Select player capsules from the 2024 UFL Orlando Showcase

After a long layoff, the UFL Showcase season was back in session on Sunday, September 29 from Celebration High School in Orlando. Unlike other Showcases this cycle, this one sold out well in advance and the league was not accepting walk-ups as they’d done at others in 2024. There was little acknowledgment from the league that this event even took place, save for a few videos on the league’s Instagram story and a brief video from Houston Roughnecks general manager Will Lewis housed on Houston’s Twitter page. Thanks to Shady Sports Network for providing some of these names.

RB TD Ayo-Durojaiye (Villanova): An appropriate first name for a running back, the Nigerian-born player went to high school in Maryland before committing to Villanova. In his five years there, TD contributed in the backfield but did most of his work as a coverage player on special teams, earning Colonial Athletic Association Second Team (2023) and Third Team (2021) honors for it. On offense, Ayo-Durojaiye never averaged less than 5.0 yards per carry in any season, totaling 14 touchdowns in his college career. There’s still a lot of tread on his tires, as he handled just 310 carries over that time. He was the team’s main kick returner in his final season in addition to his coverage work. Ayo-Durojaiye came in at number 110 on Dane Brugler’s list of top running backs for the 2024 NFL Draft in The Athletic. In May, he was invited to attend rookie minicamp with the Chicago Bears and Kansas City Chiefs as a tryout player.

WR/DB Zion Barnette (Glenville State): A transfer from Concord University in West Virginia, Barnette was Glenville State’s second-leading receiver in 2023, pacing the team in touchdown receptions with five. However, he began his career on the defensive side of the ball at Concord, starting all 11 games at DB in 2019. He began his transition to offense in 2021, playing on both sides of the line of scrimmage.. Starting four games at receiver, Barnette had 16 catches for 246 yards, including two 100-yard receiving games in back-to-back contests. On defense that same season, he had 2.5 tackles for loss and broke up six passes. He concentrated solely on receiver when moving to Glenville State, though he could try out at both spots at the UFL Showcase.

RB Tyler Coleman (Bluefield University): The only stats available for Coleman are for the 2023 season at Bluefield, an NAIA school in the Appalachian Athletic Conference. Coleman played in seven games, rushing 31 times for 108 yards (3.5 average) and a touchdown. Everything I can find on the player indicates he has plenty of eligibility remaining and that he initially committed to Northwest Missouri State in 2022. However, he’s no longer on Bluefield’s football roster.

LB Vincent DiLeo (Delaware Valley University): DiLeo is back in the Showcase rotation after receiving an invitation to the XFL Combine last summer. Afterward, he was one of 28 players to be claimed, becoming, for a short time, an Orlando Guardian. When the Guardians didn’t transfer over to the UFL following the merger, DiLeo was one of many left in the lurch. He found refuge with the Southwest Kansas Storm of the reformed Arena Football League this summer where he played both linebacker and running back. A three-year starter at Delaware Valley University, DiLeo’s highest level of pro football was a training camp stint with Edmonton of the CFL after leaving college.

EDGE David Faccone, Jr. (Morehead State): A sometimes defensive lineman, sometimes linebacker, Faccone moved from the College of DuPage to Monmouth before finishing out his amateur career at Morehead State for two seasons. Faccone never made a big splash at any stop. In 2018 at DuPage, he had 18 tackles and three pass break-ups. Moving to Monmouth was complicated by transfer rules and the COVID-19 pandemic. He finally saw more consistent playing time once he arrived at Morehead State, playing 21 games over his final two seasons. During that time, he tallied 2.5 sacks among 29 total tackles. Faccone’s post-college career has included attendance at GRID Camps and a workout for the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

DT William Green, Jr. (Nevada): A raw prospect with limited playing time in college despite spending six years as an athlete, Green started out at Georgia Military College, where he played for two seasons. It was the most he’d see the field across three different stops. After GMC, he was at Liberty for another two years. One of those years he redshirted, and the second year he played in just four games, recording three tackles. Green finished up at Nevada for two years, though he only played in one, making eight tackles and two sacks in nine contests in 2022. Despite not playing in 2023, the potential that comes along with his size (6’4″, 315 lbs) placed him at number 167 among draft-eligible interior defensive linemen per Brugler. This summer, Green signed with the Green Bay Blizzard of the IFL.

