Eye of the Storm: Orlando Replenishes QB Room with Bachmeier

An interesting trend has surfaced since the UFL draft in early January. That trend is a group of players who were chosen by UFL teams in that draft, deciding to opt out of playing in the UFL for the 2026 season. Those opt-out decisions require UFL teams to quickly find players to fill roster gaps before training camp begins.

While the Orlando Storm’s roster has not been hit hard by player opt-outs, it has still needed to quickly fill a few gaps. One of those additions occurred last week when the Storm replaced tight end Kole Taylor on their roster for wide receiver K.J. Hamler. This week, one of the Storm’s three quarterbacks, Tanner Mordecai, has decided not play in the UFL during the 2026 season.

The Orlando Storm’s response to Mordecai’s refusal to play is to add quarterback Hank Bachmeier, according to a tweet from UFL insider James Larsen.

For those wondering about Tanner Mordecai, who is on the #Storm's roster page, I am told that he does not plan on joining the #UFL at this point in time.

Orlando's QB room now consists of Jack Plummer, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Hank Bachmeier. https://t.co/g4JXdBnk1e

— James Larsen (@JamesLarsenPFN) February 3, 2026

Hank Bachmeier joins an Orlando Storm quarterback room that boasts NFL experience with Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Jack Plummer. Bachmeier does not bring NFL experience to the Storm, but he does bring a competitive spirit and pocket awareness, which could help him compete for playing time in Orlando in 2026. On the other hand, Bachmeier has been criticized for his lack of arm strength, inconsistent accuracy, and limited mobility, which have led to injuries and an inability to evade opposing pass rushers.

Before coming to the UFL, Bachmeier played six seasons of college football at Boise State University (2019-2022), Louisiana Tech University (2023), and Wake Forest University (2024). Bachmeier played in 29 games during his four seasons at Boise State, completing 536 of 870 pass attempts for 6,605 yards, 41 touchdowns, and 19 interceptions. After the 2022 season, Bachmeier transferred to Louisiana Tech, where he played in 9 games for the Bulldogs. During those games, he completed 67.7% of his passes for 2,058 yards, with 10 touchdown passes and 5 interceptions. During his 6th season of college football, Bachmeier played at Wake Forest, completing 62.7% of his passes for 2,593 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.

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