Welcome to UCF Knights on SI's countdown to kickoff!In this series, we are going to introduce you to every single player on the 2026 UCF football roster so that you can know what to expect from them or even pinpoint the ones you want to follow throughout the coming season. We are going to go through the Knights' roster in reverse jersey-number order, with the day each player's entry is published corresponding to the number of days remaining until UCF's season-opener on Sep. 3 at 7 p.m. against Bethune-Cookman.So, with 76 days to go, let's meet UCF offensive lineman Justin Royes:Who is Justin Royes?What did he do last season?What role is he going to have in 2026?1. Who is Justin Royes?Position: Offensive LinemanClass: Redshirt JuniorHeight/Weight: 6-foot-5 / 300 poundsHometown: Suffolk, VirginiaHigh School: Lakeland High School (Suffolk, Virginia)Before becoming a Knight, Royes played his first two seasons of college football for Virginia Union at the Division II level. After playing only three games and redshirting his true freshman season in 2023, he started in eight of the nine games he played in 2024, helping the Panthers to a conference title and their first two playoff wins in program history to reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.2. What did he do last season?When the Knights began fall camp in 2025, Royes was ruled out for the entire season due to an injury. However, he recovered quickly enough to see action off the bench in their final game of the season against BYU.3. What role is he going to have in 2026?Let’s do it again knight nation 💪🏾 #ucf #ucfknights #26loadin pic.twitter.com/75sHrWa1bL— Justin Royes (@justin_royes) December 8, 2025While an injury got in the way of Scott Frost and then-offensive line coach Shawn Clark's initial plans for Royes, he still ended up seeing the field in 2025 when he recovered sooner than expected. However, 2026 has Royes playing for an offensive line coach that did not recruit him, AJ Blazek, and a new crop of transfers to compete with for playing time like Henry Tabansi, Brady Wayburn, Cooper Terpstra and Tyler Gibson.Considering it is going to be his first full season playing at the Division I level, his role could be similar to fellow former Division II offensive lineman Owen Spell. In his first season coming up playing Division I football in 2025, Spell played in all 12 of UCF's games and even drew a start in two of them. So, with Royes coming into 2026 healthy, he could follow a similar path as Spell and be a depth option in the trenches for the Knights with a chance of earning a starting opportunity later in the season depending on how the unit plays.Catch up on the rest of the list below:No. 77 Kasiyah CharltonNo. 78 Preston CushmanNo. 81 Zack PalmerNo. 82 Jordyn BridgewaterNo. 84 Thomas WadsworthNo. 85 Carson HinshawNo. 86 Chase HinshawNo. 87 Brooks HallNo. 88 Grayson BrousseauNo. 89 Caleb RollersonNo. 92 Jeffson LafontantNo. 93 Brad GurleyNo. 94 L A Jesse HarroldNo. 95 RJ Jackson Jr.No. 96 Anthony CoaxumNo. 97 Josh Schell and Mason DenabergNo. 98 Alhassan IddrissuNo. 99 Thomas CollinsAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow