Kalen Ballage (born December 22, 1995) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for the

Arlington Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The Renegades compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMah ...

of the United Football League (UFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the sport, athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's Varsity team, varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Divisi ...

and was selected by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

in the fourth round of the

2018 NFL draft The 2018 NFL draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington southwest of Dallas; it was ...

. He also played for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

, and

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

Early life

While attending Falcon High School in Falcon, Colorado, Ballage recorded a successful

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

career. In three years on varsity, he rushed for 2,690 yards, while averaging 8.5 yards per carry and scored 35 rushing

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

, in addition to 671 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns. Ballage was recruited by major programs, including

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, and

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. He committed to Arizona State on January 17, 2013.

College career

As a freshman in 2014, Ballage had a combined 202 rushing and receiving yards, to go along with four total touchdowns. During his sophomore year, he had the first 100-yard rushing performance of his career against the Oregon Ducks. As a junior, Ballage tied College Football's FBS single game touchdown record by scoring eight touchdowns against Texas Tech on September 10, 2016. During his junior year, Ballage played the

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

position while the team was in their version of the wildcat offense, known to ASU fans as the Sparky Package. Ballage is known for his combination of speed and power.

College statistics

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

Ballage was selected by the

in the fourth round with the 131st overall pick of the

, using the fourth round pick previously acquired from the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

in a trade that sent

Jay Ajayi Jay Ajayi (born 15 June 1993) is an English-born former professional American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons with the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at ...

to Philadelphia. In Week 4, against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

, he made his NFL debut and recorded a three-yard rush in the 38–7 loss. In Week 15, against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

, he saw an expanded role with 12 carries for 123 yards and a touchdown. Overall, he finished his rookie season with 191 rushing yards and a touchdown. Ballage entered the 2019 season as the No. 2 running back behind Kenyan Drake. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on December 3, 2019, with a leg injury. He finished the season with 135 rushing yards and three touchdowns along with 14 catches for 63 yards through 12 games and six starts. On August 27, 2020, the Dolphins attempted to trade Ballage to the

for a 2021 conditional seventh-round draft pick, but the trade was voided three days later after he failed a physical with the Jets. He was waived with an injury settlement on September 5, 2020.

New York Jets

On September 15, 2020, Ballage was signed by the

. He was waived on October 5.

Los Angeles Chargers

On October 9, 2020, Ballage was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

. He was elevated to the active roster on November 7 for the team's week 9 game against the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. He was promoted to the active roster on November 14. In the 2020 season, he appeared in 11 games, of which he started two. He finished with 91 carries for 303 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns to go along with 29 receptions for 166 receiving yards.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Ballage signed a one-year contract with the

on March 30, 2021. He appeared in all 17 games in the 2021 season. He was used mainly in a

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

role. On November 2, 2022, the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

hosted Ballage for a workout.

San Antonio Brahmas

Ballage was selected by the

San Antonio Brahmas The San Antonio Brahmas are a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Brahmas compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team is owned and operated by Dwayne Johnson's Alpha ...

of the XFL in the sixth round of the 2023 XFL Draft. He was placed on the team's reserve list on March 24, 2023. He was removed from the roster on February 15, 2024.

Arlington Renegades

On January 17, 2025, Ballage signed with the

of the United Football League (UFL). During the Renegades Week 1 game against the

, Ballage ran for a 77 yard touchdown, the longest in UFL history. He was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury on May 7, 2025.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

XFL/UFL career statistics

References

External links

*
Arizona State Sun Devils bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballage, Kalen 1995 births Living people People from El Paso County, Colorado Players of American football from Colorado American football running backs Arizona State Sun Devils football players Arlington Renegades players Miami Dolphins players New York Jets players Los Angeles Chargers players Pittsburgh Steelers players San Antonio Brahmas players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen