Trey Dean and Elijah Badger both suited up for the Florida Gators during their college careers, but Dean made it crystal clear that there is absolutely no love lost between the two as they squared off in the UFL on Saturday.
With Dean’s St. Louis Battlehawks already dominating Badger’s Orlando Storm 25-0 early on in the third quarter of the UFL tilt, Badger caught a routine pass beyond the first-down marker before being bumped out of bounds. It appeared as if the play was over with Badger standing a couple of feet out of bounds, but Dean had other plans.
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Not only did Dean deliver a hit multiple seconds after the whistle was blown on a player very clearly standing out of bounds, but he also lowered his shoulder. This wasn’t an aggressive shove or chest bump; this was a full-blown, body-launching tackle on a player standing still.
Dean was ejected from the game seconds later, which was undoubtedly the right decision by officials. Badger, meanwhile, remained in the game and went on to catch four passes, including a touchdown, as Orlando managed to score 17 unanswered points in the second half to make the contest mighty competitive.
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Dean spent his entire college career with the Gators from 2018-2022 while Badger played just one year in Gainesville after transferring into the Florida program from Arizona State ahead of the 2024 season. Neither player was drafted by an NFL team, but both were previously signed to offseason and/or practice squads earlier in their professional careers.
The UFL has not announced any form of further discipline for Dean at the time of this writing, but one would imagine something is coming before St. Louis’ next contest on April 30.
