Skip Holtz and J'Mar Smith Preview BHM's Week 8 Matchup
May 17, 2025 - United Football League (UFL)
Birmingham Stallions News Release
Head Coach Skip Holtz and Quarterback J'Mar Smith met with the media via Zoom on Friday to discuss the Stallions' Week 8 pairing against the St. Louis Battlehawks inside The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis, MO on Saturday afternoon. With a win against St. Louis or a Houston loss to Michigan, the Stallions will clinch a spot in the USFL Conference Championship Game on June 8.
Coach Holtz began his media availability by addressing Birmingham's week of practice and how high temperatures in the Arlington area have changed the everyday practice schedule. "Well, we are here in St. Louis," said Coach Skip Holtz. "It was a short week of practice. We had a problem with the heat down in Arlington, so everybody was regulated to only 90 minutes on the field, which cut down on our one work day. I am proud of the way that our players handled it. I thought they had a great week, were extremely focused, dialed in, and understood the magnitude of this game. It's Week 8 of the season, and the ultimate goal is still on hand, which is to make the playoffs, and that is a goal that we have had since the beginning of the season. It has been tough, especially with some of the injuries we have had and all the ups and downs, but our goal is to get in the playoffs, continue to get better, and see where we are at the end of the season. I think we played our best football in the second half of last week, where I felt like we came together as a football team and played extremely well. Hopefully, we can see a complete game in all four quarters with that type of effort and execution. I'm excited to return to the field, and I know our guys are ready to play again this week."
The Dome at America's Center is home to one of the largest and loudest crowds in the UFL; Coach Holtz addressed Birmingham's preparations to deal with a hostile and rowdy crowd while on the road. "Going into a game like this, you expect crowd noise to be a problem," said Holtz. "What you don't want to do is get there and realize that the environment is louder than you thought. We played in the championship a year ago, which was held in the Dome against San Antonio, but that game wasn't against St. Louis. We know that we are going to have a great crowd. I applaud the people in St. Louis for how they support this team and how they support the organization. And we know that it's going to be a big crowd; we know it's going to be loud, and we have talked to a couple of other teams that have played here, and it has not been an issue. But, I would much rather over-prepare for it than have not prepared for it and have to have it on game day."
Holtz continued his media availability by addressing the quarterback situation for the Stallions. "Alex McGough got cleared this week," said Holtz. "Case Cookus didn't finish the game last week, and we had Andrew Peasley, who is coming off an injury and was unavailable last week. I was anxious to see where they were. Alex (McGough) has been cleared, which made us either sign him up for the active roster or release him. We signed him, but he is just not ready to play yet. Case (Cookus) was minimal at the beginning of the week with what he could do, Andrew Peasley was very limited with what he could do, and we went out on the first day of practice this week with only one healthy quarterback. The last thing I want to do is put a player out there in an injured game; I don't want to put anyone in harm's way."
Holtz addressed the play of Max Duggan and praised the job that Head Coach Anthony Becht has done in his three years in St. Louis. "I remember watching Max Duggan in college," said Holtz. "They made that great run to the championship game in 2022, and everyone said they don't play anybody, but they just kept winning. It's a real testament to what type of competitor he is and what type of leader he is, and he has that "it" factor. He is a talented player and got his opportunity because of an injury. He has done a nice job leading their offense with his ability to run and pass. As far as Coach Becht is concerned, I greatly respect him, and he does an excellent job. With this being one of his first coaching jobs, he is a hard worker; they had a great offseason getting a quality roster together. They are playing great football right now, and giving them the home-field advantage that they will have will be big for them and make it an actual test for us. I have great respect for Coach Becht and the job he has done, but also for Max Duggan, the type of player he is, and the job he has done replacing an outstanding quarterback who had their offense flowing.
J'Mar Smith began his media availability by touching on how exciting it is for him to be back under center for the Stallions. "This week of practice has been great for me," said Smith. "Getting all those reps and getting that flow back with the guys has been great. Coach Holtz has said that I was the guy who came in and knew the offense that we were running, knew the scheme and just wanted to get connected with the guys and understand what they liked. For this week, St. Louis is a great team; they have a great defense, and we have to go out there, execute, and do what we do."
Smith was asked about his past three weeks, from emergency quarterback to backup to starter. "I never think about the future too much and always try to be where my feet are. When the opportunity came to come back, I knew I had to get back into the right mindset mentally of being a quarterback. I did more conditioning; I've been ready, stayed ready, and thrown with receivers since last season."
Furthermore, Smith was asked if he ever considered retiring from the game for good. "I give credit to my quarterback trainer in Birmingham, Demetric Price; we call it PEQA, our quarterback academy. Our QB academy trains right by Protective Stadium underneath the overpass, and I told Coach Holtz before training camp that I felt like I had a lot of gas in the tank. We had a great conversation about my passion and interest in getting into coaching. That is something Coach Holtz said, and I could help coaching, but I knew my playing days were over just yet."
Smith was highly productive and efficient in Sunday's win over Houston, and the veteran quarterback looks to apply that to an entire game on Sunday. "I want to have a ton of energy and not pat myself on the back too much," said Smith. "You could tell in that game on Sunday how much the energy shifted from sideline to sideline. We must come out with that same energy we had in the second half and apply it to the entire game. Playing these guys, it might be too late if we waited until the second half to turn the lights on. We have been a great second-half team, but we want to start that engine in the first half and get it rolling early."
Smith ended his media availability by addressing Harrison Mevis and the luxury of a quarterback having a quality kicker. "As an offense, you always want to end your drive with a kick. If we can get Harrison in a good position to make a field goal, that would be huge for us. Like last week, that 52-yarder he drilled was huge for us. I remember hugging him and being so thankful that he made that. Everyone on the team has a job, and it's nice to have a guy like him that does his job so well."
United Football League Stories from May 17, 2025
- Skip Holtz and J'Mar Smith Preview BHM's Week 8 Matchup - Birmingham Stallions
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