Where Every 2026 UFL Star Played In College, Who Headlines Each Roster

It’s more than likely that at some point this UFL season, you’ve been watching a game and have found yourself wondering, “He seems familiar — how do I know him?” Don’t worry because I’m here to help. There are a ton of familiar faces in the UFL this season, and this seemed like the perfect time to look back at where each UFL player went to college. With that in mind, I’ve rounded up which school every active UFL player went to and highlighted two stars from each team that you’re sure to remember the most from their college days. Let’s get to it! Note: This story has been updated to reflect the recent pair of blockbuster trades involving four teams. Birmingham Stallions Dorian Thompson-Robinson (#1, QB) — UCLA By the time he left UCLA, Thompson-Robinson was the program’s all-time leader in total offense (12,536 yards) and the only player in school history to eclipse 12,000 yards. UCLA amassed a 24-24 record in his five years as a starter. His last season at UCLA was his best. In 2022, DTR threw 3,154 yards, rushed for 646 and accounted for 39 total touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Justyn Ross (#13, WR) – Clemson Ross, a starter as a true freshman, was excellent at Clemson, accounting for 1,000-plus yards on just 46 catches in his first season with the Tigers. His elite size (6-foot-4, 210 pounds) and strong route-running ability made him an easy target for any quarterback. After a strong sophomore season, he was diagnosed with Klippel-Feil syndrome, a rare congenital condition that required surgery to correct how some of his bones in his back and neck were fused. After taking a medical redshirt year in 2020, he returned to Clemson in 2021 before going undrafted in 2022. Still, Ross earned a chance with the Kansas City Chiefs and became a member of two Super Bowl-winning teams. He’s one of just a handful of players with a CFP national championship (2019) and two Super Bowl rings (2022, 2023). Columbus Aviators Jalan McClendon (#8, QB) – Baylor McClendon is the reason NFL star Jakobi Meyers plays wide receiver at all. After McClendon redshirted behind NFL veteran Jacoby Brissett at NC State, a three-way quarterback battle ensued between him, Meyers and Ryan Finley in 2016. Finley eventually won the starting job, but McClendon separated himself from Meyers so definitively that Meyers switched to playing wide receiver full-time. McClendon still fought his way onto the field in 10 games for the Wolfpack that season. As a graduate transfer, he entered the portal and moved on to Baylor, where he split playing time with signal-caller Charlie Brewer. Now, McClendon and his tantalizing arm talent make him the UFL’s best dual-threat QB. Antwane Wells (#6, WR) – Ole Miss “Juice” Wells is an absolute hammer at wideout with a constitution and resolve honed at Fork Union Military Academy. He had days of rucking 20-pound crates of munitions for two hours in full military dress before he ever arrived at South Carolina — just like Eddie George, Vinny Testaverde, Michael Thomas, Plaxico Burress and Cardale Jones. Wells left Fork Union — an institution that has produced 14 first-round NFL picks — with a tattoo of Psalm 23:4 inked on his arm, fearing no evil. Wells, a prototypical rocked-up possession receiver, has the ability to shirk opposing corners and make contested catches against tight coverage. Two years with James Madison left Wells ranked No. 3 all-time in school history for receiving touchdowns (21) and in the top 10 in career receiving yards (1,853) and catches (116). In 2021, he caught 83 passes for a JMU record 1,250 yards with 15 touchdowns. He was an FCS All-American before he ever got the chance to show out at the Power 4 level with South Carolina. He became a first-time All-SEC selection in 2022 and finished his collegiate career at Ole Miss. Dallas Renegades Austin Reed (#16, QB) – Western Kentucky In his first year as a full-time starter, Reed led West Florida to a win in the 2019 NCAA Division II championship game on the strength of a season that consisted of 4,084 passing yards, 40 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions. At the advent of NIL (name, image and likeness), he transferred to Western Kentucky, where he commenced cooking FBS defenses like Wagyu on a charcoal grill — smoking ‘em. In his first season as a starter for the Hilltoppers, he threw for more yards (4,744) than any other FBS quarterback. At