Category: Alternative Football

Birmingham Stallions coach Skip Holtz often talks about the different motivations of players who play professional football in the spring.

“These young men want their opportunities, they want to move up, but they want to play some more over here for the love of the game,” he said. “Some are here because they want more film, but the players that are here, they’re appreciative, they’re grateful. They want an opportunity to get on the field.”

One player who made the most of that opportunity will be opposite the Stallions on April 7 when the Michigan Panthers host Birmingham at Ford Field in Detroit.

Kicker Jake Bates kicked a 64-yard field with three seconds remaining to lift the Panthers to an 18-16 victory over the St. Louis Battlehawks in the opening weekend of the United Football League.

Actually, he successfully kicked two consecutive 64-yard boomers; the first one didn’t count because St. Louis had called a timeout.

“(On the final drive) before they kicked off, I went up to (Michigan quarterback E.J. Perry) and told him to get it to the 45, and I’ll get it there,” Bates said. “The first one, I hit a good ball, but that’s why you practice so hard so every kick can be the same. That comes from years and years of repetition and hitting the same ball. That’s what I try to do to every ball, it needs to be the same — never change anything.”

That’s a standard comment from a field goal kicker, but Bates is hardly a standard field goal kicker.

In fact, the Texas native hadn’t even made a field goal that counted since 2017 when he was enrolled at Tomball High School. Even then he was better known for soccer, where he was all-region and offensive MVP of his team.

When he went to college, it was association football – not American football – that he tried first.

But after two seasons playing soccer at Central Arkansas, he transferred to Texas States and became a kickoff specialist on the football team.

By his senior season in 2022 he was a member of the Arkansas Razorbacks, and his powerful leg propelled him to All-SEC status as a kickoff specialist.

But lining up for a field goal?

That didn’t happen until he tried out for the Houston Texans, making a brief appearance in the preseason before being cut.

His next official field goal would have to wait until a spring day in a spring league two years later.

“I didn’t know what I was gonna do,” Bates said after hist first try at pro football fell short. “I didn’t know if I was gonna be just working my job selling brick or if I was gonna be able to play football. So yeah, it feels good. I felt like I got that sense of relief once we got into training camp and I was like, ‘Okay, this is happening. I’m here. I’m with the team.’ It definitely feels good to get the first game out of the way.”

Panthers coach Mike Nolan is certainly glad a job in football panned out.

“Jake Bates’ kick was – I guess both kicks – I mean, I don’t know what you call it. It was just it was unbelievable,” Nolan said. “(In practice) he just lined up and kicked just like you saw him today … they looked exactly like that. They could have gone for 70 yards.”

The Panthers’ QB hopes that when his club hosts the Stallions at 11 a.m. CDT next Sunday they’ll put Bates in a bit better field position if he’s called upon to give Michigan three points.

“I’m gonna try to get him maybe 50 next time … maybe shorter,” Perry joked. “He made it twice, but I don’t think you want to live and die on 64 yards.”

Perhaps not. Regardless of distance, however, Birmingham might be wasting a timeout should they try to ice him.

“Honestly, I didn’t even think about that,” Bates said. “A timeout didn’t even register in my head until I heard the whistle blow, but I was already in the flow of it. I think that’s a good thing that it didn’t even cross my mind that they could ice me. “Honestly, in that moment, I forgot icing existed.”

Remember the 1950 season opener between the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles?

Of course you don’t … neither do I.

Let me fill you in, anyway.

The Eagles were the defending National Football League champions, and the Browns were coming off a title in the All-America Football Conference. Late in 1949, three AAFC clubs merged with the NFL, so the senior circuit’s brain trust thought it’d be a great idea to start the season with the two defending champs going head-to-head.

It was a great idea – for the Browns.

Cleveland shellacked Philly, 35-10, embarrassing the team from what was considered the stronger league. While Paul Brown’s charges were no longer in the AAFC, you can be sure they were carrying the banner of their former organization into that game.

So, what does this have to do with a United Football League contest played 74 years later?

Well, when the Birmingham Stallions knocked heads with the Arlington Renegades at Choctaw Stadium today, it was a season opener that featured a pair of champions. Skip Holtz’s Stallions won both modern USFL titles, while Bob Stoops’ Renegades wore the crown in XFL 3.0.

