
Inside the UFL
by Fran Stuchbury
May 29, 2025 - United Football League (UFL)
As the United Football League comes to a close, quarterbacking will be under the microscope.
In the XFL Conference the D.C. Defenders and Arlington Renegades have had the same starter every week with Jordan Ta'amu for the Defenders and Luis Perez for the Renegades achieving some different results.
Under Ta'amu the Defenders are 6-3 and will be playing against the St. Louis Battlehawks for the XFL Championship on Sunday, June 8th. He has passed for 2,153 yards, 17 touchdowns with four interceptions, plus 178 yards and two rushing scores in addition to one nine-yard receiving touchdown.
Ta'amu recorded a pair of statement victories this season: an 18-11 home victory over the defending champion Birmingham Stallions in week one and a 27-15 road win over the St. Louis Battlehawks in week three. Another impressive victory took place in week five against Arlington when they came back from a 27-12 deficit and completed the largest comeback in UFL history to win the game 37-33.
With Luis Perez at the helm the Renegades are 4-5 and in third place in the XFL Conference. Perez passed for 2,015 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions. They started the UFL season 3-1 with an impressive week four win, 30-15 win over the St. Louis Battlehawks. Their five losses have come by a combined 15 points, including one point setbacks on the road week in week three at Birmingham and at home in week seven against Michigan.
After Manny Wilkins went down win a torn ACL, St. Louis turned to Max Duggan who has done a solid job, leading the Battlehawks on a five-game winning streak. His most impressive victories took place in week five, a 32-27 home victory over Michigan, and in week eight, a 29-28 home victory Birmingham. Duggan has passed for 696 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions. Duggan has also made plays on the ground with 299 rushing yards and five scores.
It's been musical chairs at the starting quarterback position for the San Antonio Brahmas which is a big reason they sit at 1-8 in last place in the Conference. Kellen Mond started the first five weeks including an impressive week four road victory against the D.C. Defenders. Mond was benched in week five for Jarrett Guarantano who struggled, too. Kevin Hogan took over the following week and showed some flashes. In a week eight home loss to the Memphis Showboats Hogan passed for just 92 yards and threw three interceptions. Mond returned as the starter and only passed for 103 yards in a 39-13 loss to the Battlehawks.
In the USFL Conference each team's quarterback position has been unstable for varying reasons.
Oddly, the 6-3 Birmingham Stallions have seen the most starters.
They started the season with Alex McGough who suffered a shoulder injury early in week two. In came Matt Corral who went down with a hip injury late in week four. Case Cookus was the next man up, but he ended up suffering an elbow injury in week seven against the Houston Roughnecks. J'Mar Smith came out of retirement to stabilize the position. His most impressive performance was last week, passing for 306 yards and two touchdowns in a 26-22 home victory over Michigan.
Michigan, also 6-3, has gone with two quarterbacks, Bryce Perkins and Danny Etling. Perkins has passed for 1,342 yards nine touchdowns with just two interceptions. Perkins also has an impressive 269 yards and five rushing scores.
Check out Michigan Panthers QB Bryce Perkins' Underdog Story:
Etling has passed for 521 yards five touchdowns with one interception. Perkins has not played since week seven as he is resting an ankle injury. The Panthers will play at the Stallions for the USFL Championship on Sunday, June 8th.
The 4-5 Houston Roughnecks have started three different quarterbacks.
First was Anthony Brown who threw for 207 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. Nolan Henderson came off the bench to rally the Roughnecks to an 18-17 week three road victory over the Memphis Showboats. The following week Henderson injured his shoulder. Jalan McClendon has gone 3-2 the last five games as a starter. He has passed for 1,271 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions.
The 2-7 Memphis Showboats have yet to settle on a passer, rotating E.J Perry, Troy Williams and Dresser Winn.
Their best victory came in week five, a 24-20 overtime victory at the Birmingham Stallions in which Winn passed for 235 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. That was the Stallions first loss at home since May 13, 2023.
The Showboats have shown very little progress after going 2-8 last season.
UFL Top 10 Plays From Week 9
Every Touchdown of Week 9
Week 9 Games
Friday May 30th
St. Louis Battlehawks at D.C. Defenders - 8 pm est. FOX
Saturday May 31st
Houston Roughnecks at Michigan Panthers - 3 pm est. ESPN
Sunday June 1st
Arlington Renegades at San Antonio Brahmas - 12 pm est. ABC
Birmingham Stallions at Memphis Showboats - 3 pm est. FOX
EXTRA POINTS
- Friday's San Antonio Brahmas telecast at St. Louis on FOX had 540,000 viewers. Saturday's Michigan at Birmingham game on ABC totaled 596,000 viewers. Ratings were not available for the Arlington at Memphis game that was moved to ESPN+ due to a three hour weather delay. Sunday's D.C. Defenders at Houston Roughnecks broadcast on FOX completed the weekend with with 1,348,000 viewers. The Indianapolis 500 served as a strong lead-in with 7.05 million viewers.
- Attendance at Friday's San Antonio at St. Louis game was 27,890. Saturday's Arlington at Memphis battle drew 2,004, and the Michigan at Birmingham game attracted 10,344, while Sunday's D.C. at Houston contest drew 6,684.
- Birmingham Stallions quarterback J'Mar Smith, Arlington Renegades linebacker Donald Payne and Birmingham Stallions wide receiver Deon Cain were named the OurSports Central United Football League Offensive Player, Defensive Player and Unsung Hero of the Week, respectively, for week nine of the UFL season.
- Teams went five-of-thirteen on one-point conversion attempts from the two-yard line, two-of-ten on two-point conversions from the five-yard line, and zero-of-one three-point conversions from the 10-yard line.
- My UFL Best Bet Lock of the Week is the Arlington Renegades -5.5 over the San Antonio Brahmas. Even with post-season hopes extinguished for the Renegades, Bob Stoops will have his team motivated to win this game and end the season at 5-5. The 1-8 Brahmas have been reeling with five straight losses.
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The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
