Knights land QB who just took James Madison to CFP

Less than one month after losing starting quarterback Tayven Jackson, UCF has found an upgrade in the college football transfer portal. The Knights will return in 2026 with former James Madison quarterback Alonza Barnett III under center.

Barnett, who led the Dukes to the 2025 College Football Playoffs, has committed to Scott Frost and UCF from the transfer portal on Sunday, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported.

Barnett travels to Orlando with 5,404 passing yards, 49 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in his last two years as a starter with James Madison. He also has 1,031 rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns in that frame. His 15 rushing touchdowns in 2025 were tied for sixth-most among all FBS quarterbacks.

Although Barnett’s season ended with a blowout loss to Oregon, he ended that game with 273 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. James Madison’s 34 points scored against the Ducks are still the most any team has against Dan Lanning and Tosh Lupoi’s defense this season.

Alonza Barnett to finish college football career at UCF

UCF was not one of the schools connected to Barnett when he declared his intention to transfer. Barnett had ties to Indiana as part of Curt Cignetti’s final James Madison team, as well as potentially following head coach Bob Chesney to UCLA.

As a Whitsett, North Carolina, native, Barnett was also connected to Bill Belichick and North Carolina. He will instead head south to join Frost’s team, which beat the Tar Heels early in the 2025 season.

Barnett will now arguably be the most talented quarterback Frost has had in his second tenure with UCF. The 51-year-old coach struggled with inconsistent quarterback play in 2025, but he previously coached McKenzie Milton to an AAC Offensive Player of the Year-winning season in Orlando before a devastating leg injury permanently altered his career.

Milton has since returned to UCF as Frost’s quarterbacks coach. He previously worked as an offensive assistant with Tennessee in 2023 and 2024 under another former Knights head coach, Josh Heupel.