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.
So, with 19 days to go, let's meet UCF linebacker Rashad Henry :
Position:Linebacker
Class:Redshirt Junior
Height/Weight:6-foot-2 / 220 pounds
Hometown:Miami, Florida
High School:St. Thomas Aquinas High School
Hailing from Miami, Rashad Henry is making his football return to the state of Florida for the first time since playing for St. Thomas Aquinas High School in 2022. He spent the intervening three years at UMass, where he redshirted his true freshman season and only saw the field in five games in 2024 before breaking out in 2025.
Henry played in all 12 games for the Minutemen in 2025, even drawing starts at outside linebacker in the last four. He recorded 67 tackles, 21 of them solo, three tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry.
During UCF's local media day, linebacker coach Mark D'Onofrio said Henry was "continuing to develop and get better," though he grouped him with other additions to his position room from the transfer portal, like Jahleel Culbreath and Tackett Curtis . It's these players, along with a returning Cole Kozlowski , that Henry is going to have to contend with to earn snaps alongside Lewis Carter .
Considering Henry does not have as much starting experience as Carter, Culbreath or Kozlowski, or familiarity with the Knights' defense as Jayden Jennings, his snap share may not be the largest in the linebacker room. However, with defensive coordinator Alex Grinch talking on Tuesday about how he was "building a defense that allows for as many guys as possible to play at a high level," a non-starting role for Henry does not necessarily mean he is not going to get a sizeable snap share in 2026.
So, while it may not be likely that he ends up a starter, Henry can still play a crucial depth role in the linebacker room that can still afford him some playing time in 2026; and should the injury bug strike, then he can reliably step up to shoulder more playing time.
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. 19 Rashad Henry .
