It wasn't so long ago that Deneric Prince was a preseason sensation for the Kansas City Chiefs. Perhaps he was just a late bloomer.
The United Football League (UFL) is in full swing at this point in the calendar, and Prince is among the leading rushers in the 8-team league. Given that it wasn't so long ago that he was impressing Chiefs coaches and fans, it's likely not too late for him to make good on that promise.
Prince is a running back for the Memphis Showboats these days, and he's currently sixth in rushing yards in the UFL with 182 yards on 50 carries and 1 touchdown. He's also added 49 receiving yards for the Showboats' offense.
It'd be nice to see Deneric Prince earn another shot at the NFL this summer.
The good news for both Prince and the Showboats is that he's been getting better with each passing week. Experience is a good thing, and Prince popped off for 60 yards on only 12 carries during the team's most recent win over Birmingham. It was a season-best effort for Prince in which he established his longest run of the year with 17 yards.
Such efforts sound modest on their own, but context is important in the UFL. The leading rusher per game is Kalen Ballage of the Arlington Renegades, yet he averages only 55 yards/game.
Prince came to the Chiefs as a powerful yet shifty back out of Tulsa known for his contact balance—two words Chiefs fans love to hear after watching Kareem Hunt dominate out of college as well. While at Tulsa, Prince had 1,728 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns in his career and had two games of over 200 yards rushing.
The Chiefs signed Prince as a rookie free agent following the 2023 NFL Draft and he remained on the active roster or practice squad for the full season. From there, he also received a futures deal to join the team the following preseason but he was cut last August. He caught on with the Miami Dolphins practice squad after that before leaping to the UFL in February.
