ORLANDO – The UCF football team, led by fourth-year head coach Gus Malzahn, held its first practice of fall camp Monday morning as the Knights began preparations for Year 2 in the Big 12 Conference at the newly-named Wayne Densch Practice Complex, which features the addition of a third practice field for the 2024 season.
Players hit the fields around 9 a.m. this morning under sunny Orlando skies and 82-degree temperatures. The team worked out for 2.5 hours before Malzahn and four players, DB LaDarius Tennison, WR Xavier Townsend, DE Malachi Lawrence and OL Marcellus Marshall met with reporters following practice.
“It felt really good to be back on the field with our players and have a good idea of where we’re at after day one,” Malzahn said. “And I just challenged our guys that we need to improve from day one to day two more than any other day. We have a lot of new players out there as far as trying to set the standard. I thought our guys responded, but it was just the first day and we’re looking forward to getting back out there and improving.”
The 2024 squad features 12 returning starters mixed in with more than 40 new players between transfers and incoming freshmen.
Four team captains, who were voted on by their teammates, were named Sunday evening by Malzahn. Those four individuals are LB Ethan Barr, RB RJ Harvey, QB KJ Jefferson and Marshall.
Barr arrived in Orlando this offseason after four seasons at Vanderbilt. He was also a team captain in 2023 for the Commodores where he started all 12 games, recording a sack, 3.0 tackles-for-loss and a forced fumble while finishing fourth on the team with 55 tackles. Off the field, he was selected to the SEC Community Service Team, was a Wuerffel Trophy nominee and a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, the “Academic Heisman” award.
Harvey, who was recently named to the Maxwell Award watch list, returns to the backfield after a historic 2024 season that saw the Orlando native rush for 1,416 rushing yards to become the first Knights running back to surpass 1,000 rushing yards in a season since 2018. His 16 rushing TDs tied for second in UCF single-season annals with only five FBS players scoring more regular-season rushing touchdowns. Harvey rushed for 1,038 yards over the final eight games of the season for an average of 129.7 yards per game during that stretch.
Jefferson, also a Maxwell Award nominee, joined the Knights in January 2024 after spending the past five seasons at Arkansas where he set the program records for completions (626), completion percentage (65.1), passing yards (7,911), passing TDs (67) and total TDs (88). He brings with him 36 career starts at quarterback in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) to UCF. Last season Jefferson started all 12 games at quarterback, throwing for 2,107 yards and 19 TDs and rushing 161 times for 447 yards and two scores. He was only the second three-time team captain in program history.
Marshall appeared in all 13 games during his first season with the Knights in 2023, starting 11 contests. He started the first three games at right tackle before shifting to left guard and closing out the season at right guard. He was a member of an offensive line that helped the Knights finish fourth in the FBS in rushing (228.2) and eighth in total offense (487.0). He also was a second team All-Big 12 selection by College Football Network.
The Knights open their 2024 campaign against New Hampshire at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29 at FBC Mortgage Stadium. The first meeting between the programs will air live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. UCF’s home conference slate features contests versus Colorado, Cincinnati, BYU, Arizona and Utah. The Knights' Big 12 road game list includes TCU, Iowa State, Arizona State and West Virginia.
Beckton Returns to UCF Staff:
Coach Malzahn also announced on Monday the return of UCF hall of famer and veteran coach Sean Beckton Sr. to the program as an analyst. During his time as coach for UCF, Beckton helped the Knights win four of the six conference championships and claim the program’s two New Year’s Six bowl wins. Beckton also played a large role in UCF’s 2017 unbeaten season, when the Knights went 13-0 to complete the greatest two-year turnaround in NCAA history. As a player, Beckton concluded his career as UCF’s all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards. He was one of the first two football players inducted into the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame.