This is the fourth in a five-part series on the quarterback position at the state’s major universities. Today, UCF.
It really hasn’t been because they haven’t had a quarterback. Have they had a Blake Bortles? No. A Dillon Gabriel? No. But ever since UCF took a step up to the Big 12 in 2023, it hasn’t really been held back because of its quarterbacks.
John Rhys Plumlee was pretty good in 2023 before he left for Ole Miss. K.J. Jefferson was thought to be one of the better quarterback prospects in the country when he enrolled at Arkansas and led the Hogs to a 9-4 record before transferring to UCF.
And last year, Tayven Jackson was solid and made some big plays, although his season was marred by injuries and he didn’t ignite the offense like Coach Scott Frost, in his second go-round at UCF, wanted.
So Jackson left. He didn’t really want to go, but Frost really didn’t want him to stay, so…
“It doesn’t make any sense to comment on any individual; you know, this is college football now, it’s a crazy time,” Frost remarked on UCF’s football website after Jackson left.
“We have to decide what’s best for our team and who needs to stay and who needs to go, and players need to decide what’s best for them and who wants to stay and who isn’t going to stay,” Frost commented.
So now, Jackson is at North Texas and Central Florida is looking for a new starting quarterback – again. And Frost and UCF General Manager Trent Mossbrucker, in charge of football player personnel, acquisitions and roster management, think they’ve found him in Alonzo Barnett III.
Last season, playing for James Madison, Barnett was the Sun Belt Player of the year after guiding the team to the College Football Playoffs. He was 213 of 355 for 2,598 yards with 26 touchdowns and just four interceptions throwing the ball and ran for 442 yards and four touchdowns.
CBS Sports ranked him as the 22nd best pickup among transfer portal quarterbacks and ESPN had him at No. 21. Interestingly, Miami’s Darian Mensah was No. 1 in the CBS rankings and No. 3 at ESPN, and Florida’s Aaron Philo, although he has no starting experience, was ranked No. 18 by CBS and No. 12 by ESPN based on his potential.
Florida State’s Ashton Daniels was not ranked in either poll.
“What I love more than anything about Alonzo is he’s a winner and he’s a proven winner,” Frost commented on UCF’s football website. “I think when you’re a really good team, you have really exceptional leadership from that position (quarterback).
“You have somebody that’s tough, somebody that other people want to get behind and play for and believe in. So, not even speaking about the talent that he brings, just really impressed with his demeanor and excited about the level of toughness and leadership that we should get from him,” Frost said.
“Obviously, a lot of the quarterback evaluation, everything that was going on has been going on for a long time,” Frost continued. “There’s a lot of skilled players that when you talk to their agents about potentially coming to our school, one of their first questions is ‘who’s the quarterback going to be?’
“That made getting a quarterback a priority for us for more reasons than the obvious ones. It would be a priority anyway, but I think that’s one of the first dominoes that needed to fall in order for us to fill out the team with the players we were able to bring in,” Frost declared.
“I think Alonza is a guy that can really throw it. I think he plays courageously, stands in the pocket when he needs to make throws, takes off when he needs to.
“Probably a better athlete then some people realize, but, you know, he was able to accomplish a lot of really good things at James Madison and hats off to them,” Frost said.
“We expect the same kind of production from him at this level,” Frost added. “I think he can do everything really well. So, we’re looking forward to getting him with the rest of the guys and just seeing how it all comes together.
“But, you know, we’re definitely approaching this year with the thought we have our No. 1 quarterback, and I think the battle is for two, three and beyond,” Frost said.
Vying to back up Barnett will be Kaleb Annett, who came over from Boise State and has not played, and Keyone Jenkins, who appeared in 33 games for FIU with 20 starts.
But in Barnett, UCF has it’s man, a guy they hope can make the Knights relevant again, only this time at a Power 4 level.
Next, USF.