DB Antoine Holloway II (Notre Dame College): A two-year starter at Notre Dame College in Ohio, Holloway stands 5’7″, which will hinder his chances of being seen as a key defensive contributor. However, his production can’t be ignored: In 2021, he tied the Notre Dame record for interceptions in a season with six. He followed that up in 2022 with 62 tackles and 16 passes defensed (tying another program record), picking off two more passes. For his final year, he added another two interceptions, plus four tackles for loss and affixed punt returns to his resume. He was a First Team All-MEC selection and ranked as the 124th safety in the NFL Draft according to Brugler.

LB Brian Horn (The Citadel): The 2023 season was Horn’s seventh in The Citadel’s football program, dating all the way back to 2017, when he took a redshirt year. One thing Horn has going for him is availability (the best “ability” if you ask many in football), as he played a full slate of games for his final five years. Horn’s best year was 2020, when he set career highs in tackles (45), tackles for loss (4.5) and sacks (one). For his career, he tallied 175 tackles, 13.5 for loss, two sacks, seven passes defensed and three fumble recoveries. Horn plays inside linebacker, so was not often asked to rush the passer. Brugler saw him as the 196th linebacker in the 2024 Draft.

WR Kenny Lewis, Jr. (Morehead State): Like DiLeo, Lewis also attended the XFL Combine last year. Unlike DiLeo, he didn’t get claimed afterward. So he’s back for another bite at the apple, once again in Orlando. From my write-up of Lewis last year: “A graduate transfer from West Virginia Wesleyan, Lewis quickly adjusted to Morehead State in his only season there. He caught a pass in all 11 games in which he played, tallying 498 yards and five touchdowns on the season. Lewis also displayed an aptitude for returning kicks and punts.”

DT Ian Marshall (Northern State): Originally at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, Marshall spent two years there before walking on at Oklahoma State in 2020. At the JUCO level, Marshall amassed 12 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks in two seasons. He played in just one game in two years in Stillwater, eventually moving on and finishing up at Northern State. Picking up where he left off before his time at Oklahoma State, Marshall had 18 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks in his final two years. A tad undersized at 6’0″ and 276 pounds, Marshall ranked number 67 among draft-eligible defensive linemen by Brugler.

TE Pat McSweeney (The Citadel): A five-year player at Coastal Carolina, McSweeney moved on to The Citadel as a graduate transfer. His resume as a Chanticleer was quite thin, compiling five receptions in 34 games. McSweeney’s main contributions came on special teams during that time. At Coastal Carolina, McSweeney made numerous student athlete honor roles for his pursuits in the classroom. In 2023 with The Citadel, McSweeney surpassed his previous career receiving numbers, catching nine passes for 101 yards in three games. It was enough for Brugler to rank him as the 66th tight end in the 2024 NFL Draft and for him to get a minicamp tryout with the New York Jets in May.

DB Byron Perkins (Hampton): Though he never started a game in three years at Hampton, Perkins was still a key contributor on defense. Appearing in 27 games over that time, Perkins compiled 44 tackles, nine passes defensed and two interceptions. Listed at 6’3″, that size will be attractive to some teams looking for physical play on the back end of the defense. Perkins made his way to Hampton after two years at Purdue, where he failed to see game action. Notably, Perkins became the first openly gay player in HBCU football history prior to his final season in 2023.

S Jarius Reimonenq (James Madison): College defensive coordinators like to create hybrid positions to set themselves and their schemes apart from others. At James Madison, they played a “rover” that was a hybrid linebacker/defensive back. That was Reimonenq’s position for two years under defensive coordinator Bryant Haines, who now coordinates the defense at the University of Indiana. Reimonenq was not a full-time starter but saw ample playing time. Prior to his time at JMU, he played at Arkansas State for three years, collecting 129 tackles 7.5 tackles for loss, and three interceptions. Reimonenq’s 5’10”, 194 pound frame makes him a safety at the next level, where Brugler had him ranked the 168th prospect at the position in the 2024 NFL Draft.

LB Walter Yates III (Central Florida): Yet another transfer in this new world of college football, Yates first played at Savannah State before making his way to UCF. Yates was thrown into the fire as a true freshman, and he responded with 58 tackles and seven tackles for loss. His final season at Savannah was cut short due to a biceps injury. Like he did as a freshman, Yates jumped right into things with the Knights, finishing third on the team in tackles in 2022 despite starting only three games. Graduating to full-time starter in 2023, Yates set career highs in tackles (80), reaching double-digit tackles in three games. Brugler graded Yates as the 113th-ranked linebacker in the class.