Meet The 2026 UCF Knights: Countdown To Kickoff - No. 11 Landen Chambers and Ken Talley

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Meet The 2026 UCF Knights: Countdown To Kickoff - No. 11 Landen Chambers and Ken Talley

Central Arkansas Bears quarterback Luther Richesson (5) hands off to running back Landen Chambers (0) against Missouri. — Aug 28, 2025; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Central Arkansas Bears quarterback Luther Richesson (5) hands off to running back Landen Chambers (0) against the Missouri Tigers during the game at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Bryson Turner · UCF Knights On SI

Sun, Aug 23, 2026 ·

8 min read

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Welcome to UCF Knights on SI's countdown to kickoff!

In this series, we are going to introduce you to every single player on the 2026 UCF football roster so that you can know what to expect from them or even pinpoint the ones you want to follow throughout the coming season. We are going to go through the Knights' roster in reverse jersey-number order, with the day each player's entry is published corresponding to the number of days remaining until UCF's season-opener on Sep. 3 at 7 p.m. against Bethune-Cookman.

For this entry, we have two players with the same jersey number. So, with 11 days to go, let's meet UCF running back Landen Chambers and EDGE Ken Talley:

1. Who is Landen Chambers?

Position:Running Back

Class:Redshirt Junior

Height/Weight:5-foot-11 / 215 pounds

Hometown:Fort Worth, Texas

High School:Fossil Ridge High School

Coming out of Fossil Ridge High School, Landen Chambers was offered by FBS programs like Navy, Colorado State, Texas State, Tulsa, Sam Houston and Colorado, according to 247Sports. He even committed to BYU in June 2022, but ended up decomitting a few months later in November.

Chambers signed with the FCS' Central Arkansas on Early Signing Day, but even there, he did not earn his first start until 2025.

2. What did Chambers do last season?

Chambers had his breakout year in 2025, getting named an All-UAC First Teamer after rushing 242 times for 1,273 yards and 10 touchdowns and catching 27 passes for 238 yards for Central Arkansas.

3. What role is Chambers going to have in 2026?

As early as spring practice, UCF running backs coach Jimmy Beal has had a role in mind for Chambers, who he called a "bigger back." Thanks to that size, he can help the Knights get the "hard yard," Beal said following an April 24 practice session.

Offensive coordinator Steve Cooper echoed similar thoughts following an Aug. 12 practice session, saying Chambers was "here for a reason" and that was to "do the assumed roles for a bigger back." With such consistency across two different coaches months apart, Chambers is looking very likely to be an integral feature of a committee of running backs for the Knights.

Back in 2017, coach Scott Frost's rushing attack mainly went through the speedy Adrian Killins , who was a smaller and lighter back. However, also in the running back room that season was Taj McGowan , a back who was on the larger side, weighing in north of 200 pounds. While McGowan only had about 56% of the number of carries that Killins had and was fourth on the team in rushing yards, he also got eight rushing touchdowns, the same number as McKenzie Milton.

This is not to say that Chambers is going to get deployed with the same regularity as McGowan, though. Cooper even said he was working on the running backs to be "more consistent out of the backfield catching the ball," Chambers included, which was something McGowan did only a few times in 2017. So, while Chambers is very likely to come on the field in situations needing a bigger back, playing into a kind of specialty that McGowan had, this focus on versatility hints that Chambers can be a factor in plays beyond that "bigger back" role.

4. Who is Ken Talley?

Position:EDGE

Class:Redshirt Senior

Height/Weight:6-foot-3 / 260 pounds

Hometown:North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

High School:Northeast High School

Ken Talley is a self-described "football junkie" who started playing the sport at a young age, but did not fall in love with it until he was able to really know the game "around nine," he said following an Aug. 12 practice session. He even watched all of the NFL Hall of Fame Game, watching one of his former Penn State teammates, Zakee Wheatley, lead the Carolina Panthers in tackles in their win over the Arizona Cardinals .

UCF EDGE coach Mike Dawson, who had recruited Talley during his tenure at Nebraska, characterized Talley as an outgoing guy who has been a leader in the EDGE room following an April 21 practice session.

"The thing I've been impressed about him: wants success for himself, but also for the rest of the guys in the room," Dawson said. "Very mature, that way."

Talley ended up not choosing Nebraska, however, and instead attended Penn State, where he met Wheatley and redshirted his true freshman season before hitting the transfer portal for the first time. He stayed in the Big Ten, spending his next two seasons at Michigan State, where he played 15 games, recording 11 tackles, three tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.

