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After attending all of UCF's spring and fall camps, along with watching the Knights' dominant showing against Bethune-Cookman, it's clear UCF has the talent on its roster to win meaningful games this season. What's impressive about this roster is the depth UCF has developed beyond what many expected, especially after relying heavily on the transfer portal to reshape the team. There are two players above all who have continued to trend upward for UCF and who I believe can make a strong impact for the Knights this season: one on offense and one on defense. Here are two players to buy stock on this season: Taevion Swint:  Taevion Swint in his first collegiate game action, and he made the most of his opportunities, leading the Knights in all-purpose yards with 48 rushing yards, 16 receiving yards and 57 kick return yards, along with a touchdown.  Where Swint really put the nation on notice in the 73-6 victory over Bethune-Cookman was with his speed and ability to turn an average play into a big play. He had plenty of those opportunities, and now he's looking to carry that over onto the road against Pitt and the rest of the season. One of the few developed homegrown freshmen on this roster making an instant impact, Swint's fresh legs and game-breaking speed could be a major advantage for the offense this season. (Photo: Nate Hill/Staff, 247Sports)   Following the victory over Bethune-Cookman, Swint expressed high hopes for this season. "For the people that's watching," Swint said. "They got something coming for sure. Everybody in the running back room could roll. Like how Coach Jimmy Beal keeps telling us: we're the Juice Squad, we got the ball, and the ball is the program. So just with us in the backfield, we're going to do our thing." "We don't got a competition," Swint added. "We never even put it as a competition. It's like when one of us gets out there, we've got to do our thing. We're just going to follow up behind each other. Somebody's got to "spark the band," like my boy Duke says. Whoever gets out there, once we spark the band, somebody else is going to come back in and spark it. So we're going to keep the band sparking all year." Jeffeson Lafontant: Defensive tackle Jeffson Lafontant is primed for a strong season after earning strong praise from defensive tackles coach Kenny Martin and head coach Scott Frost throughout the offseason. Lafontant steadily climbed the depth chart during spring and fall camp, making enough standout plays to earn a bigger role entering the season. Now, UCF is expecting the redshirt junior to take another step and become a key piece in the middle of its defensive line. Lafontant showed flashes of that potential during his redshirt sophomore season in 2025. He played in 10 games, including the final five contests of the season, and finished with 11 tackles, three solo stops, two tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He also recorded a season-high four tackles against Oklahoma State and registered a sack against Houston. (Photo: Nate Hill/Staff, 247Sports)   His strongest stretch came late in the season, when Lafontant helped UCF's defensive line produce a dominant performance against West Virginia. The Knights recorded eight sacks in the 45-13 victory, with the defensive line accounting for seven of them. Now, Lafontant enters 2026 with an opportunity to turn those flashes into consistent production. With UCF looking to build a deeper and more disruptive defensive front, Lafontant's continued development could give the Knights another important piece in the middle of the defense. Frost has already expressed excitement about seeing how much Lafontant can grow as a player, and his rise throughout camp suggests the Knights believe he is ready for a bigger role. "Yeah, I'm really excited about Jeffson," Frost said. "I think he's a unique combination of size and speed and twitchiness, and he's been a problem for us to block through spring ball and fall camp. I think he's geared up to be a real force for us and I imagine he'll be in a rotation with some other guys, but he's going to get plenty of snaps and reps, and we're dependent on him, and I'm excited to see him play." For more UCF coverage, follow Knights247 on X, Instagram, and Facebook! Sign up for our FREE UCF Knights Newsletter