Those leagues have been downsized and converted into conferences as part of the UFL. And since there’s still a sense of pride for the clubs that repped their old leagues, that added a bit of intrigue to today’s grand opening in Texas.

The final score of Birmingham 27, Arlington 14, will have fans of the Stallions – and the USFL – claiming supremacy. And on a warm spring day in Tarrant County, Texas, they earned the right to make that claim. Down 11-3 early, Holtz’s team took control the rest of the way.

“So great to be part of the first game of the UFL and to represent Birmingham and be 1-0,” Holtz said. “I’m just so proud of these players and the way they competed. We turned the ball over two times early in the game but nobody blinked, nobody panicked, nobody flinched.”

A better braggin’ rights barometer will be taking all 40 regular season games into account, but you have to start somewhere, and the venue formerly known as Globe Life Field (and before that, The Ballpark in Arlington) is where the 2024 United Football League took its first competitive breath.

As you might expect for a game that followed just a month of practice, it got sloppy – and chippy – at times. The teams combined for 100 yards in penalties and there were quite a few false starts.

But it was still extremely fun to watch. And the Stallions served notice that once again they’re a tough bunch to beat, regardless of what FL they play for.

As for league firsts, here they are:

First fumble: Luis Perez, Arlington, 12:18, first quarter.

First interception: Matt Corral, Birmingham, 9:10, first quarter.

First field goal: Taylor Russolino, Arlington, 38 yards, 3:08, first quarter.

First touchdown: Perez to Isaiah Winstead, Arlington, 51-yard pass, 9:09, second quarter.

First conversion: Lindsey Scott to Winstead, Arlington, (2 points).

Corral made his debut as QB1 for the winners, and after a slow start he settled into the role, finishing 12-21-1 for 201 yards and a TD.

C.J. Marable shined once again at running back, racking up 67 yards on 18 carries and scoring a TD. He also had two catches for 36 yards.

The receiving crew was impressive; Deon Cain caught three balls for 66 yards and a score. There were seven pass catchers in all, including Jace Sternberger and Binjimin Victor.

Defensively, Carlos Davis had five tackles, a sack and forced a fumble, while Kenny Robinson Jr. hauled in an interception.

The Renegades got 214 aerial yards and a TD from Perez, and Sal Cannella paced Arlington receivers with 49 yards on four catches.

Middle linebacker Marquel Lee had the best day defensively in a losing effort, closing out the season debut with nine tackles.

Duron Lowe and Darren Evans each had picks.

From a competition standpoint, the UFL should be more than the sum of its parts. The USFL in 2022 and 2023 and the XFL in 2023 were quality leagues with quality players, but those players were spread out over 16 teams.

With only eight squads teeing it up this spring, there were 400 less landing spots for near-miss NFL guys.

Need an example?

Quarterback J’Mar Smith was a huge reason the Stallions won the USFL championship in 2022 and was the starter before being lost for the season due to a finger injury in the 2023 opener. The 27-year-old is a proven winner.

Today, however, he could only watch as Corral and Adrian Martinez were 1-2 on the depth chart.

I’m looking forward to seeing how all these teams – and all their players – evolve over the next two and a half months. And while there will still be some old league pride once we get to June, pride in winning the first UFL title will be the only thing that matters in the end.

There’s still a lot of football to be played, as they say, but I’m glad the journey is now officially under way.

“We’re guaranteed 10 of these and this was only one,” Holtz said. “There are a lot of things we’ve got to clean up. Still a long way to go to be the football team we want to be, but I just want us to make sure with all the work and preparation, we’re as good as we can be.”

Skip Holtz and Bob Stoops have already made history in alternative football.

Holtz guided the Birmingham Stallions into action in the inaugural game of the modern United States Football League in 2022, and also coached in its last contest in 2023.

His club claimed league championships in both USFL seasons.

Stoops was on the sidelines as head coach of the Arlington Renegades during the debut of XFL 3.0 as well as that circuit’s finale.

And yep – he and the Renegades won the title.

