Malachi Lawrence brings UCF pride to Cowboys introduction

A day after his first-round selection in the 2026 NFL Draft, Malachi Lawrence was officially introduced by the Dallas Cowboys.

Appearing The Star in Frisco, the No. 23 overall pick was flanked by owner and general manager Jerry Jones, co-owner and COO Stephen Jones and head coach Brian Schottenheimer at an afternoon press conference.

“Got in here this morning, tried on some cowboy boots,” Lawrence said with a grin during his introductory press conference. “I got to meet some of the staff. It’s been a great experience.”

Leaving a legacy at UCF

Lawrence becomes the fifth first-round pick in UCF history, joining quarterback Daunte Culpepper (No. 11, 1999), quarterback Blake Bortles (No. 3, 2014), wide receiver Breshad Perriman (No. 26, 2015) and cornerback Mike Hughes (No. 30, 2018). But he’s more than just the latest name on that list — he’s the first defensive lineman from UCF ever drafted in the opening round.

That distinction wasn’t lost on him.

“It means a lot just to be the first of anything,” Lawrence said. “It’s like a standard now to be set for UCF. You can go to UCF and be a first-round pick on defense.”

He’s also thinking beyond his own moment. Lawrence said he wants his success to serve as a recruiting billboard for the Knights program.

“I want to represent my family in the right way and also UCF in the right way,” he said. “When coaches and scouts are going back, they’ll be like, ‘Let’s go check out UCF. I heard they have a talented guy.'”

Five seasons, one school

In the transfer portal era, Lawrence did something increasingly rare: he stayed. All five of his college seasons were spent in Orlando, and he finished his career 10th all-time at UCF with 20 sacks.

It wasn’t always an easy choice. Lawrence committed to UCF under Josh Heupel, who left for Tennessee roughly a month after signing day. Lawrence never wavered.

“It kind of wasn’t too hard because I was a late riser,” he said. “I had a few offers, but seeing Coach (Gus) Malzahn come in — he won a national championship. You can’t take that away from him. And he beat Nick Saban. He says that all the time.”

Lawrence eventually grew into a team captain this past season under Scott Frost, a role he said became central to his decision to stay through the end.

“Every team asked why I stayed,” he said. “I basically gave them the same answer — going into that leadership, captain role with the younger guys.”

Stephen Jones said that loyalty resonated with the Cowboys organization.

“I really look up to these men who stay with the schools that gave them their first opportunity,” Jones said. “He had opportunities probably to take more money and go to a bigger school. He felt like UCF had given him the opportunity, and he wanted to give back. That speaks volumes to me about his character as a man.”

The Coach Brim connection

One of the threads tying Lawrence to Dallas runs through a familiar face: Demetire Brim.

Brim, a UCF alum, joined the Cowboys this offseason as assistant defensive line coach. He most recently served as an analyst on Scott Frost’s UCF staff, working alongside Mike Dawson with the edge rushers. Before that, Brim was with Frost at Nebraska.

“We had a little inside information with Coach Brim,” Schottenheimer said. “But again, the film, when you watch it, it’s very apparent — the ability to bend, the ability to turn his toe, the ability to accelerate off at different angles.”

For Lawrence, seeing Brim on the other side of the table will make for a comfortable transition.

“It was a blessing seeing him at UCF,” Lawrence said. “And then seeing him get a better job — I was happy for him. And then just seeing him here today, he was happy for me just being here. I love Coach Brim.”

Stephen Jones pointed to Brim’s familiarity with Lawrence as a key factor in the Cowboys’ comfort level pulling the trigger at No. 23.

“We have a coach on staff who knows him really well,” Jones said. “You put all that together, and we felt very comfortable making him a first-round pick.”

From ‘third or fourth round’ to Top 25

Lawrence didn’t walk into the draft process thinking he’d go on Day 1.

