UCF Football Injury and Depth Chart Update

This coming Saturday against East Carolina, there should be good news for UCF Football fans with the return of several injured Knights that were listed on the depth chart.

Brian Smith | Oct 6, 2021

ORLANDO - On Monday, UCF released a depth chart. There's been nothing else that Inside The Knights heard since Monday to contradict the information below, so here goes. Normally, depth charts are not a big deal. This week presents something different, however.

Injuries will always be a major part of the game of football. It’s certainly been a devastating aspect of UCF’s 2021 season; losing a half dozen starters during the Louisville game took its toll on the Knights’ depth chart.

Amongst the injured in that game would be starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who went out with a shoulder injury, while starting running back Isaiah Bowser left the game with a leg injury.

There were also at least four other undisclosed injuries to starters, including wide receiver Jaylon Robinson, defensive tackle Ricky Barber, linebacker Tatum Bethune, and cornerback Corey Thornton.

That does not even take into account the injury that starting center Matthew Lee suffered during the Bethune-Cookman game. Lee tried to play against Louisville, going through warmups, but he simply could not play. Lee returned to action against Navy.

The good news would be that all of the listed players above also made this week’s depth chart. That’s a big deal for the Knights because losing seven starters over a two-game stretch represents 31.8% of the starting lineup. That’s a rare level of injuries for a college football team to endure.

More Depth Chart Notes

Trillion Coles did not receive mention on the depth chart. The redshirt junior running back carried seven times for 22 yards against Navy. Also not listed would be junior defensive end Tre’mon Morris-Brash, arguably the most coveted recruit on the UCF roster that the prior coaching staff brought to Orlando from the high school ranks.

He’s been playing in a reserve role this season after missing the first two games due to suspension. Morris-Brash’s athleticism could allow him to break into the lineup at some point this season. Part of the reason for Morris-Brash not being in the lineup would be the improved play of sophomore defensive end Josh Celiscar, who recorded the only two sacks for the UCF defense so far in 2021.

Having an athletic defensive end like Tre'mon Morris-Brash come off the bench provides excellent depth for the Knights. — Having an athletic defensive end like Tre'mon Morris-Brash come off the bench provides excellent depth for the Knights / UCF Athletics

Injuries and Depth Charts

UCF Head Coach Gus Malzahn mentioned earlier this week that he was hopeful with defensive players returning to the lineup. With that stated, the offensive players that were out against Navy, as well as part of the Louisville game, did show up on the depth chart as starters this week.

Hopeful? Wishful thinking? Hard to say with any particular depth chart. Coach Malzahn did provide answers for each side of the football when asked about the injured players. Again, he was hopeful for defensive players, but not nearly as much for offensive players.

As for the players coming back against East Carolina, keep in mind that the following depth chart serves as a guide. Anything can happen between now and the actual game being played. Further injuries could transpire and a player returning from injury might not be as ready as he and/or the UCF training staff originally believed. Just keep that in mind, but it’s still better to see those UCF players listed on the depth chart than not.

Here’s the depth chart for the upcoming game versus the visiting Pirates of East Carolina, beginning with the offense.

