Skip Holtz Previews Birmingham's Regular Season Finale at Memphis

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UFL Birmingham Stallions

Skip Holtz Previews Birmingham's Regular Season Finale at Memphis

May 31, 2025 - United Football League (UFL)
Birmingham Stallions News Release


Head Coach Skip Holtz met with the media via Zoom on Friday to discuss the Stallions' Week 10 pairing against the Memphis Showboats inside Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, TN, on Sunday, June 1. With a win against Memphis or a Michigan loss to Houston, the Stallions would lock up the No. 1 overall seed in the USFL Conference Championship Game on June 8 at Protective Stadium.

Coach Holtz began his media availability by addressing the status of his squad and how much growth and improvement he has seen out of this team throughout a 10-week regular season. "Here we are, Week 10," said Coach Holtz. "We told the team at the beginning of the season that we are only guaranteed 10 games, and here we are. If you look at what has transpired throughout the nine games we have played this season, I am proud of what this team has accomplished, but I don't think we are done yet. I know many people want to talk about how there is not much to play for in this game because we know our matchup for next week. For this football team, this game on Sunday is still a big deal. We set out to win the USFL Conference this season, which gets us in the Championship Game the following week. What we have been able to accomplish with probably one of the more trying years that I have been involved with all our injuries, especially at the quarterback position. I am extremely proud of what this team has been able to accomplish. We have to go out there on Sunday, play one more regular season game, and execute at a high level. What we are trying to do is not just ensure we are in the playoffs, but we are building momentum as we go into the playoffs. We will have the chance to see a few new faces in this game and see how they will play, which is exciting. I told the team that the Birmingham Stallions have been in the playoffs for all four years of spring football. I am proud of what this team has accomplished, but we are not done yet."

The Stallions' first matchup against the Showboats this season happened to be the first-ever overtime game in UFL history, and the game saw several key plays that did not bounce Birmingham's way, which was critical in deciding the outcome. "Defensively, that Week 5 game against Memphis wasn't our best effort," said Holtz. "We did some things that night that were a bit uncharacteristic. That was Case Cookus' first start of the season, and we left a lot of offense on the field. We would certainly like to have a couple of defensive plays back. You can look at many things and say, "What about, what about, what about." That game was the fifth game of the season for us, and all four prior games were coming at night, mainly on the road, which means we are returning to Arlington around 5 a.m. That weighs on you. We played tired that night and are excited to put a better foot forward on Sunday against Memphis. If you look at this Memphis team, everyone initially gets caught up with their record, but they lost to D.C. by five points, they lost to Houston twice by one point, they beat us, and pretty much every game they play in is a close one. They are a talented team, extremely physical; they do a great job defensively and don't give up many points. We will have to control the controllables, and we can control how we play, which means being dialed in on all of our assignments. The expression I always use is picking the ball up and throwing it to first base; there is no need to turn two if nobody is on first. We are a good football team when we make routine plays. It won't take a superhuman effort, but it will take 11 people pulling the rope in the same direction at the same time."

Coach Holtz addressed how the quarterback position will be played this weekend and how Holtz and the coaching staff have dealt with the revolving door at QB this season. "It has been a mind-boggling adjustment when you have to play five quarterbacks," said Holtz. "When you look at this season, Alex McGough has played in one game, Matt Corral played in three, Case Cookus in three, Andrew Peasley in half of one game and then got hurt, and now J'Mar Smith has played in two. Every quarterback we have had this season has never had an opportunity to get into a rhythm. One of the things we were talking about with the TV talent for Sunday is the guys who have made huge strides over the season. The guys that come to mind for me are Cade Johnson and Jalen Camp, two guys who have been able to play all nine games and have just developed so much throughout the season. The frustrating thing is that we have had no real opportunity to develop a quarterback. As soon as Matt (Corral) came along, he got hurt, and the same was true with Case (Cookus). We have been trying to work Alex McGough back in, but he is not ready because of his shoulder injury. We keep trying to give him some work to see where he is, but he is not ready to go just yet. Football is a game you can't simulate, and it's tough to get that development in players when they aren't out there. For this week's game, J'Mar Smith will start for us, and he has earned that from how he has played. He's always had a great feel of the game and has done a nice job for us. I would love to get Andrew Peasley involved in this game. I was impressed with the half that he got to play, and I would like to get him involved. I wanted Peasley in there last week, but the opportunity never presented itself with all the lead changes."

