Two players have caught the eye of UCF defensive coordinator Addison Williams, both of whom play on the defensive line.

UCF has three proven starters up front between defensive tackle Ricky Barber and defensive ends Joshua Celiscar and Tre'Mon Morris-Brash.

The fourth player looking to earn starter reps is defensive tackle Lee Hunter, who is poised to take over the role vacated by Anthony Montalvo.

On Wednesday, UCF defensive coordinator Addison Williams singled out Hunter for having a strong start to preseason camp.

"To be honest with you after these first three days of practice, Lee Hunter is one of the guys that has stood out on the defensive side of the ball," Williams said. "Maybe the entire team. Coach (Gus) Malzahn would probably say the same thing."

Hunter transferred to UCF in January 2022 after a redshirt year at Auburn. In his debut, Hunter played 13 games with 17 tackles and a sack. Among UCF's two-deep at defensive tackle, Hunter saw the least amount of snaps (212 for the entire season). By comparison, Ricky Barber played 681 snaps and Anthony Montalvo played 624.

"The biggest thing with him is he was challenged by myself, Coach (Kenny) Martin and Coach Malzahn to get in shape. If Lee gets in shape, he can be one of the best defensive tackles in the country. He was a five-star recruit coming out (of high school), so he has the ability. His biggest deal is he could play two plays, he could play three plays and then you wouldn't get the same out of him. He's been flying around and accepted the challenge. I'm excited to see the season that he has."