In the pass-happy world of professional football, running backs can sometimes be afterthoughts. And in a 10-game season – which is the format of the United Football League – a ballcarrier has to display all-around talent quickly or he’ll be shown the door.
C.J. Marable knows all this.
And he also knows that when his opportunity arises, he needs to make the most of it.
Last season he was quite the multi-threat for the Birmingham Stallions, racking up 525 rushing yards (4.4 yards per carry), 235 through the air and 319 on special teams.
His three rushing TDs and two more as a receiver were key to Birmingham’s USFL championship repeat, and now he’s ready to display his talents to the UFL.
He gets his first chance on Saturday when his former USFL team battles the Arlington Renegades, a charter member of the 2023 XFL, in a clash of league champions.
Kickoff is set for noon CDT with FOX providing TV coverage.
“It’s very exciting,” Marable said Wednesday during a practice break from Arlington, Texas. “Especially playing an XFL team, because I think a lot of people thought that the XFL was way better than the USFL. So, you know, we can’t wait to go out there and just to prove those people wrong, and let them know that, hey, we have an expectation and that expectation is to win every time we step out on that green grass, no matter who we play. We want to three-peat.”
Marable headlines a stable of running backs that includes Ricky Person Jr. and Larry Roundtree III.
Person had 83 yards and a TD for the Stallions last season while Roundtree played for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2021-22 and was on the Houston Texans practice squad a year ago.
“You know, when we came in (to the USFL) we didn’t know what to expect,” Marable said. “We didn’t know the playbook, so we were just out there learning. Now in year three, we have a couple of veterans on the team. A guy like myself, I know the playbook like the back of my hand so I can help out a new guy like Larry Roundtree.
“We meet in the hotel, we stay up all night, study the playbook and different things like that, and he knows he can come to me and ask questions and different things like that.”
Although there’s a mix of old and new faces on the team this year, Marable said Birmingham is determined to claim the first UFL title and the third in a row since forming in 2022.
“Camp is going great … very impressive, especially the (offensive line).I can feel the spirit and I feel like the line is really showing what they can do in how they’re performing. “They’re tremendous, and at the quarterback position, all our quarterbacks (J’Mar Smith, Matt Corral and Adrian Martinez) are ballers, and it’s very impressive to see. All of them go out and compete every day.”
After Saturday’s game against Arlington, Birmingham will head north to Detroit to play the Michigan Panthers on April 7.
The home opener is April 13 against the Memphis Showboats, and Marable said he “can’t wait” to play before a pro-Stallions crowd at Protective Stadium. “I miss Birmingham and being there where people recognize you when they see you in town and support you,” he said. “I just can’t wait to go out in Week Three and show everybody what we can do with this Birmingham-style offense.”