The 2024 UFL season concludes Sunday with the league’s championship game, hosted at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The Birmingham Stallions are going for a third straight title under coach Skip Holtz (they won the former USFL from 2022-23) against Wade Phillips’ San Antonio Brahmas.
The creation of the UFL, which exists as a merger between the USFL and the XFL, has opened the door for plenty of college players who couldn’t quite break through in the NFL to continue their professional football careers. Taking place in the spring, it also offers the opportunity to play against elevated competition in front of NFL scouts and evaluators before the training camp period and preseason slate begin in the fall.
Given the championship setting of Sunday’s game, plenty of notable college stars will be taking the field for Birmingham and St. Louis. Each team is led by multiple former All-Americans and award winners. Some even had lengthy NFL careers before plying their craft in spring football. Others were high draft picks that didn’t quite pan out for whatever reason.
Here’s a look at some former college football standouts playing in the 2024 UFL Championship Game.
Birmingham Stallions
QB Adrian Martinez (Nebraska, Kansas State): The 2024 UFL MVP and the league’s rushing leader with 528 yards on the ground, Martinez’s versatility was on full display during a lengthy collegiate career that spanned two different teams. He signed with Nebraska as a four-star prospect in 2018 and was immediately named the team’s starter. In four years with the Huskers, he accounted for 10,792 total yards and 110 touchdowns, 36 of which were rushing. Granted an extra season of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Martinez transferred to Kansas State in 2022 and posted a 6-3 record as a starter while throwing for 1,261 yards and six touchdowns. He also rushed for 627 yards — two yards short of his career-high — and 10 touchdowns.
QB Matt Corral (Ole Miss): A former top-100 prospect, Corral signed with Ole Miss in 2018 and emerged as a consistent starter in 2020 under coach Lane Kiffin, who developed Corral into one of the SEC’s best passers. He posted back-to-back 3,000-yard passing efforts from 2020-21. He was a second-team All-SEC selection in 2021 after leading the Rebels to their first 10-win regular season in program history. Corral was a third-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and spent two seasons in the NFL before joining the UFL.
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WR Amari Rodgers, (Clemson): Rodgers was a key figure on Clemson’s 2018 national championship team and established early chemistry with then-freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence, catching 55 passes for 575 yards and four touchdowns. A preseason ACL tear saw his production regress in 2019, but he bounced back as a senior in 2020 and had the best year of his career with 1,020 yards receiving and seven touchdowns. He was selected in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft and spent three seasons with three different teams.
DL Taco Charlton (Michigan): A native of Columbus, Ohio, Charlton signed with Michigan in 2013 and saw the field on special teams as a freshman. He was a key reserve from 2014-15, tallying nine sacks in that span before earning a starting role as a senior in 2016. Charlton netted first-team All-Big Ten honors with 13.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks, 2.5 of which came against Ohio State. He was selected with No. 28 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. The former Wolverine bounced around multiple NFL teams from 2017-23 before signing with the Stallions in March.
TE Jace Sternberger (Kansas, Oklahoma A&M, Texas A&M): A Texas A&M fan favorite during his relatively brief time with the Aggies, Sternberger’s career began at Kansas 2015. After redshirting in his first year with the Jayhawks and playing limited snaps in 2016, he transferred to Oklahoma A&M and emerged as one of the top junior college recruits in the nation. He eventually signed with Texas A&M in 2018. In his lone SEC season, Sternberger led the Aggies with 48 catches for 832 yards and 10 touchdowns while earning consensus All-American and first-team All-SEC honors.
San Antonio Brahmas
QB Kevin Hogan (Stanford): Hogan was named the Cardinal’s starting quarterback near the end of the 2012 season and held the job through 2015, finishing his career as one of the most prolific signal-callers in program history. His 1,249 yards and 15 touchdowns rushing as a quarterback and his 10,634 total yards are all Stanford career records. A fifth-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, Hogan carved out a nice eight-year career as a backup with spot-playing duty before moving on from the league.
CB Teez Tabor (Florida): A two-time first-team All-SEC selection, Tabor had eight interceptions in two seasons at Florida from 2015-16, three of which he returned for a touchdown. He also had two sacks and 20 pass deflections in that span, developing into one of the best cornerbacks in the nation. He decided to forgo his senior season and enter the 2017 NFL Draft, where he was picked in the second round by the Detroit Lions.
USATSI
RB Pooka Williams Jr. (Kansas): The fourth-highest-rated recruit to ever sign with Kansas, per the 247Sports Composite, Williams was the 2018 Big 12 Freshman of the Year after rushing for 1,125 yards and seven touchdowns. He earned a second consecutive first-team All-Big 12 nod in 2019 after a 1,042-yard season. That also made him just the second Kansas running back to run for at least 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. He broke Hall-of-Famer Gale Sayers’ record for most rushing yards in a player’s first two seasons. Williams only played four games in 2020 before opting out of the rest of the season and declaring for the NFL Draft.