“Maybe third, fourth round,” he said, when asked about his best-case scenario before the process began. “My name was just kind of on the rise at the end of the season.”

What changed? A combination of things, Lawrence said — a standout showing at the East-West Shrine Game in Frisco, a productive pre-draft training stint at Exos that turned heads with his athleticism, and a strong NFL Scouting Combine performance that reinforced what the tape showed.

“When I got to Exos, they didn’t really know what I could do,” Lawrence said. “When I showcased it, and then got to the combine and got to actually showcase those abilities, I feel like that’s when it grew.”

His 40-inch vertical and 10-foot-10 broad jump at the combine backed up everything scouts had been hearing.

Schottenheimer said the Cowboys had been engaged on Lawrence for weeks before draft night, pointing specifically to a chase-down play against Kansas State as a defining moment on film.

“A very athletic quarterback (Avery Johnson) is scrambling. He spins out and keeps going. And (Lawrence) is chasing him — it’s crazy back and forth — but he never gives up and ends up chasing him down,” Schottenheimer said. “In this division, we’ve got really athletic quarterbacks. They’re going to want to try to put our edge pieces in conflict. My money’s on this guy.”

‘Run, run, reach’

Lawrence’s rise was not immediate.

When asked how he developed his variety of pass-rush moves, Lawrence pointed back to his early years at UCF and specifically credited former Knights defensive end Tre’Mon Morris-Brash, known inside the program as “Drop.”

“When I first got to college, I really didn’t have any pass-rush abilities or skills that I knew about yet,” Lawrence said. “So when I got there, just looking up to the older guys — I’d say Tre’Mon Morris-Brash, we called him Drop — just learning from him. He was very flexible, and he would do different moves.

“So just watching him at practice and then recreating them, that’s how my arsenal kind of started growing. And then different coaches as well.”

NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said Thursday night that Lawrence “rose through the entire process,” calling him “juicy” and pointing to the burst, explosiveness and closing speed that showed up both on tape and at the NFL Combine.

“You’ll get up out of your seat because of how much burst and explosiveness you’ll see in his play,” Jeremiah said on NFL Network after the pick.

When asked about his knack for finishing plays and pursuing the football rather than just the quarterback, Lawrence credited his UCF coaching.

“We were taught early at UCF — key the ball, get the ball back to our offense,” he said. “That’s the main part of defense. If we can do it quicker than four plays, that’s great. Our coach just emphasized: run, run, reach. That’s what he would call it.”

Schottenheimer appreciated the mindset immediately.

“What we love about him is he doesn’t just get the quarterback. He gets the ball,” the Cowboys coach said. “Getting back right in the giveaway/takeaway margin is a big emphasis for us this year.”

Ready for the spotlight

Jerry Jones has owned the Cowboys since 1989. He said the moment of a new draft pick walking through the door never gets old.

“You get to hang out with guys that, for this period of time in their life, they’re getting to do it,” Jones said, drawing a comparison to the day he first sat down with No. 1 overall pick Russell Maryland in 1991.

For Lawrence, the spotlight — and the weight of playing for one of the most scrutinized franchises in professional sports — isn’t something he’s shying away from.

“I feel like I’m ready just because I wouldn’t be in this opportunity if I wasn’t,” he said. “God makes no mistakes. I’m here, and I’m ready for it.”

His first conversation with Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker set the tone simply enough.

“He said, ‘Just go get that quarterback,'” Lawrence recalled. “Literally, when I met him today, he was just like, ‘Are you ready to go get the quarterback?’ I said, ‘Yes, sir.'”

Lawrence was asked about his life off the field. He described himself as a “chill guy” who enjoys cooking seafood. He added he’s entertaining the idea of picking up golf after a conversation today with new teammate Quinnen Williams.

He’s also excited about the fit in Frisco, saying he grew to love the area during his stay for the East-West Shrine Bowl, adding Firebirds was his favorite new restaurant.

“I love the city of Frisco,” he said.