5. What did Talley do last season?

After hitting the transfer portal a second time, Talley played in three games for Arkansas last season, recording three tackles, one of which was solo.

6. What role is Talley going to have in 2026?

Talley's lack of starting experience so far in his college football career over the 18 games he has played does not do him many favors when it comes to competing for that role with the Knights this season. Fellow transfer Bruno Dall started all season for Akron in 2025, while Isaiah Nixon and Sincere Edwards may also not have recorded starts in their career so far, but are returning to a system they learned last season behind a first-round NFL Draft pick .

With that being said, however, the Knights are fairly thin on experience in the EDGE room. Aside from Talley, there is Aymeric Koumba , who recorded just one tackle for the Knights last season; L A Jesse Harrold , who was injured during fall camp; Quentin Hatch and Anthony Coaxum , who do not have Division I playing experience; and a pair of true freshmen: Alhassan Iddrissu and Patrick Ryan .

While Talley may not have starting experience, his three seasons of FBS playing experience so far give him the edge over several others currently in the EDGE room, making him a prime candidate for a backup role. So, with defensive coordinator Alex Grinch saying he was "building a defense that allows for as many guys as possible to play at a high level" on Aug. 11, such a role likely means some guaranteed snaps for Talley so long as he produces.

Catch up on the rest of the list below:

No. 12 Keyone Jenkins and Aymeric Koumba

No. 13 Caleb Rollerson

No. 14 Alonza Barnett III and Kahmel Johnson

No. 15 Will Stone and Preston Hall


No. 16 Dante Carr and TJ Branch	No. 17 Jailen Duffie	No. 18 Caleb Flagg and Caden Piening	No. 19 Rashad Henry	No. 20 Lewis Carter and Kaj Baker
No. 21 Ty Bartrum	No. 22 Amarion Queen	No. 23 Jordan Nunuha and Jayden Burnett	No. 24 Tackett Curtis and Arthur Lewis IV	No. 25 Rukeem Stroud
No. 26 Duke Watson and Elijah Keys	No. 27 Nicholas Antoine	No. 28 Matt Irwin	No. 29 Tyce Porcher	No. 30 Otis Hardy
No. 31 Noah McGough	No. 32 Matthew Occhipinti	No. 33 Phil Picciotti	No. 34 Jahleel Culbreath	No. 35 Agyeman Addae
No. 36 Dylan Bennett	No. 37 Rocklyn Kelley	No. 38 Jayden Jennings	No. 39 Andrea Parisi	No. 41 Bruno Dall
No. 42 Artavius Jones and Chance Nixon	No. 43 Cole Kozlowski	No. 44 Kyle Hicks	No. 45 Quentin Hatch	No. 47 Arthur Kingdom and Sam Powell
No. 49 Atticus Bertrams and Donnell Johnson III	No. 53 LaParka Langston	No. 54 Cooper Terpstra and Trenton Turner	No. 55 Jacob Maiava and Noah Mercer	No. 56 Patrick Ryan
No. 57 Camp Lott	No. 58 Connor Meadows	No. 61 Owen Spell	No. 66 Brady Wayburn	No. 67 Noah Senka
No. 68 Ethan Higgins	No. 70 RaiShaun McHaney	No. 71 Amahn Williams	No. 72 Dominick Campbell	No. 73 Henry Tabansi
No. 74 Matthew Prigmore	No. 75 Tyler Gibson	No. 76 Justin Royes	No. 77 Kasiyah Charlton	No. 78 Preston Cushman
No. 79 Daniel Marcellinus	No. 80 Elijah Hardy	No. 81 Zack Palmer	No. 82 Jordyn Bridgewater	No. 83 Dylan Burk
No. 84 Thomas Wadsworth	No. 85 Carson Hinshaw	No. 86 Chase Hinshaw	No. 87 Brooks Hall	No. 88 Grayson Brousseau
No. 90 Mujahid Jefferson	No. 91 Donteye Drew	No. 92 Jeffson Lafontant	No. 93 Brad Gurley	No. 94 L A Jesse Harrold
No. 95 RJ Jackson Jr.	No. 96 Anthony Coaxum	No. 97 Josh Schell and Mason Denaberg	No. 98 Alhassan Iddrissu	No. 99 Thomas Collins

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/ucf as Meet The 2026 UCF Knights: Countdown To Kickoff - No. 11 Landen Chambers and Ken Talley .

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