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UCF quarterbacks coach McKenzie Milton shared that the Knights aren't worried about transfer Alonza Barnett as he's continued to miss time this Spring.

It’s now been two seasons with two different head coaches where the UCF Knights failed to make a bowl game, and Scott Frost would like to change that. After a season of instability at quarterback in 2025, he hit the transfer portal to bring Alonza Barnett from James Madison to UCF. However, there are already some concerns at the position.

Barnett has been unable to take live reps in the Spring as he recovers from an injury. That’s naturally led to some concern around UCF that he won’t be ready for the regular season. Despite that, the team’s QB coach, McKenzie Milton, doesn’t seem worried.

“I wouldn’t say we didn’t have him,” Milton told Brandon Helwig of UCF Sports. “He’s at meetings every day. We’re getting some extra throwing sessions on the side, and he’s present every day, so his presence is felt. I don’t think it really affects you much, just because we’re installing every day. It would be the same approach whether he’s taking the live snaps or not. But to say we didn’t have him, that wouldn’t be the case. He’s out there with the guys, in the fray with the guys, in meetings. He’s fully immersed in what we’re doing.”

Barnett is coming off a season where he won the Sun Belt at James Madison. That was good enough to lead the Dukes to the College Football Playoff, ultimately losing to Oregon. Now, he’s set to bring that pedigree to UCF.

“So I’m not concerned at all about him not taking live snaps,” Milton said. “The guy that played in the national championship last year didn’t take a snap in spring. It’s a new day and age in college football where there are a lot of external factors with monetary things, just being real. So we’ve got to protect our investment.”

Milton would add that UCF isn’t going to get into any details about the injury. Just that given his experience, the lack of Spring reps isn’t a concern for the Knights coaching staff.

Quarterback Was a Position of Instability for the UCF Knights in 2025

During his first tenure as the UCF head coach, Scott Frost found a star quarterback in McKenzie Milton who would lead the team to an unbeaten season. That was back in 2017, but the year before it was a difficult process, finally landing on Milton to lead the Knights. In his first season back at UCF, 2025, he had similar issues.

UCF would give four different quarterbacks extensive playing time. That started with another veteran transfer coming up from the Group of Six, Cam Fancher. Injuries quickly derailed him, and another veteran transfer would step in with Tayven Jackson taking the reins. Likewise, he dealt with his own injury issues, though, which forced younger players like Jacurri Brown and Davi Belfort to get reps.

In the end, behind a struggling offensive line, no UCF quarterback played well. Jackson led the way with 2,151 passing yards and 10 touchdowns to 8 interceptions. Fancher, the Week 1 starter, finished throwing for 333 yards and 0 touchdowns.

That led to UCF being ranked 76th nationally in passing offense, averaging 220.8 yards per game. That was also good for 10th in the Big 12. Worse, UCF was tied 97th in interceptions with 12 on the season. In the end, the Knights went 5-7.

Today, all four of those quarterbacks are off the UCF roster, either running out of eligibility or transferring out. So, for Frost, unlike 2017 when he had found Milton late in 2016, he’ll have to start over going into his second season at the quarterback position.

UCF Brought in Alonza Barnett as a Veteran Leader

Alonza Barnett began his college career in 2022 with James Madison, having been recruited by current Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti. By 2024, he had become the Dukes’ primary starting quarterback.

Those two seasons as the starter at James Madison proved to be among the best in team history. With Bob Chesney leading the team, Barnett helped oversee a 21-6 record during that time. That included the Sun Belt Championship and College Football Playoff berth. Meanwhile, Barnett was named the Sun Belt Player of the Year in 2025.

Now, the hope is that Barnett can be a veteran lead for UCF in its quarterback room. Milton would also touch on that, regardless of whether or not Barnett is on the field.

“Like I said, for the young guys in the room and just the team, it shows what it looks like to be a pro — from his attitude, his effort, his approach to the game,” Milton said. “We’ll go in and compete among our QB room. I’ll put them on the clock and they’ll draw up plays and coach me up through the plays, because that’s what it is to play quarterback. If you can’t coach it and teach your receivers what they need to do, you can’t play at an elite level. And he’s able to do that.”

Along with Barnett, UCF lists four other quarterbacks on its roster. There are Keyone Jenkins, Kaleb Annett, Dante Carr, and Rocco Marriott. Carr and Marriott are both freshmen, though Marriott is UCF’s highest-ranked high school quarterback recruit. 247 Sports had him at No. 22 in the country. Annett is a redshirt sophomore who transferred in from Boise State, never playing there. Then, Jenkins is a senior coming in from FIU. He also has by far the most experience if Barnett can’t play.