UCF Knights football: Which pass-catchers can step up if Kobe Hudson misses time?

ORLANDO — UCF‘s already ineffective passing game could be without its top weapon for the stretch run and with its eight-year bowl streak hanging in the balance.

Kobe Hudson departed Saturday’s 37-24 loss to BYU after hauling in a six-yard reception on the Knights‘ first play from scrimmage. He stayed down after being tackled, needed trainers’ assistance to leave the field and was initially unable to put weight on his right leg.

Following evaluation in the medical tent and the locker room, Hudson returned to the sidelines with a noticeable limp and without his jersey and shoulder pads.

Knights coach Gus Malzahn said following the game that he was “unsure of the severity” of the injury.

Hudson — a 6-foot-1, 200-pound fifth-year senior from Pine Mountain, Georgia — leads the team with 27 receptions, 509 yards and three touchdown catches. He topped the 100-yard mark in wins over Sam Houston and TCU, a game in which he corralled a game-tying 20-yard pass from KJ Jefferson with 36 seconds left.

High school football: Mainland DL Christian Hudson flips commitment from UCF to Colorado

Last month, starting slot receiver Xavier Townsend announced his intentions to redshirt and enter the NCAA transfer portal at the conclusion of the season. Trent Whittemore is valued as a run blocker, but he has tallied just four receptions for 99 yards in seven appearances.

Malzahn gave the quarterback carousel another spin Saturday, as well. Jacurri Brown made his second straight start but was held under 100 yards with another pair of interceptions. KJ Jefferson started the first five games, EJ Colson became UCF’s youngest starter in program history versus Cincinnati on Oct. 12 and Dylan Rizk checked in for mop-up duty in the fourth quarter against BYU.

Here are five pass-catchers who will need to step up in Hudson’s potential absence and make life easier for whoever gets the nod when similarly sputtering Arizona comes to town for the eighth annual Space Game.

Jacoby Jones

A post-spring transfer arrival from Ohio, Jones turned in his best stat line for the Knights this weekend. He caught six of eight targets for 116 yards and the game’s final touchdown.

Jones, at 6-foot-3 and 228 pounds, fits the physical profile required to be a primary weapon on the perimeter. He shined during the 2022 season at Ohio, catching 45 passes for 776 yards and six TDs from Kurtis Rourke (now at Indiana), but he was limited to three games last year with a leg injury.

Chauncey Magwood

Once Rizk took over, he immediately looked in Magwood’s direction — and with promising results. The redshirt junior made a pair of catches for 44 yards on a drive that culminated in a 5-yard TD run by RJ Harvey.

Magwood preserved his eligibility after four games last year, but stayed at UCF. Nine of his 16 career college catches have been with the Knights, though his lone touchdown occurred in 2022 at Kentucky.

RJ Harvey

Already the focal point of UCF’s offense for his exploits as a rusher, with five 100-yard performances and 13 touchdowns, Harvey is also second on the team in receiving yards (205) and TD catches (two).

Harvey burned TCU and Colorado in back-to-back weeks on wheel routes, though he’s had fewer targets since Malzahn benched Jefferson. He had two catches for 10 yards in the loss to BYU.

Randy Pittman Jr.

Pittman has played in all 21 games since enrolling at UCF in 2023. The Panama City native is on pace to set new career-highs across the board, with 16 receptions for 186 yards to date.

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound sophomore is a complete player at the tight end position, often deployed as an in-line blocker and occasionally as an H-back. Per Pro Football Focus, Pittman logged the fifth-most offensive snaps among UCF offensive players entering Saturday’s contest.

Ja’Varrius Johnson

Recruited to Auburn — and eventually to UCF — by Malzahn, Johnson’s snap count steadily increased throughout October. Brown looked deep for the fifth-year senior on a couple of occasions in the Iowa State game but overthrew him.

Johnson came up empty on two targets Saturday, but he has registered eight catches for 40 yards. In his Auburn career, he had 64 catches for 1,114 yards and eight touchdowns.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: UCF Knights football: 5 players to step up with Kobe Hudson injured