After a very successful 2023 season with the Birmingham Stallions, wide receiver Deon Cain is happy to be back for the upcoming 2024 season.
“I’m so ready for the experience, to get back into Protective Stadium,” Cain said. “I definitely felt like just last year, in my first year of being in the USFL, Birmingham had a great turnout every home game.”
Deon Cain, a veteran of pro football, attended Tampa Bay Technical High School in Tampa, Florida, playing quarterback for his high school football team. Rated as a five-star recruit he committed to Clemson to play college football.
At Clemson, Cain moved to the wide receiver position. As a true freshman in 2015, he played in 13 games, recording 34 receptions for 582 yards and five touchdowns. In 2016, Cain played in all 15 Clemson games, including their 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship victory over Alabama, racking up 38 receptions for 724 yards and nine touchdowns on the season. After his junior season, Cain decided to forgo his senior year and declared for the 2018 NFL Draft.
He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round (185th overall). However, he tore his ACL in a Colt’s preseason game, prematurely ending a promising rookie season. Cain didn’t make his NFL debut until the Colts’ 2019 season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers, where he had two receptions for 35 yards.
Later in the season, Cain was relegated to the Colt’s practice squad. He was soon signed by Pittsburgh and given playing time where he caught 5 passes for 72 yards in six games. After spending time on the Steelers practice squad, he was again elevated to the active roster on October 17 and January 2, 2021, for the team’s weeks 6 and 17 games, each against the Cleveland Browns, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. Cain would later sign with the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles, but neither engagement would result in playing time.
On March 8, 2023, Cain signed with the Birmingham Stallions for the 2023 USFL season, where he caught 16 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns and was named the 2023 USFL Championship Game MVP after he caught three touchdown passes in his team’s win.
Success in the USFL caused the Philadelphia Eagles to take notice, and they signed Cain in time for their 2023 training camp. However, Cain was released by the Eagles on August 27, 2023, as part of final roster cuts.
On November 30, 2023, Cain re-signed with the Stallions, which is now a team with the UFL, the league that came from the merger of the USFL and XFL leagues.
Cain is now in the Stallions training camp preparing for the upcoming 2024 UFL season. As a receiver, one of Cain’s jobs is to become familiar with both the playbook and the quarterbacks.
“It’s been a lot of just growing stages with the quarterbacks. I feel like we all are trying to get on the same page, which is going to take time,” Cain said. “That’s what you want to do throughout this time for training camp. All these quarterbacks have really been studying and learning the playbook well. Things definitely are starting to click.”
With two football leagues merging into one, the level of talent in training camps is higher than in past years, and Cain has taken notice of this.
“Last year we had a lot of talented guys. With the merger it cut down on a lot of people. Some of the low key guys on our team last year that just haven’t been known. This year, you’re gonna have a lot of guys that have either NFL experience or just years of experience in the league,” Cain explained.
“In this year, definitely, everyone’s really competing. I definitely know this year you’re going to have some guys who have that swag toward them. So, it makes you go to work,” Cain said.
“A lot of competition has been installed and it’s just great. We’re obviously coming together to make it a better league,” Cain said.
Cain had good things to say about Stallions’ head coach Skip Holtz.
“Coach Holtz, he’s really trying to build our team and he’s been taking it every day to build our team the right way,” Cain said. “Everyone’s buying into the system that he’s trying to install on this and I’m definitely excited.”
Moreso, being in a training camp in Arlington, TX, Cain is anxious to be able to return to Protective Stadium in Birmingham and be able to connect with fans.
“You know, connect with them (the fans) and let them know how much we appreciate them,” Cain explained. “The Stallions staff did a great job last year making sure that we all got into the community to really get to know the fans.”
He is also excited for his family to join the throng as Protective Stadium to watch him play.
“I look forward to the first home game,” Cain said.
