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Former NY Jets RB and Adam Gase favorite just made UFL history

Remember him?
Justin Fried
Justin Fried

The Jet Press

Kalen Ballage / Richard Rodriguez/UFL/GettyImages

The 2025 UFL season has officially kicked off, and for New York Jets fans eager to watch spring football, they won't have to search long to find former players of their favorite team.

This year's UFL rosters are loaded with former Jets, with some notable standouts including former second-round pick Denzel Mims, ex-Sam Darnold favorite Deontay Burnett, and, of course, former Jets tight end Anthony Becht, who returns as the head coach of the St. Louis Battlehawks.

On Saturday, one forgotten former Jets player made a little bit of history as his Arlington Renegades thrashed the San Antonio Battlehawks by a final score of 33-9. The contributions of ex-Jets running back Kalen Ballage contributed to that blowout victory.

Early in the second quarter, Ballage took a handoff 77 yards to the end zone to set a record for the longest rushing play in UFL history. Ballage bounced off multiple defenders in what was an NFL-caliber run.

Former NY Jets RB Kalen Ballage mades UFL history

Ballage isn’t a name that many Jets fans are likely familiar with, though some might remember him as a personal favorite of the much-maligned Adam Gase. Gase coached Ballage in Miami and eventually brought him to New York during his tenure with the Jets.

A fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Ballage spent the first two seasons of his career with the Dolphins before reportedly being traded to the Jets for a 2021 conditional seventh-round pick ahead of the 2020 season. Except… he wasn’t.

The trade fell through due to a failed physical, prompting the Dolphins to release Ballage, only for the Jets to sign him a couple of weeks later. You'd be forgiven for forgetting his unremarkable Jets tenure that lasted just three games.

Ballage finished his brief Jets stint with 12 carries for 36 yards and two receptions for eight yards. His most memorable moment? Getting leveled by two Colts defenders while attempting a hurdle on a 3rd-and-23 swing pass during a 36-7 blowout loss to Indianapolis.

If there's any play that perfectly encapsulates the Adam Gase era in New York, surely it's that one.

Ballage would later play some games for both the Los Angeles Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers before entering the spring football ranks, where he's managed to continue his football journey.

Now entering his eighth season of professional football, Ballage is still doing his best to prove that Gase may have been right all along. Never wrong — just early.

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Justin Fried

Justin Fried

Justin Fried is an editor for FanSided who has over seven years of experience covering the NFL and various other sports. A diehard Jets fan since birth, Justin has served as the editor for The Jet Press since 2019, interviewing athletes such as Sauce Gardner, Curtis Martin, LaDainian Tomlinson, Joe Klecko, and many others. Justin has also worked closely with brands like Red Bull to help highlight the niche sectors of the sporting world. His four-part series on the sport of breaking remains one of his proudest pieces of work. In his spare time, Justin is an avid pro wrestling fan who is fortunate enough to have traveled to nearly 30 different countries.