UFL 2024: Five things to watch for in Week 1
The highly anticipated matchup between the Birmingham Stallions and Arlington Renegades, the reigning champions of the USFL and the XFL, respectively, takes place Saturday (1 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) in the debut of the United Football League.
However, neither Stallions head coach Skip Holtz nor Renegades leader Bob Stoops view it as a contest between those two teams from a year ago. Holtz said he only has about 15 players from last year’s squad on his current roster, while Stoops estimated just 25 to 30 players are back from his 2023 team.
"I’m excited that we have the opportunity to play in it," Holtz said of the UFL opener. "A lot has been made of XFL champion vs. USFL champion, but right now the reality is [that] we’re all in the UFL. We are all part of the same league, and that [has] been kind of an underlying message in the merger — we’ve gone from two to one.
"We’re a different team from a year ago, just like I think Arlington is. … You have two totally different teams that have had a surplus of talent added to both of them."
Stoops echoed those sentiments.
"They’ve won back-to-back championships in the USFL, so that says a lot about them," Stoops said. "We’re in the UFL now, so that part doesn’t really matter anymore. This will go a long way to trying to win a UFL championship."
Holtz spent time during the offseason as a special assistant working with Northwestern interim head coach David Braun, who was transitioning to the new job after Pat Fitzgerald was let go. The Wildcats won eight games, qualified for the Las Vegas Bowl and beat Utah. Northwestern removed the interim tag for Braun at the end of the season.
"It was great," Holtz said. "It was an incredible experience. It was rewarding."
With the two spring football leagues condensing from 16 teams to eight, both Holtz and Stoops expect a jump in competition.
"When you disband four teams from each league, the teams that you get to select — not just us, but everyone around the league gets to select the best players from all those teams — the talent level is really stronger and better," Stoops said. "I get excited because our team is much more talented and deeper than it’s been the last two years. The difference is, so is everyone else."
Here are five things to watch for in the UFL’s Week 1 slate of games:
1. Matt Corral is QB1 for Birmingham
The Ole Miss product won the starting job in a three-man competition between returner J’Mar Smith and newcomer Adrian Martinez, the team announced Thursday.
Still, Holtz said it’s possible that he plays two quarterbacks in the same game at times this season.
A third-round selection by the Carolina Panthers in the 2022 NFL Draft, Corral became expendable when Bryce Young was selected first overall by Carolina in 2023. Looking for somewhere to highlight his skills, Corral signed with the Stallions last month.
Last year’s starter, Alex McGough, led the Stallions to the USFL title before signing with the Green Bay Packers at the season's end, earning a spot on their practice squad.
2. Can YouTube kicker Donald "Deestroying" De La Haye make the jump to pro football?
The San Antonio Brahmas signed De La Haye to a contract in February. He won the starting kicking job in training camp.
He played football at the University of Central Florida in 2015 and 2016. De La Haye signed with the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts in 2019 and appeared in two preseason games, but he did not play in the regular season.
During his time at UCF before NIL became legal, De La Haye created a YouTube channel that broke NCAA rules because he profited off his image as a college athlete. He chose to quit football instead of giving up the channel, which has since grown to 5.8 million subscribers.
Brahmas head coach Wade Phillips said De La Haye has made field goals from 60 yards out in practice and should give San Antonio an edge on kickoffs, which are placed at the 20-yard line in the UFL. The UFL will use the USFL’s version of kickoffs instead of the XFL's version, which NFL owners voted to switch to in a notable change for that league this week.
"He has a tremendous leg and can kick it deep, especially indoors," Phillips said. "Field position is still a big deal in football. If we can get them further back on kickoffs, that gives us a better chance to stop them, get good field position and go from there. I think he’s a tremendous weapon."
3. How will teams handle extra point conversions?
Like the XFL last season, there will be no extra point conversions using the kicker. Instead, teams must run an offensive play, receiving one point from two yards out, two points from five yards out and three points from 10 yards out.
Teams went for one point 25.6% of the time, converting 43.6% of those attempts, according to XFL statistics from last season, while teams went for two points 63.2% of the time and converted 39.7% of those attempts. As expected, teams went for three points the least — just 11.2% of the time – converting 20.8% of those attempts.
Holtz expects to spend the early portion of the season figuring out how to use the conversions efficiently.
"Everybody says go for three," Holtz said. "Well, your odds of making it are very slight. So, I think three-point tries will be desperation when you’re trying to make a comeback."
4. Players to watch: DL Taco Charlton, RB Kirk Merritt
Several former NFL players litter the rosters of the eight UFL teams. They include former Dallas Cowboys first-round pick Charlton (Stallions), former Kansas City Chiefs third-round pick Breeland Speaks (Michigan Panthers) and former Cincinnati Bengals backup QB A.J. McCarron (St. Louis Battlehawks).
Another key player to watch this season, according to Houston Roughnecks head coach Curtis Johnson, is Merritt. At 6-foot and 214 pounds, the Arkansas State product spent time with both the New Orleans Saints and the Miami Dolphins.
With last year’s USFL Offensive Player of the Year Mark Thompson nursing a leg injury, Merritt could be a guy that Houston uses to help fill the void.
"He’s a guy that’s been very, very impressive in camp," Johnson said. "You can get him the ball in space. He’s just so fast, man. He’s one of those guys who can really run."
5. Renegades boast experienced, beefy OL
One of the reasons for the success of QB Luis Perez last season was the protection Arlington’s offensive line provided up front. Perez was sacked just seven times in five games for the Renegades in 2023. He finished 4-1 as a starter.
This season, three of Arlington’s five starting offensive linemen hale from Stoops’ former stomping grounds of Oklahoma, in left tackle Bobby Evans, right guard Dru Samia and right tackle Adrian Ealy.
"They’ve all played on NFL rosters, and they’re still young and really strong players," Stoops said about the trio.
Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him at @eric_d_williams.
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