SKIP HOLTZ AND DAVION DAVIS PREVIEW BHM'S WEEK 7 MATCHUP ON SUNDAY
By Jesse Kelley
MAY 10, 2025 - BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
Head Coach Skip Holtz and Wide Receiver Davion Davis met with the media via Zoom on Friday to discuss the Stallions' Week 7 pairing on Sunday against the Houston Roughnecks inside Protective Stadium. Holtz, Davis, and the entire Birmingham squad want to extend their winning streak over the Roughnecks to five straight.
Native Texan Davion Davis had a productive game against the Roughnecks on April 19. Hauling in a pair of receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown. The Sam Houston State alum started his media availability with much anticipation for Sunday's USFL Conference matchup. "We still have that one game at a time mentality," said Davis. "We are taking this season day-by-day and continually stacking bricks to build on this team's foundation. Hopefully, we can finish the job against another solid opponent this weekend."
With all of the injuries that the Stallions' quarterback room has sustained this season, that would negatively impact the rhythm and connection between the receiving core. However, Davis mentioned that the Stallions' receivers take the same mentality and game plan regardless of who calls the shots under center. "We all work with each and every quarterback throughout the season at practice," said Davis. "We are always communicating after each play and letting each other know what we see on the field. There have been zero communication or rhythm issues with all the different QBs. If we are all on the same page, the quarterback is reading his keys, and the receiver is where we need to be, we'll be okay."
Davis is one of the more electric return men in the UFL. Both he and Amari Rodgers rank in the top 10 in total punt return yardage this season. "Returning punts is one of my favorite things to do on a football field," said Davis. "When I do get the opportunity to return a punt and produce for our team, the game just slows down a bit, and I feel like I can put my best foot forward and put our team in a great position to win. No matter how I feel on any game day, it is irrelevant; I have to go out each week and give my best in every facet of the game." Furthermore, a common case for UFL players jumping to the NFL is being a vital part of the special teams game. It shows my versatility. In four of our interceptions that we have thrown this year, I tackled the defender. So it shows that I can do the dirty work on kickoff, punt, and I'll be there anywhere the team needs me."
The art of becoming a dynamic punt returner all starts with patience and explosiveness. "For me, being a punt returner helps the game slow down," said Davis. "After the ball is kicked, I will take one or two looks down at how the coverage team is pursuing the play, and after that, I'll secure the catch and ensure that I am setting up my blocks the correct way. Depending on the return that we have called, I am either going to stretch and cut, or just catch the ball and immediately get vertical. Whatever happens after that is based on my athleticism and how well we have the return blocked. I am always thankful for my guys when they block for me; without them, I wouldn't have been able to return for as many yards as I have." Davis added that the Stallions' special teams unit presented the two-person return look when Davis and Rodgers were both back as returns at the same time. "When we have two returners, we know the punter will have to kick it to one of us. We've successfully returned punts this year, and Amari (Rodgers) is extremely close. We will go out there and put our bodies on the line for each other. We know that whoever ends up catching the ball, the other one, is going to do a great job blocking. We are hoping that every time we get the ball on a return that we make an explosive play. It's a blessing to be in the position that we are in."
The Stallions' Week 7 game will be played on Mother's Day, and Davis mentioned how much of a positive impact that several influential women have had in his life. "It all started with my grandmother," said Davis. "She was the big driving force behind me playing football in the first place. She always talked about how she knew I would be a football player, which panned out that way. She passed away in 2011, and I play football for her every time I step out onto the field; I want to honor her and show that I am living through her. When I score, I always point to my son's name, which I have tattooed on my arm, and then I kiss my grandmother when I walk out of the tunnel and onto the field. I always want to thank her for everything that she has done for me, and without her, I wouldn't be in the current position that I am in. Also, my wife is someone who always helps me calm down. Once warmups end and we return to the locker room, I always call my wife and son, which helps me come back down to Earth. That little sense of calm is so nice. Without my wife, I would not be as calm as I am. I love her to death for being my children's mother and for everything we have been through. I will always be there for each other, and I am extremely blessed to have all of these special women in my life."