Quarterback

16 Mikey Keene, Freshman, 5’11”, 180

7 Joey Gatewood, Junior, 6’5”, 220

Running Back

5 Isaiah Bowser, Senior, 6’1”, 225

25 Johnny Richardson, Sophomore, 5’7”, 170

6 Mark Antony-Richards, Redshirt Sophomore, 6’1”, 215

Boundary Receiver

3 Brandon Johnson, Redshirt Senior, 6’2”, 195

80 Nate Craig-Myers, Redshirt Senior, 6’2”, 205

or Jordan Johnson, Redshirt Freshman, 6’2”, 185

Field Receiver

1 Jaylon Robinson, Redshirt Junior, 5’9”, 180

2 Kaedin Robinson, Sophomore, 6’2”, 205

or 0 Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, Freshman, 6’1”, 175

Slot Receiver

4 Ryan O’Keefe, Redshirt Sophomore, 5’10”, 175

17 Amari Johnson, Junior, 5’10”, 160

Tight End

82 Jake Hescock, Redshirt Senior, 6’7”, 250

88 Alec Holler, Redshirt Junior, 6’3”, 230

Left Tackle

68 Marcus Tatum, Redshirt Senior, 6’6”, 300

71 Brett Bell, Redshirt Senior, 6’6”, 300

Left Guard

65 Cole Schneider, Redshirt Senior, 6’4”, 315

76 Adrian Medley, Redshirt Sophomore, 6’5, 305

Center

55 Matthew Lee, Redshirt Sophomore, 6’4”, 295

57 Mike Lofton, Sophomore, 6’2”, 300

Right Guard

77 Lokahi Pauole, Junior, 6’4”, 305

60 Josh McMullen, Redshirt Senior, 6’5”, 295

Right Tackle

73 Samuel Jackson, Redshirt Senior, 6’6”, 325

70 Edward Collins, Redshirt Junior, 6’6”, 315

Here are the defensive players listed on the depth chart.

Defensive End

94 Anthony Montalvo, Redshirt Senior, 6’3”, 290

88 Josh Celiscar, Sophomore, 6’4”, 265

Defensive Tackle

22 Kalia Davis, Redshirt Senior, 6’2”, 310

52 Keenan Hester, Redshirt Sophomore, 6’4”, 305

Defensive Tackle

5 Ricky Barber, Redshirt Sophomore, 6’3”, 290

54 Cam Goode, Redshirt Junior, 6’2”, 315

Buck

1 Big Kat Bryant, Redshirt Senior, 6’5”, 245

13 Landon Woodson, Redshirt Junior, 6’6”, 235

Middle Linebacker

15 Tatum Bethune, Junior, 6’1”, 225

or 10 Eriq Gilyard, Senior, 5’11”, 225

Weak Side Linebacker

11 Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste, Junior 6’2”, 230

28 Quade Mosier, Sophomore, 6’2”, 225

Boundary Cornerback

7 Davonte Brown, Sophomore, 6’2”, 185

31 Brandon Adams, Freshman, 6’3”, 180

Field Corner

14 Corey Thornton, Sophomore, 6’1”, 190

or 0 Marc Domio, Senior, 6’1”, 185

Free Safety

9 Divaad Wilson, Redshirt Junior, 6’0, 195

18 Dyllon Lester, Redshirt Junior, 6’0”, 200

Strong Safety

37 Quadric Bullard, Sophomore, 6’0”, 170

or 21 Derek Gainous, Senior, 6’0”, 6’0”, 190

Here are the starters for the special teams units.

Place Kicker

45 Ryker Casey, Redshirt Sophomore, 6’0”, 205

or 98 Daniel Obarski, Junior, 6’2”, 200

Punter

36 Andrew Osteen, Redshirt Junior, 6’1”, 180

99 Alan Kervin, Redshirt Sophomore, 6’1”, 190

Holder

99 Alan Kervin, Redshirt Sophomore, 6’1”, 190

Long Snapper

32 Alex Ward, Redshirt Senior, 6’4”, 240

95 Tyler Paul, Redshirt Sophomore, 6’1”, 215

Punt Returner

17 Amari Johnson, Junior, 5’10”, 160

0 Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, Freshman, 6’1”, 175

Kick Returner

4 Ryan O’Keefe, Redshirt Sophomore, 5’10”, 175

25 Johnny Richardson, Sophomore, 5’7”, 170

Kickoff Specialist

98 Daniel Obarski, Junior, 6’2”, 200

For UCF insights, college football news, and recruiting information go to: The Daily Knight podcast. It will be found on iTunes and Spotify. For more UCF and recruiting information, go to Twitter: @fbscout_florida and @UCF_FanNation, as well as my YouTube Channel and Instagram page. Like and Subscribe!