UCF Knights Roster 2019 Knights Roster

Head Coach: Josh Heupel        2017 Salary: N/A        Offensive Coordinator: Josh Keupel       Defensive Coordinator: Randy Shannon         

Stadium: Spectrum Stadium       Surface: Grass        City: Orlando        State: Florida

In 2017, the UCF Knights recorded one of the school's finest college football seasons ever. They finished the regular season 13-0, including an epic conference championship victory over the Memphis Tigers 62-55 in double overtime. They then proceeded to defeat a tough Auburn Tigers team 34-27 in the 2018 Peach Bowl. Coming into the 2018 season, it's going to be difficult for students and fans to squelch high expectations despite losing Head Coach Scott Frost to the University of Nebraska. Joshua Kenneth Heupel will be taking Frost's place on the sidelines. The reason for so much optimism heading into the new season is the return of several key players from a 2017 team that led the nation in scoring with 48.2 PPG.

What's most impressive about UCF's roster is it's built to take the team into the future. In the offensive backfield, there's only one senior in RB Taj McGowan. This will give the team a lot of versatility as the younger players mature during he season. That's exactly why Nebraska so desperately wanted to sign Coach Frost. He has consistently shown he knows how to recruit and build a team for the long haul.

Just like last season, strength of schedule is going to hurt the Knights' chances of getting into the Championship Tournament against the likes of teams like Alabama and Clemson. It's hard to ignore the fact UCF ended last season as the nation's only undefeated team at 13-0, yet couldn't crack the top 5. Lost in all the hoopla about this team's soft schedule is the fact this team is loaded with talent.

Much like last year, the offensive is going to run through Jr. QB McKenzie Milton from Hawaii. Standing 5'11", Milton isn't a prototypical quarterback. However, he is a great athlete who knows how to play football. Last season, he started 12 games, threw for 3,795 yards and 35 touchdowns while completing more than 69% of his passes. He also rushed for 497 yards and 7 touchdowns. Milton's size might not be intimidating, but his stature as a dual-threat quarterback will keep opposing coaches up at night.

Also returning in the backfield will be Jr. RB Adrian Killins Jr., the team's leading rusher from last year. He managed to gain 762 yards and 10 TDs despite sharing time running the ball with other players. This year, fans can expect to see Killins carrying a bigger load, taking the pressure off Milton.

After losing last year's leading receiver Tre'Quan Smith to graduation, Jr. WR Dredrick Snelson will look to take over as Milton's favorite target. In his own right, Snelson finished last season with 656 yards and 7 TDs. Fans can also expect good things from Jr. Tre Nixon who missed most of last season, but comes into this season feeling healthy.

The good news is UCF is going to put points on the board and win games. The bad news is the team could again finish the season unbeaten, yet still be sitting on the sidelines when the national title game is being played.