding how to get into and out of his breaks."
Phillip Dunnam, safety
Dunnam's instincts and ball skills have been on full display since the spring, including a slot-screen pick in seven-on-seven drills during the open portion of UCF's Aug. 6 practice.
A North Miami Beach native, Dunnam (6-1, 190) has 35 games of college experience under his belt. He's tallied three interceptions in each of the last two seasons, one apiece at Indiana and Florida Atlantic.
He will be a crucial piece to first-year defensive coordinator Alex Grinch's scheme, operating as the starting field safety.
Nyjalik Kelly, defensive end
With this level of returning talent in the fold, UCF must generate more than the 22 sacks its unit recorded in 2024 under Ted Roof (eight games) and Addison Williams (four). Healed from shoulder surgery, Kelly proved to be a major addition in 2024 with a team-high 5½ sacks.
The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder from Fort Lauderdale was particularly disruptive down the stretch, making 20 tackles with five TFLs and three sacks in UCF's last three contests. Kelly earned an All-Big 12 honorable mention and a spot on Phil Steele's preseason all-conference second team.
UCF's edge-rush group should be formidable this fall with returning starters Kelly and Malachi Lawrence, emerging redshirt sophomore Isaiah Nixon and Pitt transfer Sincere Edwards, a quartet that combined for 14½ sacks.
Myles Montgomery, running back
In the spring, Montgomery acknowledged he's been a "career-long backup," carrying the ball just 51 times for the Knights in 2024 — and 131 times in 30 college games.
"And now it's my time," he added.
With RJ Harvey off to the NFL, Montgomery is set to be a major piece of the Knights' offense, along with fellow running back Jaden Nixon. The 5-foot-11, 205-pound Jacksonville native maintains a career 6.4-yards-per-carry average with eight touchdowns (seven rushing).
"It's a good problem to have when you've got two really good backs," UCF offensive coordinator Steve Cooper said when asked about a potential ratio of splitting the workload. "They obviously all do different things. We're going to make sure those guys are involved."
Paul Rubelt, offensive tackle
Sticking with UCF for six years, and through two coaching changes, Rubelt has become one of the faces of the school's athletic program, serving as president of its Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in 2024. The 6-foot-10, 330-pound tackle arrived in Orlando from Frankfurt-Oder, Germany in 2020.
"If you cut Paul open, he'd be bleeding the black and gold," Knights offensive line coach Shawn Clark said. "He's a Knight, through and through."
Rubelt appeared in 39 games before making his first career start. He stuck at right tackle for all 12 games last year, producing a 78.7 grade in pass protection and a 65.5 mark as a run blocker in 815 snaps, per Pro Football Focus.
Projected to flip over to left tackle this season, Rubelt will be tasked with giving ample time to whoever wins the Knights' QB race.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF Knights football: Most important 2025 offensive, defensive players
