You Should Be Excited About UFL 2025 Renegades QB Luke Lehnen, and Here’s Why
Image via theufl.com
College Football is littered with stars, from Shedeur Sanders at Colorado to Cam Ward at Miami. While many of these stars are getting ready for their Pro Days, with the eventual goal of being drafted, one of the NCAA’s most prolific signal callers is already with a professional team, honing his craft at the next level.
His name is Luke Lehnen. A 23-year-old QB from Chatham, Illinois, who has been College Football’s winningest and electrifying quarterback for the past four years, which you’ve probably never heard of until recently.
Lehnen’s story is one that if you’re a fan of small school college football you’re familiar with. It starts at Glenwood HS in Chatham, Illinois which is known for a baseball program that has seen Major Leaguers like World Series Champion Jayson Werth, Phil and Nick Maton, along with former 1st Rd Pick Reid Detmers. Lehnen was one of Illinois most prominent athletes, lettering in Basketball, Baseball, and Football earning the praise from NFL MVPs like Drew Brees and Patrick Mahomes.
Despite his accomplishments Lehnen received limited interest at the Power 5 (Power 4 now) level instead finding his way to Division III powerhouse North Central College. NCC was coming off a National Championship in 2019, and canceled COVID Season in 2020. They also saw QB Broc Rutter (Lehnen’s predecessor) graduate enroute to NFL opportunity with the San Francisco 49ers, taking with him 156 Touchdowns (145 passing 11 rushing) and a 45-6 record.
Despite the huge shoes to fill, Lehnen would exceed expectations leading North Central to the National Championship (losing to Mary Hardin-Baylor), earning All-Conference Honors, and totaling 43 Touchdowns. Regardless of the loss, it was clear that Lehnen was a winner, and that the homegrown Illinois talent was one of the building blocks for NCC’s budding dynasty.
The next Three years would be extremely special for Lehnen and his Cardinals. He’d only lose one more game from 2022 to 2024, winning Two National Championships, Two Gagliardi Awards (D-III Heisman), setting numerous records leaving college football as one of the most accomplished QBs in NCAA history. His 213 total Touchdowns are more than Dillon Gabriel (189), Cam Ward (178), Shedeur Sanders (151), and Seth Henigan (114), all of which are lobbying for an NFL draft selection.
While Lehnen has clearly accomplished more than most, the journey for a Division III QB to the NFL is quite rare. In the past decade or so Joe Callahan (Wesley College), and Alex Tanney (Monmouth) are the only ones to appear in NFL game. Even in the modern era of spring football Bryan Scott in 2022 is the only Division III QB to appear in a game making the odds even slimmer. However, Renegades GM Rick Mueller dug deep into the talent pool, reaching out to the Chatham Native.
With QB Lindsey Scott moving on from playing to begin his full-time coaching career, Mueller shot Lehnen a text message out of nowhere, introducing himself to Luke less than a week after his collegiate season had ended. The text was so out of the blue Lehnen wasn’t even sure it was real.
“We are excited to bring in a player like Luke and provide him an opportunity to showcase his skills…The talent he brings will capitalize on the experienced roster we have. We look forward to working with him this upcoming season.” -Rick Mueller
The experience has been a whirlwind for Lehnen, as the transition has been a bit quicker than expected. Whether it be learning a new playbook (on the fly), in addition to being “honored” to represent all Division III players at the professional level.
While navigating this new journey, Lehnen has had to balance finding ways to recover/rehab his body as not only did he play almost 60 games in college, he was also a starter on NCC’s Baseball team as well. Between the grueling demands of this past collegiate season, Lehnen has had to revamp his training regime in an effort to stay fresh for training camp. While there have been some aches and pains along the way Lehnen, has continued to hone his craft learning from Luis Perez, and Holton Ahlers both of whom look to be ahead of him on the depth.
Despite going through this uncharted territory, Lehnen has plenty of people in his corner. He’s trained with Michigan Panthers QB Rocky Lombardi, has talked with former NCC QB Broc Rutter, and has talked with former Memphis Showboats Tight End Daniel Helm about the upcoming UFL season and pro transition. One person that’s been in his corner consistently, his wife who not only made the journey to Texas with him but also helps him study his playbook.
While Arlington seems to be settled at Quarterback with Luis Perez returning for his 8th pro season, Lehnen clearly has a place in professional football. As the rookie continues to develop and learn throughout this UFL season, it seems inevitable that when given an opportunity, Lehnen will deliver. While to some this may be a surprise, to those who’ve been paying attention, shouldn’t be too surprised to see Lehnen continuing to make plays no matter at what level.
