The United Football League held its super dispersal draft on Monday afternoon. Teams continued to fill their roster in anticipation of the 75-man limit for training camp, which is set to begin February 24 in Arlington, Texas. Here are the results, and my analysis, of each team’s draft, beginning with the USFL conference.
Birmingham Stallions
Round
Player, school
Previous team
Years pro
Comments
1
OT Larnel Coleman, Massachusetts
Houston (XFL)
4
Seventh round NFL draft pick of the Dolphins in ‘21; was an LOI signing this off-season
2
S Alijah Holder, Stanford
Seattle
6
Has 10 games of NFL experience; started three with Sea Dragons in 2023
3
QB Jalen Morton, Prairie View A&M
Birmingham
5
When you’re as stacked as the Stallions, you can afford to re-draft your backup QB in the third round
4
CB Terrell Bonds, Tennessee State
San Antonio
7
On his fifth pro league, not bad for a guy not even signed by an NFL team as a UDFA in 2018
5
LS Ryan Langan, Georgia Southern
Birmingham
4
Birmingham keeps one of the top snappers in the league
6
CB Madre Harper, Southern Illinois
Birmingham
5
Went to camp with the Steelers this summer, signed with Stallions as FA in October
7
RB Bo Scarbrough, Alabama
Birmingham
8
Injured most of last year, the local product made some big plays for Stallions in 2022
8
OT Jahmir Ross-Johnson, Texas A&M
Birmingham
3
Started five games last season while battling a shoulder injury
9
RB Zaquandre White, South Carolina
Birmingham
3
Brought back to perhaps compete with Ricky Person as the third back
10
FB Bobby Holly, Louisiana Tech
Birmingham
5
Fan favorite and one of the only true fullbacks in the league
11
WR Myron Mitchell, UAB
Birmingham
4
Another whose ‘23 was cut short due to injury, Mitchell still managed 15 receptions
Analysis: The Stallions’ modus operandi was pretty clear: Draft as many of the team’s players from 2023 as they could. And why not? They won the USFL championship, after all. Many of those drafted were role players or those who suffered injuries last season, perhaps allowing them to fly under the radar of other teams. Scarbrough and Ross-Johnson in particular seem like steals for as late as they were selected, given their starting pedigrees in Birmingham.
QB depth chart update: J’Mar Smith and Adrian Martinez figure to fight for the starting role, with Morton more likely as a backup/third-string candidate. The team seems pretty set here unless there’s a real difference-maker they can add in free agency.
Parks’s team needs:Best player available; RB, ILB, LS
Were they addressed?: For the most part. Birmingham seemed to adhere to the “best player available from OUR 2023 roster” school of thought. Familiarity is important in spring leagues, where a lot of these teams will have a lot of new faces. Gelling won’t be an issue in Birmingham, and that will be to their advantage. They did pick up two more running backs and a long snapper, both on my list of needs. We’ll see if they address linebacker in free agency.
Players on roster prior to free agency: 64 (max 75 for training camp)
Houston Roughnecks
Round
Player, school
Previous team
Years pro
Comments
1
RB Ezra Gray, Alabama State
Memphis
3
On his third USFL/UFL team in as many years after spending six seasons at Alabama State
2
DT Glen Logan, LSU
Houston (XFL)
3
A national champion in college, Logan was a key rotational piece along Wade Phillips’ defensive line in ‘23
3
K Luis Aguilar, Northern Arizona
Philadelphia
3
Hit on 86% of his field goals for Stars last season, including eight in one game
4
G Norman Price, Southern Miss.
San Antonio
9
Struggled mightily in six games with Brahmas last season; lowest PFF grade of any offensive player on team
5
LS Logan Klusman, Kansas
Houston (USFL)
4
Seems to signal Memphis moving on from last year’s LS, Ryan DiSalvo
6
WR Gene Coleman II, Delaware
Houston (USFL)
3
Didn’t last long in Houston: signed there the day after Christmas
Analysis: With one exception, Houston went young, drafting players heading into their third or fourth pro seasons. By only picking six players, Houston left some room to add in free agency after they maxed out with 20 selections in the first dispersal draft. Gray was the first running back taken, and a second one wasn’t selected until the sixth round.
QB depth chart update: None were added in this draft, giving them just Kenji Bahar and Jarrett Guarantano on the roster with free agency set to begin.
