⚡ CFB Dashboard

It wasn't a pretty 44-30 win for UCF, but takeaways on the defensive side came in extremely clutch moments, swinging the momentum for the Knights. One player who took the ball away twice was senior Demari Henderson, the starting safety who came up with two big plays when UCF needed them. Henderson recorded two interceptions, tying for the second-most in a single game in UCF history. It marked Henderson's second career two-interception game, with his first coming against Oklahoma State on Nov. 11, 2023. While he knows the defense has room to improve, Henderson knows it's about staying calm in the face of adversity and learning from it afterward. Here's everything Henderson had to say after the game. (Photo: Nate Hill/Staff , 247Sports) On his two-interception performance and building team momentum: "Just bringing momentum to the game. I want to shout out the whole defense—Lewis Carter for the tipped ball, and me just making a play, making a layup." On responding to a tough second quarter and flipping the script at halftime: "In the first half, we didn't play the ball we know how to play. So we went into the locker room, listened to our leaders, and knew we just had to go out there and flip the script. And we've got to shout out the offense for holding us up this week." On the halftime message and making defensive adjustments: "We just said, 'This ain't our brand of ball.' We know how to play ball—everybody playing together, being physical. Turnovers win games, so we had to go out there and make some turnovers, and that's what we did. We didn't make no adjustments; we just said, 'Play our style of ball, follow your rules, and make the plays when they come to you.'" On overcoming the team's first test of adversity: "This was our first test of adversity this year, so everybody just stayed together. Nobody pointed fingers or nothing. We lift up the offense, they lift us up. Last week we had the offense's back; this week they had our back. Last year we laid down in some games. This team right here—we ain't laying down. We're fighting to the end, and that's what we did. You see the outcome." On Tackett Curtis' interception shifting momentum: "Shout out to Tackett Curtis, man! That was a big play in the game. It changed the momentum, got the offense the ball back, and they went to go score. We had two interceptions back-to-back." On his first interception off the tipped pass: "I was thinking about the Bethune-Cookman game where I had missed one, so I was like, 'This time I've got to go catch it.' I saw the ball in the air and knew I had to come down with it one way or another. It means everything, because it changed the momentum in the game and helped us win." On making open-field tackles at safety: "That's why I play the position of safety—you're the last line of defense, so you've got to stop the ball. Shout out to our D-line; we're going to fix it up, it won't be like that no more." On feeding off Duke Watson and the 300-yard rushing attack: "Sitting on the bench and watching Duke Watson and Chambers run that ball just gave us life—it gave us hope." On securing the game-ending interception on the final play: "I was going for it one way or another! Just had to pad it, because I missed one at Bethune-Cookman, so I needed that one back." On going against Keyone Jenkins in practice and his performance: "Our whole quarterback room is just talented. Playing against those boys gets you ready for the game, because those boys are elite." On the difference between the two halves defensively: "In the first half, we came out flat and didn't play our brand of ball. We came back in the locker room and said we've got to flip the script. Turnovers win games—last week we didn't get a turnover and lost, and this week we got turnovers, so we won." On remaining calm under Coach Scott Frost: "It shows that we don't flinch, and we're going to fight all four quarters. The game is won in the fourth, not the first half, so we just kept playing to the fourth." On conditioning under Strength Coach Zach Duvall during long possessions: "We're built for that from summer and spring workouts. Shout out to Coach Zach Duvall—we were built for these moments right here." On adjusting to his first season playing without his twin brother: "We talk every day before practice, when we wake up, and before we go to sleep. It's different—I've been with him all my life, so with him not being here, I've just got to grow up. In the house, if I didn't wake up on time, he'd come wake me up. Now, you've got to be on your P's and Q's at all times." On evaluating secondary play through three weeks: "I feel like we played solid, but we left a lot of plays out there. We're going to fix it at practice, and when Big 12 conference play gets here, y'all are going to see." On room for growth moving forward: "Definitely. We've got room to grow week-to-week. We left a lot of plays out there today, so we're going to watch the film, get back to the drawing board, and see what we can fix." On the defense's underlying confidence: "You see how we played in the first half and came back out in the second half. The first half wasn't us, and we still kept our confidence. If we didn't have our confidence, we never would have came out and played the second half how we did." On Jayden Bellamy playing through injury: "Jayden Bellamy is a strong guy. We've got a good cornerback room, so it was just him fighting through it. It shows you how much fight we've got in this team." On playing complete, complementary football: "Offense had our back in the first half, and we picked it up in the second half. So, definitely." On preparing for TCU in the Big 12 opener: "We're just going to play our brand of ball for all four quarters, from start to finish. That's it—there's not much to it, just play."  For more UCF coverage, follow Knights247 on X, Instagram, and Facebook! Sign up for our FREE UCF Knights Newsletter