WKU, Reed threw for 8,084 yards and 71 touchdowns with 22 interceptions and also rushed for 324 yards and 12 touchdowns. He’s a gun-slinging, aerial-attacking, see-it, read-it, send-it-for-six, pocket-present field general. If Reed is running your offense, you’re going to score. That’s why he’s leading the UFL in both passing yards and scores by a landslide. Tyler Vaughns (#1, WR) – USC Vaughns showed himself to be a complete receiver in college football between 2017 and 2019 when he caught at least 57 passes for at least 674 yards with at least six touchdowns across those three years. His route-running is exceptional. His ability to read coverage pre- and post-snap is as good as any quarterback he has played with. Vaughns is a route-tree perfectionist who is going to find the open space in the secondary, make himself a big target for his quarterback and reel in any ball within his radius. That’s why he’s leading the UFL in both receiving yards and scores after three weeks. DC Defenders Jordan Ta’amu (#10, QB) – Ole Miss Ta’amu turned heads in 2017 after becoming Ole Miss’ starter with five games left to play following an injury to Shea Patterson. When Ta’amu finished those five games with 1,682 passing yards, 15 total touchdowns, just four interceptions and a display of mobility that mocked up some defenders, Patterson elected to transfer to Michigan. In 2018, Ta’amu put up 4,260 total yards with 25 scores and just six picks for the Rebels. Simply put, Ta’amu is a dual-threat, read-and-react signal-caller. He finished that season ranked second in passing yards (3,918) behind Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, who played three more games than Ta’amu and led the Crimson Tide to a national championship win. Jason Bean (#5, QB) – Kansas In 2021, Bean threw for a Big 12 postseason record six touchdowns — along with 449 yards — in a raucous 49-36 win for Kansas over UNLV. He flashed elite moments like that throughout his collegiate career but never played more than 10 games, never completed more than 64% of his passes and never threw for more than 2,130 yards and 18 touchdowns in a single season. When he’s accurate, though, he throws one of the purest deep balls I’ve ever seen. His ability to tuck it and run out of sacks is one of the biggest reasons why he’s a guy you want behind center. Gareon Conley (#0, CB) – Ohio State Conley earned a starting job as a redshirt freshman at Ohio State, playing in all 15 games on the Buckeyes’ 2014 national title team. After two years, he was so good that he elected to enter the NFL Draft early and was rewarded as a first-round selection by the then-Oakland Raiders in 2017. The first interception of his pro career was a 36-yard pick-six of Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. Every ball you throw near Conley — a pure ball hawk with a 4.44 40-yard dash speed — is a 50-50 ball, and odds are he’s going to get his hands on it for the deflection or interception. Houston Gamblers Taulia Tagovailoa (#7, QB) – Maryland No one has thrown for more yards in Maryland or Big Ten history than Tagovailoa, the younger brother of NFL veteran Tua Tagovailoa. He led the Terrapins to their first winning season since 2014 and first bowl berth since 2016, while breaking school records for completions (328), passing yards (3,860) and passing touchdowns (26) in a single season. In all, Taulia left Maryland with 32 school records. He is proven elite in a scheme that fits his greatest ability: precise, accurate passing. Rashard Lawrence (#90, DE) – LSU Lawrence is a former All-SEC selection and was a defensive line stalwart on the 2019 LSU national title team. In the 2018 season, he muscled 54 tackles and four sacks, en route to earning Fiesta Bowl MVP honors for his two-sack performance. Do you remember the 6-foot-2, 300-plus-pound “Uncle Phil” lookalike who shucked another 300-pound man and then boa-constrictor-swallowed and sacked Lamar Jackson in Jackson’s 2016 Heisman season? That’s Lawrence. That’s what he does. Louisville Kings Chandler Rogers (#4, QB) — California Rogers became the answer to a trivia question. In August 2024, he was the last quarterback to compete with 2025 Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza in an open competition to become the program’s starter. In six years as a collegiate player, he has played at five different schools, with Cal being the last of his stops. He transferred to Cal after enjoying his best single season