Coach Holtz continued his media availability by advocating for support from the community for the organization and the league. "I would like to think that the future of the Stallions in Birmingham is bright," said Holtz. "This league is on some excellent footing right now, and we have talked about the capital investments behind the league, which was probably the biggest issue with past spring football leagues. We have a committed financial group behind the UFL with Redbird and FOX, and the management is extremely committed. There will always be negative mumbles, but we have had some tough weeks this season. We played on Mother's Day at 11 a.m. It was a tough draw for us. We have had four games at home, and each one has had a 50% chance or higher of rain. I am not trying to make excuses; that is just the reality of it. The crowd that we've had has been great. I would love to see it even more packed for our playoff game on June 8. Our crowd is extremely passionate about football and very knowledgeable about the game. Our awesome groups are in the Horsemen and the Pyramid of Flesh in the end zone. The noise the crowd was making last week was awesome when our defense had to make that stop. I'd love for us to get 20,000 people in the stands and make a huge home-field advantage. I think that professional football in Birmingham is huge. I can't tell you how many people talked about the Stallions in the 1980s and how much they loved those teams. We continue professional football in Birmingham not on a chat line but by buying tickets, coming to the games, and supporting the team."

Quarterback is not the only position that has seen a lot of injuries. Edge rushers, defensive ends, and outside linebackers have all been spots where Coach Holtz and General Manager Paul Roell have had to make several key decisions and transactions throughout the season. With Bradlee Anae's and Ronnie Perkins's current absence, Birmingham's defense must rely on its depth to continue wreaking havoc in the opponent's backfield. "The two positions that have been affected the most with injuries are the quarterbacks and the defensive ends," said Holtz. "The thing that made it so hard with the defensive ends is that coming into the season, every single one of them was new. We didn't have any returning players on the edge, and we knew we had some talented guys, but we hadn't seen them before. We have added some new guys throughout the year who have done a nice job once Anae and Perkins went down. You look at how great of a job Bradlee Anae was doing, a new piece to our defense that immediately got comfortable and started doing some great things for us. Ronnie Perkins was coming along, and by the halfway point, I thought we were creating some stability at that defensive end position. When we lost those guys to injury, players like Delontae Scott, Myjai Sanders, and Max Roberts were getting more opportunities to play. Hopefully, we can get Anae back next week and get him back in the rotation."

Coach Holtz concluded his media availability by addressing the defensive secondary's play over the past few weeks. "I like the body of work that the secondary has put together this season," said Holtz. "Shyheim Carter is a guy that didn't play much early in the season, and he is coming along; JoJo Tillery is a veteran for us and provides a lot of stability. In these past few weeks, we lost two corners we had to replace. We brought back Nevelle Clarke to provide us with some depth. Our secondary has played well this season; they have done a good job of keeping the ball in front all season. You never want to give up any big plays in a game, but early in the season, we got a bit spoiled because we weren't giving up any explosive plays. Suddenly, we have a couple of injuries and start playing some new faces, and we start to have a few defensive breakdowns. However, we are working through that and getting it fixed. Corey Chamblin has done a great job of managing all of them. We must be careful at how much zone and man we play, and I don't think we have the defense to line up and play man every single down. In professional football, you can never say "always." You will get exposed if you always play man or zone. Corey has done a great job mixing up those looks to keep the opposing offense on their toes. Our defense is extremely mature, which allows our coaching staff to do a bit more because they are so responsible and such good students of the game."

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