THREE STALLIONS TO WATCH ON OFFENSE:
Matt Corral: Had a tough time in the 10-9 win over the Arlington Renegades but still found a way to produce the winning points in the final seconds. Finished 19-of-41 for 255 yards with a touchdown and an interceptions. Needs to bounce back with better consistency in what is expected to be his third start. Was pushed into action in Week 2 at Michigan after Alex McGough injured his right shoulder on the opening play of the 21-12 victory over the Panthers. Corral threw a pair of interceptions but did little else wrong in the victory. He lost out on the starting job to Adrian Martinez last season but Corral was outstanding in the championship game win over the San Antonio Brahmas.
Cade Johnson: Emerged as a receiving threat in the Stallions come-from- behind 10-9 win over the Arlington Renegades. Had three catches for 63 yards and a 20-yard touchdown reception that tied the score with 26 seconds on
the clock. Prior to last Friday, he had one catch for 17 yards. The 5-foot-10, 194-pound South Dakota State product had 162 catches for 2,872 yards with 29 touchdowns in his colllegiate career.
Keaton Sutherland: The 6-foot-5, 302-pound Texas A&M product showed his versatility last week against Arlington. He opened the second half at left tackle after Jarron Jones got hurt on the final play of the second half. Center Cole Schneider got hurt on the first drive of the second half and Sutherland had to slide over two spots to take on a much different role. He finished the game at center and will be ready to play wherever he’s needed, including guard, if called upon.
THREE STALLIONS TO WATCH ON DEFENSE
Kyahva Tezino: After three weeks, Tezino leads the team with 21 tackles. He could have a permanent spot in this column. Not many defensive players in the UFL can match his playmaking ability. Last week, in the Stallions narrow victory, Tezino had a key fourth quarter forced fumble to help keep his team within striking distance. The San Diego State product was the leading tackler for the Pittsburgh Maulers in the USFL before coming to Birmingham last season and leading the Stallions.
Steven Gilmore: The former Marshall cornerback has been challenged each week and it hasn’t worked out well for opposing offenses. The 5-foot-
8, 170-pound Gilmore, who plays much bigger than his roster size, has a team-best five pass breakups and 17 tackles, which is the second most in the secondary behind safety A.J. Thomas. Gilmore had six tackles and two pass breakups last week.
DeMarquis Gates: One of the steadiest players in Stallions history is back making plays for the team. Gates had 62 tackles to lead the Stallions defense in the 2022 USFL championship season. He spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons on the Chicago Bears practice squad. He had 37 tackles in seven games with the Stallions last season. Last week, Gates had nine tackles and a tackle for loss. He continues to play with a floss pick in his mouth.
IMPROVEMENT ON THE FRONT LINE
Much was said about the play of the Birmingham Stallions offensive line in the season-opening loss to the D.C. Defenders. Not much of it was complimentary after the Stallions allowed eight sacks. Now, much needs to be said about how the Stallions offensive front responded to that difficult evening. In the two games since that night, the Stallions have not allowed a quarterback sack. Much of that improvement is because of the play of the offensive line but some credit also goes to quarterback Matt Corral, who has played all but one snap in those two games, getting rid of the football when in trouble. They also did this by overcoming injuries to center Cole Schneider and tackles Jarron Jones and Christian DiLauro.
SCOUTING THE HOUSTON ROUGHNECKS
Nolan Henderson is taking over the starting quarterback duties from Anthony Brown for the Roughnecks. Henderson was 10-of-11 for 80 yards with a touchdown in last week’s 18-17 win at Memphis. It was the Roughnecks first win of the season and the most extended action that Henderson got this season. Henderson was 7-of-21 for 68 yards in the first two games of the season. Henderson also has a team-high 76 rushing yards on eight carries. Former Birmingham Stallion Zaquandre White had a team-best 50 yards on 15 carries and added 28 yards on three catches in the win at Memphis.
Houston safety Leon O’Neal Jr. is one of the best defensive players in the UFL. He is fifth in the league with 22 tackles and his interception followed by a 30-yard return for a touchdown ultimately provided the winning points against Memphis. As a team, though, the defense has struggled. The Roughnecks are last in the UFL in total yards allowed (339.7 yards per game) and passing yards allowed (191.3 ypg) and seventh in rushing yards allowed (191.3 ypg).
C.J. Johnson is in his third season as the Houston head coach. He was the Houston Gamblers head coach in the USFL in 2023 and led his team to a 5-5 record but they failed to make the playoffs after losing three of the final four games. The Gamblers were one of two teams to beat Birmingham in the regular season. Last season, he was head coach of a Roughneck team that finished 1-9. Overall, he is 7-16 as a spring football head coach.