Orlando’s new UFL team will debut on Sunday at 8 p.m. at Inter&Co Stadium against the Columbus Aviators, and head coach Anthony Becht could not be more excited.
Tickets for the “407 Kickoff” game can be purchased for as low as $12 at TicketMaster.com and there will be a special halftime performance by DJ Khaled. The game will be broadcast by ESPN.
“Man, I am super fired up. This is an historic week for Orlando, to bring a professional football team to the city, and in the state where I’ve lived for over 21 years,” said Becht, who has resided mostly in the Tampa area. “I can’t wait to get out there and share the team with the city.
“What an event … Prime time, national TV in our beautiful stadium, just looking forward to seeing the fans and hoping they give us a chance, not only this week, but throughout the season.”
Orlando’s new UFL team hires Anthony Becht as head coach
Becht has a pair of quarterbacks he said are both worthy starters and he will not reveal the starter until Sunday night, but he has Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Jack Plummer.
Thompson-Robinson played at UCLA and spent a short time with the NFL Cleveland Browns. He played in 15 total games for the Browns over the 2023-24 seasons, starting five of them. He threw for 880 total yards, completing 52% of his passes (121-of-230) with one touchdown.
Plummer played at Purdue, Cal and Louisville before a brief stint with the NFL Carolina Panthers in 2024 as only a roster player, but never appeared in any games.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson (17), one of the quarterbacks with the new Orlando Storm, played for the Cleveland Browns in 2023-24. (RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)
“Internally, yes, we have picked our starter,” Becht said. “I would say we are the only team that really has two starting quarterbacks.”
The Storm will have a little bit of local flavor with former UCF offensive linemen Samuel Jackson and Cole Schneider on the squad, both of whom were on the undefeated 2017 Peach Bowl team. Also on the squad is Brevard County product Jashaun Corbin, a running back who played at Rockledge High and then FSU. Corbin led the UFL in rushing last season in St. Louis. He ran for 514 yards and hour touchdowns in six games.
Former Florida receiver Elijhah Badger is also on the squad, as well as former FSU defensive lineman Fabien Lovett and former Miami safety Mishael Powell.
Becht coached for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the UFL for three seasons before joining the Storm, and in St. Louis he guided the team to a pair of semifinal appearances.
“We have a great team, we’ve practice extremely well, we’re super healthy right now,” Becht said.
It’s a little bit different brand of UFL and it will feature a few rules changes differing from the NFL game to make things a little more exciting for the fans:
Field goals over 60 yards are worth 4 points.
Three different extra points after touchdowns can be attempted. Either the traditional 1-point kick, or a 2-point try from the 2-yard line, or a 3-point try from the 3-yard line.
Receivers only need one foot in-bounds for a completed catch.
Teams must go for it on fourth down inside the 50-yard line.
“It’s a great game and with the new rules, you are never out of it,” Becht said. “You can be down by 13 with two minutes left and you can make a 4-point field goal from 60 yards away and then score a touchdown and go for 3 and tie the game up.”
Orlando Storm running back Jashaun Corbin (0), who was the UFL’s leading rusher last season in St. Louis, played collegiately at FSU. (AP Photo/Mark Wallheiser)
Becht has seen success at the UFL level so he knows what it takes, but he said it’s not easy.
“It’s very difficult to win in these leagues consistently, because there is such a big turnover in rosters,” Becht said. “You just have to be really good on the personnel side. I’m also the GM, and we built this team from scratch. We got a lot of talented players.
“We have a lot of players from NFL training camps ,and we really locked in on getting some NFL-worthy talent, and we’re gonna have a nice product on the field.”
Becht said the goal of the UFL is not to be the NFL “D League” or a farm team league.
“These are players that are really just right there, as far the NFL is concerned and there is not a huge drop-off when you are looking at the bulk of NFL rosters, outside of the best players,” Becht said. “These guys are just on the cusp of being those 45 to 53 players. I try to load up these rosters with those kinds of players. The brand of football is very high end.”
The city of Orlando has had its share of lower-level professional football teams in the past, beginning with Florida Blazers of the World Football League in 1974, then the Orlando Renegades (USFL, 1985), Orlando Thunder (WLAF, 1991-92), Orlando Predators (Arena, 1991-2016), Orlando Rage (XFL, 2001), Florida Tuskers (UFL, 2009–10), Orlando Apollos (AAF, 2019), Orlando Guardians (UFL, 2023) and now also the Orlando Pirates (Arena, 2026).
“The city is really engaged, and it has really jumped on the MLS teams, the women and the men, and I just think this in another exciting sport, professional football,” Becht said. “Even if you are not a football fan, this is really a fun time. It’s a great time. We’re gonna be exciting to watch and we’re gonna score a lot of points.
“We got DJ Khaled, and I don’t know what else you can do for $12 to have that kind of day in Orlando with all of those great things.”
Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays.