Four Former Buffs Take the Field for the Opening Weekend of the UFL

BOULDER – Four former Buffs take the field this weekend for the United Football League (UFL) opening weekend.

The UFL is in its first season after two different spring football leagues the XFL and the USFL announced their intent to merge on September 28. The league is backed by key partner Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson who acted as the guest picker for College Gameday for the game against Colorado State.

Former Buffs Delrick Abrams, Robert Barnes, Devin Ross, and Carson Wells all made final rosters and will be competing with games beginning on March 30 on ESPN and Fox.

Abrams, who played 20 games for Colorado in two seasons after attending a junior college started all but two games in his time as a Buff. He recorded 89 tackles, including two for a loss and four for no gain. Other defensive stats include 15 pass break-ups, nine third down stops, four quarterback pressures, and one forced fumble.

Following his time at Colorado he would go undrafted, but spend two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons and the Los Angeles Rams on their practice squads. In 2022 he was selected eighth overall by the Tampa Bay Bandits in the USFL draft. After the league merger, Abrams and the rest of the Bandits roster were transferred to the Memphis Showboats of the newly formed UFL.
Abrams and the rest of the Showboats will take the field for the first time on March 31 at 1 p.m. MT on ESPN.

Barnes, who also played two seasons for the Buffs after transferring from Oklahoma played in 23 games registering 84 tackles including five for a loss, two pass breakups, and one interception. After a rookie minicamp invitation from the Seattle Seahawks, Barnes joined the San Antonio Brahmas. They will begin their season on March 31 at 10 a.m. MT on ESPN.

Ross, who finished his career all across the record books, ended eighth in receptions (140), 12th in receiving yards (1,621), and tied for 19th in touchdown receptions (9) in Colorado history. After leaving he spent time in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans, Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots, and most recently the Las Vegas Raiders. Between stops, he played for the Michigan Panthers in the USFL and will return to them in the UFL. Ross will start his season on March 30 at 11 a.m. MT on Fox.

Wells, made his impact at Colorado, with 187 career tackles ranked 89th on CU's all-time list, with his 38 tackles for losses (for 132 yards) tying for eighth in the Buff record book; 15½ of those were quarterback sacks (ranking 15th all-time), and his 41 third down stops tied for seventh (five of those were fourth down stops). After his initial stint with the Cincinnati Bengals, Wells was a supplemental draft pick for the St. Louis Battlehawks in 2023. There he played both defensive line and linebacker totaling 45 tackles and three-and-a-half sacks over 10 games. His performance earned him a contract with the New England Patriots but was waived at the end of training camp. He returns to the Battlehawks and will start the season on March 30 at 11 a.m. on Fox.

The UFL season is 10 games with the top four teams moving on to the playoffs starting on June 8.