So, it’s only fitting that the two coaches face each other in the debut of the United Football League, the spring league born of the USFL/XFL merger. Saturday’s clash will be a battle of champions, and another first in the annals of spring gridiron competition.

“The players have had some great work,” Holtz said. “I think they’ve been very attentive in getting ready for an opponent and the excitement that that brings. Every day I can feel it with the football team on the practice field … totally different vibe than what we’ve been going through for the last four weeks. “The last four weeks have been camp, everybody’s trying to survive, everybody’s trying to make the roster. But right now, there’s a lot more excitement and a lot more energy. I really like the way the team is coming along right now.”

Stoops says he understands the hype surrounding the UFL lid-lifter, but realizes that whatever happens Saturday is just a first step in the journey.

“We’re all in the United Football League now,” he said. “But you’ve got the two champs that you’re going to start the whole thing off with, and there’s some extra pride in that, sure. But you know, it’s a long year. And we just want to start off in a good, positive way for our fans.

“Hopefully we have a winning culture and these guys have been an absolute pleasure and a joy to coach … wonderful young men that work hard and enjoy and love football. If you’re gonna do something you want to win, win big and win championships.”

Birmingham was dominant in two USFL seasons, losing only three of 24 games. Arlington was 4-6 last spring before winning two postseason contests and seizing the XFL crown.

And while comparing the teams is natural, both sides are quite different a year later.

“You look at guys like (wide receiver) Deon Cain, (tight end) Jay Sternberger, (running back) C.J. Marable, (safety) JoJo Tillery, (cornerback) Lorenzo Burns, (quarterback) J’Mar Smith … these are all guys that have played a major role for us in the last two years, and I think they’re all very confident. But this is not the same league we won two years in a row, nor is it the same team that won it two years in a row. There are a lot of new faces that we’re talking about. All four defensive ends are new, and three or four defensive linemen are new.”

Quarterbacks Matt Corral (listed as the starter on the depth chart) and Adrian Martinez (he’ll be Corral’s backup on Saturday), wideouts Amari Rodgers and Binjimen Victor, nose tackle Carlos Davis, defensive end Taco Charlton and kicker Chris Blewitt are just a few of the many new additions to the 2024 Stallions roster.

Cain likes the upgrade.

“You can definitely see that talent and competition has impacted us,” he said. “It’s great to have this merger because a lot of the guys have so much talent. Looking through the lenses of other teams, you can see it’s going to be a good league.”

He gets no argument from his coach.

“I think there’s a lot of unknowns with this team,” Holtz said. “But I definitely think that there’s an awful lot of talent. As I’ve said before, I think we have more talent, but you know what? So does everybody else. And so, I think the league is going to be much better and it’s going to be really interesting and exciting.”

Stoops agrees.

“I feel like we have a much stronger team overall right now than we did a year ago,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll have a good blend of run and pass. I’ve got a lot of confidence in the experience back with (quarterback) Luis Perez, (running backs) Deveon Smith and Leddie Brown, and the receiver room. I really think Chuck Long, as the offensive coordinator here, through camp has done an exceptional job with what we’re doing.”

Perez is no stranger to spring football fans in Birmingham. He was the starting quarterback for the Birmingham Iron of the ill-fated Alliance of American Football in 2019, and in 2022 he was behind center for the New Jersey Generals, who played all their regular season games in the Magic City due to the hub format.

After starting the 2023 season with the Vegas Vipers, he was traded to the Renegades and was a huge factor in the team’s turnaround.

“I had some stuff I worked on this offseason, just trying to get better and improve my game,” he said. “In football you’re either getting better or you’re getting worse, so you always have to have to be improving in all aspects of your game.

“I think the biggest thing right now and the biggest difference from last year is coming in with a full year under my belt coming in and having a better command of the offense.”

While Perez is the guy for Arlington, Holtz has hinted that he plans to play two quarterbacks in the opener.

Kickoff for Saturday’s UFL debut is set for noon CDT on FOX.

Roughly three hours later, another chapter of alternative football history will be in the books – and a standard will be set.

“I think every team is going to play hard,” Holtz said. “I think every team is going to be disciplined and every team is going to be talented. But I think it’s going to be the team that has the most discipline and does the little things the right way … those are going to be the teams that come out victorious.”