The United Football League Showcase season began just over a week ago, as players worked out in front of St. Louis Battlehawks Head Coach Anthony Becht and others at Missouri Baptist University. Based on photos posted to the league’s social channels, a healthy number of players signed up to ball out for what could be their last opportunity at pro football glory. While the league once again did not release the names of those in attendance, the following are known attendees cobbled together from social media resources. Special thanks to UFL Newsroom’s James Larsen, Shady Sports Network, and Alternative Football Network’s Avion Plummer for uncovering many of the names both in this Showcase and others taking place later on.
*DE Cordarrius Bailey (Northern Iowa): Dane Brugler’s draft guide at The Athletic ranked 159 edge rushers entering the 2024 NFL Draft. Bailey was ranked number 154. His standout trait is his length: At 6’3″, Bailey can be a handful for offensive tackles. His listed wingspan (82 1/8 inches) ranks just outside the top 10 of all those edge rushers chronicled by Brugler. The downside? Bailey ran just a 5.66 40-yard dash. That won’t cut it for a defensive end or an outside linebacker. One of Bailey’s goals at the Showcase should’ve been to get that number down significantly in front of UFL personnel. After limited time at Iowa State, Bailey transferred to UNI for his final two seasons. There, he combined to make 64 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks in 22 games.
*WR Jaelin Carter (Louisville): Often when players transfer to move up a level, they’re betting on themselves. That’s exactly what Carter did. He played three years at Eastern Kentucky, a full-time starter in one of them, logging 37 receptions in 32 games. Carter then walked on at Louisville where he sat out 2020 due to transfer rules and redshirted, playing as a backup in four games in 2021. His opportunity finally came in 2022 when he was put on scholarship and played in 10 games. Carter finished fifth on the team in receiving with seven catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
*QB Kory Curtis (Gannon): Curtis attended the Orlando XFL Showcase in October 2023. A high-school star from southwest Florida, Curtis bounced from Ohio State to Bryant University before settling on Gannon. He played well at the Division II level but found no takers after he entered the 2023 NFL Draft. At the 2024 Big 12 Pro Day, Curtis was brought in to throw to the draft-eligible receivers. He showed enough there to earn a rookie minicamp invitation from the Seattle Seahawks in May, allowing him to keep a foot in the pro football door.
*DB Lakevias Daniel (Southern Miss.): Rising from the JUCO ranks to the SEC with Ole Miss and finally to Southern Mississippi, Daniel saw his most extensive action in 2021 with the Golden Eagles. There, he made 32 tackles, tallied five passes defensed and two interceptions. Though he didn’t receive any NFL offers after coming out in the 2023 draft, Daniel has bounced around the indoor football world, already having been a part of four teams in just one year.
*OT Zach Fortier (North Central): Fortier’s versatility will interest UFL teams, as he started double-digit games at both right and left tackle across his college career. He saved his best for last, earning All-CCIW First-Team honors in 2023 in helping his squad to Division III-leading offensive stats in the areas of points per game and total yards per game, while setting school records in many others. Fortier showed up as the 88th-ranked offensive tackle in Brugler’s draft guide.
*LB Jason Freeman (South Dakota State): The majority of good college players often find themselves off NFL radars because they are deemed too small or too slow. Freeman would fit into the “too small” category: He measured in at just 5’8″, an unheard of size for a linebacker. Yet, he was able to start for the 2023 FCS Champion Jackrabbits, who went undefeated in 15 games. Freeman was an NAIA transfer, playing his final two years in Brookings. In 2023, he led the team in tackles with 105, the second year in a row he was their tackle king. He also notched five tackles for loss, six passes defensed, and three fumble recoveries. He clocked in at 92 in Brugler’s ranking of 2024 draft-eligible linebackers.
*WR Dominic Gicinto (UNLV): Graduating high school early so he could participate in spring ball with his home state Missouri Tigers, that jumpstart allowed Gicinto to see the field as a true freshman in 2018, catching 15 passes. When Eli Drinkwitz replaced Barry Odom as head coach in 2020, Gicinto decided to transfer in November of that season, with the new head coach citing Gicinto’s desire to find a better offensive system fit. He ended up at New Mexico State for two seasons, He played in just four games over those two years, one of them getting cut short due to injury. His final year of eligibility was spent at UNLV, where he played in 14 games but caught only seven passes. Expect to find him in the slot when lined up in formation.
*RB Geno Hess (SE Missouri State): We’re seeing more and more pro prospects coming out of this Ohio Valley Conference school. Hess was ranked as the 58th running back in the 2024 Draft by Brugler. Across six collegiate seasons, Hess ran the ball a staggering 875 times, compiling over 5,000 rushing yards, 63 touchdowns, and a 5.9 yard per carry average. A bruiser at 5’8″, 218 pounds, Hess is a four-time All-OVC First-Team selection at RB. If you had to ding him for something, it’s that heading into his final season, he caught just 17 passes. As a senior, he hauled in 28, improving that aspect of his game.
*WR Derrick Hinton, Jr. (Saginaw Valley State): Hinton’s stats improved each year he was with the Cardinals, culminating in a 52-catch, 595-yard performance in 2023. His work earned him First Team All-GLIAC honors that fall after making the second team in 2022. Hinton began his playing career at Lawrence Tech University in Michigan before moving on to SVSU in 2021. He made Brugler’s draft guide for 2024, coming in at number 159 in the receiver group. He ran a 4.50 40-yard dash at 5’7″, 168 pounds.