at North Texas — 3,382 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and five interceptions. Benny Snell (#26, RB) – Kentucky At Kentucky, Snell finished every season he played with at least 1,091 rush yards, 13 scores and 186 rushes. He averaged 5.3 yards per carry for his entire career — and he could break you off a lil’ sumtin-sumtin with long runs. A bell-cow back, the run-game follows Snell. If the O-line blocked it up, Snell ran through it and then made linebackers and secondary players feel too small, too light and too slow. Orlando Storm Matt Corral (#2, QB) – Ole Miss Corral is exceptional when he sets his feet and fires. This was evident throughout his collegiate career. In 2022, Corral led Ole Miss to the Sugar Bowl in his last season with the Rebels, and he was instrumental in Ole Miss finishing with a 10-2 record that helped catapult the program into one that would make the College Football Playoff for the first time in 2025. At Ole Miss, he was a gifted playmaker with a great ability to throw to open receivers. He had a unique skill set that allowed him to control the line of scrimmage — getting into and out of any play he wanted. A third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Corral was forced to miss his rookie season with the Carolina Panthers due to a Lisfranc fracture in his foot and never earned a chance to play significant professional football until his UFL signing. Jack Plummer (#13, QB) – Louisville Plummer bloomed late. After three years at Purdue, he transferred to Cal, where he put together his first great season with over 3,100 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and just nine interceptions. Those numbers were good enough for him to reunite with his former head coach, Jeff Brohm, at Louisville, where he enjoyed the best season of his career. With the Cardinals, Plummer threw for 3,204 yards, 21 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, leading Louisville to a 10-2 record and an appearance in the 2023 ACC championship game. A capable operator in a pass-heavy scheme, Plummer excels when allowed to play fast and dictate terms to the defense. KJ Hamler (#3, WR) – Penn State As a redshirt freshman at Penn State, Hamler announced his presence in college football by coming back from a torn ACL in 2018 by returning a kickoff 52 yards to the house — along with reeling in three catches for 67 yards with a receiving score — against Appalachian State. He averaged 18.0 yards per catch that year. In 2019, he stepped his game up again with 56 catches for 904 yards with 18 touchdowns. That was enough for him to enter the NFL Draft that year, when the Denver Broncos took him in the second round. When you absolutely, positively need to take the top of the defense, dial “9” — a go-ball, fly-route, a straight line to the end zone — and ask for Hamler. St. Louis Battlehawks Hakeem Butler (#88, WR) – Iowa State The year that Butler became one of the best receivers Iowa State had ever produced — 60 catches for 1,318 yards (22.0 yards per catch) and nine touchdowns — I realized he’s an inch taller and more productive in his final year than Calvin Johnson, aka Megatron, was in his last year at Georgia Tech (2006) on fewer catches (76 receptions for 1,202 yards). How many more 6-foot-6, 240-pound men do you know about running 4.48 in the 40-yard dash with hands the size of couch cushions? I’ll wait. If Megatron is Johnson personified, that makes Butler the Onslaught of spring pro football, because, like all Decepticons, he just ain’t fair. Good luck, UFL! Pita Taumoepenu (#7, OLB) – Utah Not everybody was paying attention to Utah a decade ago, and Taumoepenu wasn’t one of those players you should’ve known about until Nov. 10, 2016. On that day, he sacked Arizona State’s quarterback three times and notched four tackles for loss. That was enough for me to believe Taumoepenu could have a future as a dominant edge rusher in the right scheme as a pro. After all, he recorded at least 5.5 sacks in each of his three seasons for the Utes. The fact that he turned out to be a terror in the UFL just means I was wrong about which pro league he’d make his presence most felt in. If you’re ever asked who is the best defensive player in professional spring ball, he’s the only right answer. Taumoepenu is an elite pass rusher who demands you slide protection — ask the running back to help the O-line block — or risk him planting your quarterback like John Henry did a railroad spike.