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 seven days to go, let's meet UCF defensive back Braeden Marshall and running back Taevion Swint :
Position:Defensive Back
Class:Senior
Height/Weight:5-foot-10 / 200 pounds
Hometown:Lake Mary, Florida
High School:Lake Mary High School
Braeden Marshall is entering his fourth season with his hometown team in 2026, and while the age of the transfer portal has seen players move across the country, Marshall has stayed a Knight. His motivation for doing so stems from wanting to leave a legacy, he said following an Aug. 24 practice session.
"I always felt like, you know, in life I always want to be remembered, you know, for something in a good way or a positive way," Marshall said. "I feel like, you know, showing my loyalty, especially to my hometown, is one of the reasons why I stayed."
Marshall started 10 of the 11 games he played in last season, serving as the Knights' nickelback. He recorded 22 tackles, 20 of which were solo, two tackles for loss, one pass breakup and two interceptions.
Marshall was "consistent " and "looked like a guy that played a lot of football," defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said following an Aug. 24 practice. So, with his role on the defense already carved out after last season as starting nickelback, Marshall seems likely to resume that role in 2026.
Position:Running Back
Class:Redshirt Freshman
Height/Weight:5-foot-10 / 185 pounds
Hometown:Kissimmee, Florida
High School:Osceola High School
Several UCF players talked about how they chose to come to Orlando because of the coaching staff, but for Taevion Swint, a four-star recruit out of Osceola High School, it was more than just that.
"I never came to UCF just because people was telling me to come here," Swint said following an April 24 practice session. "I came here because I just felt so much love, you know what I'm saying? I'm home. So it's like, why should I have to leave the city?"
Thanks to suffering a meniscus injury during fall camp, Swint was sidelined for the entirety of his true freshman season in 2025, which allowed him to use his redshirt.
Swint is poised to factor into the Knights' main running back rotation alongside Duke Watson and Landen Chambers , based on comments made by coach Scott Frost and offensive coordinator Steve Cooper throughout the offseason.
Frost said in an interview at Big 12 Media Days he was "excited" about Swint last season before his injury and that he had an "unbelievable" spring practice. Following an Aug. 12 practice session, Cooper called Swint and Watson "complementary players, but they do a lot of the same things."
So, while the more experienced Watson and Chambers may end up taking more snaps than Swint, who is going to make his college football debut in 2026, the young back has flashed enough potential to carve out a space for him in the running back rotation alongside them.
Catch up on the rest of the list below:
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/ucf as Meet The 2026 UCF Knights: Countdown To Kickoff - No. 4 Braeden Marshall and Taevion Swint .