Parks’s team needs: TE, K, LS, DB
Were they addressed: Long snapper was. Other than that…
Players on the roster prior to free agency: 68
Memphis Showboats
Round
Player, school
Previous team
Years pro
Comments
1
C Jared Thomas, Northwestern
Seattle
5
All-USFL selection with New Orleans in 2022, went on to start all 11 games with Sea Dragons in 2023
2
P Matthew White, Monmouth
New Orleans
7
Kicked and punted in college, but drafted just to punt in Memphis
3
S Christian McFarland, Idaho State
Birmingham
5
Played in The Spring League and attended HUB Football Camp to get noticed
4
LB Max Roberts, Boston College
Vegas
5
Had five sacks for Vipers in part-time role in 2023
5
WR Lee Morris, Oklahoma
New Orleans
5
Walk-on at Oklahoma was third among Breakers’ wideouts in receiving in ‘23
6
OT Salesi Uhatafe, Utah
New Orleans
7
Nicknamed “Leka,” backed up both guard spots in New Orleans last season
7
CB Will Likely, Maryland
Houston (XFL)
8
Another All-USFL pick in ‘22, Likely saw a lot of time on Roughnecks defense, with seven starts
8
WR Damion Willis, Troy
Seattle
6
A lot of mouths to feed in Seattle’s pass offense last year, but Willis had his moments
9
LS Turner Bernard, San Diego State
New Orleans
4
So highly thought-of coming out of college that he was the rare snapper to get an NFL.com draft write-up
10
CB Tye Smith, Towson
Orlando
10
Veteran brought on by Guardians mid-year to help the defense stop the bleeding
11
K Matt Coghlin, Michigan State
New Orleans
3
Missed just one field goal, no extra points for Breakers last year
12
S Antoine Brooks, Maryland
Seattle
5
Former sixth-round pick of Steelers, a great pick-up at this spot
13
CB Michael Stevens, NC State
New Orleans
7
LA Wildcat in XFL 2020; played for Breakers last two seasons
14
DT Willie Henry, Michigan
Birmingham
9
Starter in playoffs and championship game for Stallions; tallied four sacks in ‘23
Analysis: In selecting the most players of any team in this phase of the dispersal draft, it’s hard to argue the Showboats didn’t get a lot of bang for their buck. In fact, they may have come out of his draft the most improved team in the UFL. Memphis added another six New Orleans players to their roster after they selected 11 in the first phase. Those players will follow their 2023 head coach John DeFilippo to this squad. The only downside in taking so many players is it limits their flexibility to add free agents in the coming days.
QB depth chart update: Of the 14 picks, none were at the QB position. That’s not unexpected, as the team didn’t have much more room to add with four already on the roster heading into this draft.
Parks’s team needs: OL depth, CB depth, LB
Were they addressed?: Thomas has a chance to walk in as the starting center on day one. Uhatafe and Price constitute depth picks. They took three corners, all veterans with recent starting experience. And Max Roberts will provide some pass rush juice off the edge at LB. Check, check, and check.
Players on the roster prior to free agency: 76
Michigan Panthers
Round
Player, school
Previous team
Years pro
Comments
1
CB Nate Brooks, North Texas
Birmingham
6
On his 10th pro team since 2019, Brooks will look to make Michigan his home
2
S Will Adams, Virginia State
Vegas
3
One of top HBCU prospects in 2022, Adams played for new HBCU head coach Cris Dishman (Texas Southern), his defensive coordinator in Vegas
3
OT Eric Abojei, Wyoming
Michigan
2
Started 39 games at Wyoming, invited to Dolphins minicamp in May before signing with Michigan
4
K Cole Murphy, Syracuse
Michigan
7
The Orange have been known to produce talented kickers; Murphy is one of them
5
P Kyle Kramer, Miami (OH)
Michigan
5
The Panthers secure the return of both of their ‘23 specialists in back-to-back picks
6
DE Vantrel McMillan, Chattanooga
Michigan
8
Backup last year was in on nine tackles, 1.5 sacks
Analysis: Michigan focused on retaining its own players, a strategy also used by Birmingham. Both the Panthers and Roughnecks drafted six here after selecting 20 in the first dispersal draft. A team after my own heart, Michigan drafted their two specialists from last season after protecting newly-acquired K Jake Bates and taking P Brock Miller in the first phase, from New Jersey. Given the few selections and doubling up on specialists, it speaks to how unimpressed Michigan’s brass may have been with this draft pool. Either that, or they just really want to create competition at kicker and punter in training camp.
QB depth chart update: The status quo reigns again: Michigan didn’t draft a QB after protecting Danny Etling and Brian Lewerke, then drafting Davis Cheek from the Breakers.
Parks’s team needs: WR, RB, interior OL, DT
Were they addressed?: Not a one; they needed those spots for extra special teamers.
