Stallions host Showboats

A locker room isn’t supposed to look like an emergency room, but it can happen.

Just ask the Birmingham Stallions (1-0), who face the Memphis Showboats (0-1) on Saturday at Protective Stadium.

While the good news for the defending USFL champions came in the form of a 27-10 Week One victory over the New Jersey Generals, the bad news was on the injury front.

Starting quarterback J’Mar Smith, wide receiver Marlon Williams, running back Bo Scarbrough and fullback Bobby Holly have all been transferred to the injured reserve list. The inactive roster includes linebacker Scooby Wright, offensive guard Matt Kaskey, defensive end Joe Jackson and defensive end Darrion Daniels.

Birmingham has good depth, but it will be sorely tested.

“Alex (McGough) is our starter and he’s fine; I’m not worried about him,” Birmingham coach Skip Holtz explained. “My job right now is to get No. 2 (Jalen Morton) ready and get him good enough, and when he’s good enough to play, then I’ll go back to playing two quarterbacks again. And it’s the same thing at running back and wide receiver and everywhere else.

“We’ve tried to create as much depth as we can because unfortunately, injuries are part of this game. Your rosters aren’t huge, and we want to make sure that you’re not wearing out the guys that are your new starters.”

In the pass-catching department, Saturday will mark the season debuts of Thaddeus Moss and possibly Adrian Hardy, although Hardy is listed as questionable with a right knee injury.

“Thad came to us a couple of weeks ago so he’ll play, and Adrian didn’t get a chance to play last week and he’s one of our better receivers,” Holtz said. “And Austin Watkins stepped up and played great for us.”

The Stallions signed free agent quarterback Kyle Sloter and tight end La’Michael Pettway on Thursday, while running back ZaQuandre White, cornerback Donnie Lewis, outside linebacker Elijah Sullivan, offensive tackle Lukayus McNeil and defensive tackle Khalil Davis are on Saturday’s active roster.

Memphis is coming off a 27-23 loss to last season’s USFL runners-up, the Philadelphia Stars. And the Showboats have some injury issues of their own, with players such as wideout Derrick Dillon, defensive lineman Daylon Mack and defensive back Antonio Reed out of action.

Backup QB Cole Kelley has been moved to the inactive roster and Ryan Willis takes the No. 2 spot behind Brady White.

White hit 16 of 29 passes for 182 yards, two touchdowns and one pick in the Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium debut of the club, while Rashard Davis and Ryan McDaniel combined for 119 yards and two touchdowns.

When Memphis decided to run, Alex Collins did most of work, churning out 63 yards on 14 totes with a TD.

“They’re a great team,” said Stallions safety Christian McFarland, who had 12 tackles (seven solo) last Saturday. “They have some nice weapons on their offense. They have running backs with experience, but they also have some quick receivers.

“So, as for me in the secondary, I’m kind of more so focused on the receivers and what they bring to the table and the quarterback.”

The Stars were limited to 296 yards of offense, a stat which gets McGough’s attention but only tells half the story.

“They’re a really good defense, but they also have a really good offense,” he said. “They score a lot of points. They’re a fast, physical team that plays well, they’re disciplined, they know where they’re supposed to be.

“We’re up for a good little challenge on Saturday.”

Before being rebranded as the Showboats, the team – under the direction of Todd Haley – played as the Tampa Bay Bandits a year ago.

Birmingham came out on top in both meetings but not without a tussle. The Stallions won 16-10 on May 7 and 21-18 on June 18.

The Bandits finished 4-6, third in the USFL South Division.

“They have a lot of skill and they can score points,” Holtz said. “They’ve got some receivers who are making some plays and their quarterback played really well. He’s kind of a dual threat guy a little bit like Alex, which creates a little bit of a problem for you. You can’t just tip your ears back and say he’s always gonna be in the pocket.

“Todd’s done a really good job defensively. All you have (on film) is them against the Stars, which are in five wides and they’re in dime personnel, and it’s really spread out so you don’t really know what you’re going to get front and coverage-wise. So even though it’s the second game of the year there’s still a lot of unknowns about what we’re gonna get on offense.”

The game kicks off at 6 p.m. with FOX providing coverage.