*QB Tucker Horn (Trinity University): Coming from the hotbed of high-school football in Texas, Horn stayed in the Lone Star State for college, attending Trinity University in San Antonio. A three-year starter, Horn threw for 97 touchdowns in his career versus just 17 interceptions. In his final season in 2023, he had an out-of-this-world 34-3 TD-INT ratio. Naturally, the honors came rolling in for Horn: They included being three-time SAA (Southern Athletic Association) Offensive Player of the Year and a three-time All-SAA First-Team selection. Even with those numbers and accolades, it’s a big jump from Division III to the pros.
*DE Sidney Houston, Jr. (Ball State): Linebacker number 179 in Brugler’s 2024 draft guide, Houston is listed as an edge rusher on Ball State’s website. Despite being recorded there at 6’2″, he came in just over 6’0″ in official measurements, which could be part of the reason he projects better to linebacker. A transfer from D-II McKendree University, Houston put up some nice numbers in two years with the Cardinals. He came in and made a difference right away, making 67 tackles, 7.5 for loss, and four sacks in 2022. He followed that up with an even stronger 2023: His tackles were down but his TFLs were up significantly (17), and his sacks doubled. At the end of April, Houston signed with Saskatchewan of the CFL.
*RB Darius Morrison (Missouri Baptist University): Morrison got to work out on his home turf where he played college football for MBU. A transfer from Lindenwood, Morrison had his best season in 2023, rushing 123 times for 775 yards and seven touchdowns. He averaged a healthy 6.3 yards per carry, finishing with 5.7 in 303 career totes. A DB/RB in high school, Morrison initially committed to Missouri Western, where he played one year as a defensive back before moving on to Missouri Baptist and changing positions.
*DL Lee Privett (Peru State): One of the older players on this list, having played his last college game in 2018, Privett was a four-year player with the Bobcats. Not much can be found about his time there, though it appears he was predominantly a backup: The school website, in chronicling those acknowledged at Senior Day 2018, credited him with just one tackle. Privett comes from the same small school that produced current Arlington Renegade CB Delonte Hood.
*WR Noah Sarria (Colorado Mesa): A Missouri native, Sarria played at two different colleges in Colorado. He began at Northern Colorado before finishing up at Colorado Mesa for two seasons. In those years, he combined for 27 catches, 421 yards, and four touchdowns. Eligible for the 2024 NFL Draft, Sarria’s measurements included standing 5’9″ and weighing 200 pounds, running the 40 in 4.54 seconds. In an interview with The Gridiron Crew, Sarria cited his physicality and his ability to play any receiver spot among his strengths as a player.
*WR Said Sidibe (Virginia Union): Sidibe made three stops in his college career, first at the University of Virginia-Lynchburg, then at Central State University, and finally at Virginia Union. This past fall, Sidibe was by far the leading receiver for the 10-2 Panthers, securing more than double the number of catches as second-place on the team, with 553 receiving yards – 332 more than next-best. He has also shown the ability to run with the ball, doing so 11 times in two years. He worked out at Old Dominion’s pro day in March, where he ran a 4.77 40-yard dash.
*WR Phoenix Sproles (James Madison): The cousin of former NFL running back Darren Sproles, Phoenix played his final season at JMU but before that, was at FCS powerhouse North Dakota State. In 2023, he had 52 catches in 13 games, averaging just 8.5 yards per reception. In five years with the Bison, Sproles started 29 of 50 games and caught 61 passes over that period. He also ran the ball seven times, showing some offensive versatility. Sproles has a championship pedigree, having been a part of three North Dakota State FCS Championship teams. Given his size (just over 5’11”) and lack of speed (4.77 40), his pro future is likely in the slot.
*RB Justin Strong (Southern Illinois): Just behind Hess at number 68 on Brugler’s RB ranking is Strong. He rushed for over 1,300 yards in his Salukis career. A full-time starter for just two seasons, Strong doesn’t have a lot of tread on his tires: He never rushed more than 84 times in a season. During the pre-draft process, Strong killed it, running a 4.46 40 and registering a Relative Athletic Score of 9.94, the 12th highest out of 1,804 running backs since 1987. Following the draft, Strong was invited to rookie minicamp with the Indianapolis Colts.
*DB Franky West, Jr. (Eastern Kentucky): After four seasons at Illinois State, including a redshirt freshman year, West transferred to Eastern Kentucky for his capstone. In 2022, West was the highest-graded FCS defensive back according to Pro Football Focus. It was his first year as a full-time starter, intercepting two passes and making 48 tackles. While he didn’t intercept a pass in his one season at EKY, he did have a hand in seven passes defensed in nine games. West came in at number 150 on Brugler’s list of cornerbacks for the 2024 draft; his 5’9″, 181-pound frame may be a deterrent for some teams.
*WR Dan Williams III (Jackson State): A spring football veteran, Williams was a three-year starter at Jackson State, parlaying those performances into NFL opportunities with Washington and the New York Jets in the NFL. He never played a regular season game, however, and at that point he turned his attention to the alternative leagues. In 2019, Williams played four games with the Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football. He moved on to the XFL with the Tampa Bay Vipers in 2020, starting all five games and catching 23 passes for Marc Trestman’s squad. The COVID-19 pandemic and the XFL’s bankruptcy led Williams to turn his attention to the CFL, where he became a Calgary Stampeder for a time in 2021. He was back in the XFL in 2023 and back in Florida with the Orlando Guardians after being acquired off waivers from the San Antonio Brahmas.
*DL Joe Zanca (DePauw University): No, I did not misspell “DePaul University”; this is a division III school located in Indiana. In fact, they’ve made the D-III playoffs the last three seasons. Zanca’s final year was in the first of those three seasons, 2021. A high-school wrestler, Zanca knows how to mix it up in the trenches. He played five years at DePauw, covering 44 games. Listed at 5’11” and 247 pounds, Zanca amassed 137 tackles, 34 tackles for loss and 14 sacks during that period. The picture of Zanca on his profile page via the school’s website shows a guy who’s ready to attack the action.
