Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | CMP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | YPA | QBR | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 73-6vs Bethune-Cookman | 11/18 | 158 | 1 | 1 | 8.8 | 46.9 | |
| Wk 2 | L 7-12@ Pittsburgh | 20/31 | 186 | 1 | 0 | 6.0 | 35.0 | Season-high 186 yds |
| Total | 31/49 | 344 | 2 | 1 | 7.4 | 41.0 |
#14
Alonza Barnett
2,806 pass YDS, 2,500-yd club is what Alonza Barnett has put on film since landing at UCF — the bet is starting to settle.
5′11″ · 210 lb · Whitsett, NC
CFB Index 55 · #51 of 146 QBsHigh confidenceTransferred James Madison → UCF for 2026
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
The numbers
344
passing yards · 2026 · through week 3
2 games into 2026 so far -- Backed by 17 car · 153 yds · 4 TD -- top 1% rushing TDs game. -- Best game: 186 pass yds, 1 TD, 13 rush yds, at Pittsburgh
The play that turned itSwung Marshall from 13% to 53% to win.Marshall at James Madison · 35-33
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Senior quarterback for UCF. 2026: 2 games with a box-score line.
- Signed as a 3-star recruit to James Madison in 2022.
- Transferred from James Madison to UCF in 2026.
- Named Sun Belt Player of the Year in 2025.
- UCF QB Alonza Barnett III out with hamstring injury (Sep 15) Reported
Aura™ · Him Watch
Hype = tape
+4aura tax
Fans rank this player in the 48th percentile of QBs; the tape says
45th pctl our passing-value metric (wEPA) QBs · 160 qualified, n=57
— the discourse is fair.Aura — fan perception48th pctl
Production — on-field45th pctl
n=57 mentions · cohort: QBs · 160 qualified · perception = conversation volume, production = our passing-value metric (wEPA)
Buzz vs Tape
Fans hotter than the country
His own fans read him warmer than the wider college football conversation does — a gap of 35.6 points in belief.
35.6own fans
0national conversation
Also worth knowing:
In Their Words
309 windows · 2026 fan posts
alonza×668.6ucf×44.6jmu×197.0iii×22.1mostly×71.6madison×21.3james×9.3roster×9.5
“UCF QB Alonza Barnett III out with hamstring injury”
reddit/UCFKnights · fan post, verbatim
Alonza Barnett
Filling the Shoesas of 2026-09-22
Alonza Barnett arrives at UCF with a new fit to prove and an old chapter behind him.
344PASS YDS2PASS TD22RUSH YDS
PASS YDS · 2,500-YD CLUB
2,806
2806 passing yards — clears the 2,500-QB volume bar.
Read the story so far
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-09-22
His career
Nobody recruited him. He earned the honors anyway.
2022
- Signed with James Madison3-star out of Grimsley
202514 games
The role got bigger.
- All-Sun Beltfirst
- Sun Belt Player of the Yearwinner
2026
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
- Entered the portal
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★
CFB
College
2 teams
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🥈
ALL-SUN BELT · 1ST TEAM
All-Sun Belt 1st team (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
2 coaches2022–2024
UCF
Coaching transition mid-career: Gus Malzahn → Scott Frost. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to UCF
2025James Madison
2026UCF
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | UCF | 31 | 49 | 63.3% | 344 | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 131.6 | 49 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | James Madison | 216 | 370 | 58.4% | 2,806 | 7.6 | 23 | 8 | 138.3 | 39 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | James Madison | 212 | 354 | 59.9% | 2,596 | 7.3 | 26 | 4 | 143.5 | 25 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | James Madison | 3 | 11 | 27.3% | 15 | 1.4 | 0 | 1 | 20.5 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2022 | James Madison | 1 | 1 | 100.0% | 14 | 14.0 | 0 | 0 | 217.6 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 463 | 785 | 59.0% | 5,775 | 7.4 | 51 | 14 | 138.6 | 33 | -- | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | UCF | 18 | 22 | 1.2 | 1 | -- |
| 2025 | James Madison | 127 | 589 | 4.6 | 15 | -- |
| 2024 | James Madison | 135 | 450 | 3.3 | 7 | -- |
| 2023 | James Madison | 5 | 29 | 5.8 | 1 | -- |
| 2022 | James Madison | 4 | 15 | 3.8 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 289 | 1,105 | 3.8 | 24 | -- |
Game log
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 73–6
158 yds · 1 TD · 1 INT · QBR 46.9 · 9 rush yds (5 car) · 1 TD
Dominant 67-point win at home against Bethune-Cookman.