Head Coach Skip Holtz took the mic, opening his media availability by recapping this week's practices and what he sees in the second bout with Houston coming up on Sunday. "Going back to last week's game, we are all really excited about the win against San Antonio," said Skip Holtz in his opening statement. "I thought Case Cookus played much better in his second start, and I thought he looked much more comfortable out there last week. After his first start, I said that I regretted the most that I couldn't get him more comfortable in our offense. Now that we have had a whole week to practice as a quarterback, I think he is getting more comfortable and learning every day. Case told me this morning when we were watching a film that this was the first time he had been put into a couple of certain situations. That's fine; we'll learn from it, grow from it, and move on. I am pleased that we could play a little bit better offensively, and I think that the key to the game last week was how our defense played. Our defense is playing really well as an entire unit; they communicate and talk, and all four of our core linebackers are playing extremely well together. Kyahva Tezino, Chapelle Russell, DeMarquis Gates, and Tae Crowder are all doing a great job. Carlos Davis is doing a great job up front, and Perrion Winfrey is doing great. All of those guys are playing extremely solid against stopping the run. We are doing a great job of making the opponent's offense throw the ball, and we were able to create two turnovers for the first time this season. I like how our defense plays together. We will get Mario Goodrich and Kenny Robinson Jr. back, which will help our defense. On special teams, I think Chris Boniol is doing a really nice job from a special teams coordinator standpoint. Our guys are bought in on special teams; we are getting some great returns, which is giving our offense some great field position. From a playoff standpoint, this is a huge game on Sunday, and a win allows us to separate ourselves from the rest of the conference."
Coach Holtz addressed the status of how the depth chart will look in the quarterback room with the addition of Jalen Morton. "J'Mar Smith and Jalen Morton are going to be our backups this week," said Holtz. "We have been charting everything in practice, looking at everything, and we will decide who is the most ready quarterback to go out and play. J'Mar Smith has had a great week of practice. Jalen Morton has been impressive in some areas, with Case Cookus taking over 50% of the reps, and then J'Mar and Jalen split the rest in practice."
Jalen Morton signed with the Stallions this week, and was playing indoor football for the Southwest Kansas Storm of the Arena Football One. Coach Holtz addressed how Morton is making the adjustment back to traditional 11-on-11 football. "Jalen mentioned to me how much of an adjustment it was to be back playing outside, which I feel you really don't think about. Arm strength will not be an issue with him; I can only imagine how strong his arm is on a shorter field. He has been doing a nice job, coming in and wanting to meet extra to get caught up with everything. His biggest adjustment will be getting used to the spacing on a traditional football field. The defense can present more looks with more defenders in the box."
Holtz mentioned his team's improvements since their last bout against Houston in Week 4 of the season. "When you go back and look at that Week 4 box score, you notice that we lost the turnover battle. In the first five games of the season, we did not win one turnover battle, and we talked about how critical turnovers are in deciding a winner or loser. Also, in that first game against Houston, we were not very good in the red zone. We got down there only once and were unable to score a touchdown, while Houston got down there twice and walked away with two touchdowns. We must be better in the red zone on Sunday and cut down on the penalties, which we had way too many in that first game against Houston."
Having a positive run game is something that Holtz and the rest of the offense have wanted to establish in the latter part of the season, and that is something that Birmingham looks to develop in Sunday's game, especially against a talented Roughnecks front seven. "Houston's defense is playing extremely solid against the run," said Holtz. "They are always trying to outnumber you by putting a lot of players in the box, and we think that they are going to continually load the box since we have been able to create a positive running game in the past couple of weeks. A great running game will help Case, and playing against a team putting up some points makes countering that extremely important."
Coach Holtz continued his media appearance by addressing the grind of a long season, especially when the injury bug bites your football team. "In this league, one of the main objectives as coaches is to develop our players. This league is here because our players love the game and want to continue playing football. Normally, when you are in this part of the season, you would like to think that you know your identity, and we are still finding that with all the injuries that we have had. Several players were injured and lacked the consistency to develop and create that identity."
Holtz concluded his media availability on how Houston's record might be misleading about the quality of the football team C.J. Johnson has. "Houston is playing really good football right now," said Holtz. "They have about 35 new players out of their 50, so they only had about 15 returning players, so I think that early in the season, they were trying to identify and evaluate who they are, a lot like we had to. As the year has gone on, they have gotten better and better and continue to play like it. They have won three of their last four, playing with confidence and well together. This is a huge game that has a ton of playoff implications."