UCF’s Carter and Kozlowski earn Top-10 Big 12 returning linebacker grades, a sign of defensive continuity under Alex Grinch

UCF’s linebacker core is drawing early offseason attention after Pro Football Focus graded two key returners, linebacker Carter and linebacker Kozlowski, among the Top 10 returning players at the position in the Big 12. The emphasis of the evaluation is less about a one-week performance and more about what a program keeps as it installs, tightens, or evolves its defensive identity.

In the account published by Yahoo Sports, the grades are framed as a defensive continuity advantage for the Knights. Pro Football Focus is described as identifying UCF as having conference-leading consistency in defensive personnel, with Carter and Kozlowski positioned as elite anchors in the middle of the defense. The logic, as presented in the report, is that returning playmakers who already understand the coverage and communication requirements give a new system a faster on-field translation.

The report also ties that continuity to the personnel fit within Alex Grinch’s defensive direction. Grinch, entering his second season with UCF described as using a more aggressive approach, is portrayed as leaning on the middle of the defense, where communication and responsibility alignment matter most. In this setup, linebackers are not just tasked with individual production, they become the processors for run fits, space assignments, and how the defense reacts to shifts and formations.

From a roster-building perspective, the Yahoo Sports write-up attributes UCF’s offseason progress to a blend of retention and supplementation. The article notes that head coach Scott Frost was credited with bringing back key contributors from the previous team while also using the transfer portal to fill needs. That combination matters in the Big 12, where defenses often have to cover wide scheme variation and fast tempo, and where losing experienced front-seven communication can show up quickly.

What “returning Top-10” grades do and do not tell you is important. They are a projection based on past performance and film evaluation, not a guarantee of end-of-season statistical output. They also do not, by themselves, confirm how UCF’s defense will adjust to every opponent’s offensive tendencies this fall. Still, the middle-of-the-field focus is a relevant theme for UCF’s identity, because linebacker stability typically influences both early-down control and late-down leverage.

For UCF fans, the immediate watch item is whether Carter and Kozlowski are used in ways that maximize their strengths within Grinch’s aggressive framework. If the Knights can translate the middle-of-defense continuity into consistent run stoppage and disciplined coverage responsibilities, the offseason grading becomes a credible indicator of what the defense can do once the season starts.

The broader Big 12 takeaway is that UCF’s defensive continuity could serve as a baseline for the program’s competition level within the conference. Even with scheme evolution and roster turnover across the league, returning linebackers with high Pro Football Focus evaluations often represent the kind of built-in advantage coaches prefer when they ask a defense to play fast and react under pressure. Still, the only true test will arrive with live-game reads, execution, and how often UCF can repeat the same assignments against different offensive looks.