With T. Swint — 48 rush yds (4 car) · 1 TD · A. Bertrams — 47.5 yards per punt · 2 punts · 55 long
Signature plays
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
- Week 1 · Bethune-Cookman · 2&5 · Q2 · EPA -6.86(00:52) #14 A.Barnett III pass intercepted by #7 J.Davis at BCU22 #7 J.Davis return 33 yards to the UCF45 (#14 K.Johnson)
- Week 2 · Pittsburgh · 3&19 · Q4 · EPA +4.14Waden Charles 19 Yd pass from Alonza Barnett III (Will Stone Kick)
- Week 2 · Pittsburgh · 3&14 · Q3 · EPA +4.04(09:52) No Huddle-Shotgun #14 A.Barnett III pass complete deep right to #6 R.Farmer caught at UCF45, for 35 yards to the Pitt40 (#14 J.Guerrier), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Bethune-Cookman · 3&5 · Q2 · EPA +3.23(14:57) Shotgun #14 A.Barnett III pass complete short middle to #3 J.Bibbs caught at BCU07, for 23 yards to the BCU00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 14:54, 1ST DOWN #15 W.Stone kick attempt good (H: #97 M.Denaburg, LS: #44 K.Hicks)
- Week 2 · Pittsburgh · 3&9 · Q1 · EPA +2.97(12:19) Shotgun #14 A.Barnett III pass complete short middle to #0 D.Wade caught at Pitt39, for 14 yards to the Pitt39 (#14 J.Guerrier), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · Pittsburgh · 1&10 · Q3 · EPA -2.56(09:06) No Huddle-Shotgun #14 A.Barnett III rush middle for 8 yards loss to the Pitt48 fumbled by #14 A.Barnett III at Pitt48 recovered by UCF #14 A.Barnett III at Pitt48, End Of Play
- Week 1 · Bethune-Cookman · 2&5 · Q1 · EPA +2.44(03:15) No Huddle-Shotgun #14 A.Barnett III rush right for 5 yards gain to the BCU00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 03:11 #15 W.Stone kick attempt good (H: #97 M.Denaburg, LS: #44 K.Hicks)
- Week 2 · Pittsburgh · 2&2 · Q4 · EPA -2.27(10:33) No Huddle-Shotgun #14 A.Barnett III rush middle for 4 yards loss to the UCF48 (#7 D.Ward; #8 J.Moore)
- Week 2 · Pittsburgh · 1&6 · Q4 · EPA -2.12(03:42) Shotgun #14 A.Barnett III rush right for 18 yards loss to the Pitt24 fumbled by #14 A.Barnett III at Pitt06 recovered by UCF #14 A.Barnett III at Pitt24, End Of Play
- Week 1 · Bethune-Cookman · 1&10 · Q1 · EPA +1.68(06:35) No Huddle-Shotgun #14 A.Barnett III pass complete short left to #18 C.Piening caught at UCF38, for 18 yards to the UCF50 (#0 I.Washburn), 1ST DOWN
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2022James Madison8-3HC: Curt Cignetti · Run-leaning
2023James Madison11-2HC: Damian Wroblewski · Balanced
2024James Madison9-4HC: Bob Chesney · Run-leaning
2025James Madison12-2HC: Bob Chesney · Run-heavy
2026UCF2-1HC: Scott Frost · Run-leaning, slow tempo
Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort
Box-score percentiles
High confidence
Elite: fumbles lost (90th percentile). Concern: pass yards (0th percentile).
Box-score rates (8)
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Passer rating
Zeitgeist Passer Rating
2026 · our own passing-efficiency number, shown next to the 1979 formula it does not replace.
Thin sample: 45 dropbacks49Zeitgeist Passer Ratingnot ranked until 125 dropbacks
--NCAA passer ratingno box-score line yet
Positive-play rate weight 24%
48.2%71th pct of FBS QBsshare of dropbacks that gained expected points · -2.9% schedule adj.Yards per attempt weight 56%
6.5230th pct of FBS QBssacks excluded · -0.7 schedule adj.Sack rate weight 21% (penalty)
4.7%66th pct of FBS QBsthe input passer rating cannot see · +0.2% schedule adj.Opponent-adjusted; garbage time excluded (6 of 51 dropbacks dropped). 50 = FBS average; the number is pulled toward 50 when the sample is thin. Scaled against the 2025 FBS population until enough 2026 QBs qualify. How ZPR is built.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 172 YDS/g, 1.0 TD/g, 7.4 YPA, 0.5 INT/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Scott Frost
Pass share
41.2%
70 pass / 100 run
Plays / game
56.7
3 games
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
How he plays
Play style
Extends plays with his feet until something opens up.
CFB Index positional classification
Starter
The No. 2,364 recruit in the country is starting at quarterback in the Big 12 as a senior.
DNA match
Player DNA
Scrambler
Makes plays with feet when the pocket collapses. Efficiency still on the rise.
QB
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Spencer Sanders’s 2022 season.
70%match
Matches Spencer on
Yards / attempt
Rush yards / carry
Height
Differs from Spencer on
TD rate (higher)
Weight (higher)
Through 4 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Tucker Kilcrease’s path through Troy.
90%match
Matches Tucker on
Height
Completion %
Yards per attempt
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Rocco Becht's senior season at Iowa State (2025).
54%match
Matches Rocco on
Height
Differs from Rocco on
Rush yards / carry (higher)
EPA / dropback (adj) (lower)
TD rate (higher)
Player DNA
Players who play like Alonza Barnett
Heisman trajectory
Heisman Trajectory · 2026
Peak #153
Peaked at #153 this season.
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology