Inside the UFL

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Inside the UFL

by Fran Stuchbury
April 17, 2025 - United Football League (UFL)


Two backup quarterbacks and a new defensive coordinator stepped up in week three of the United Football League season, helping their teams to victory.

Against the Memphis Showboats, Houston Roughnecks starter Anthony Brown again struggled, completing eight of 15 passes for only 40 yards. With Houston trailing 11-3 at halftime, Nolan Henderson entered the game and immediately sparked the team, throwing a six-yard touchdown to Emmanuel Butler. For the game Henderson connected on 10 of 11 passes for 80 yards with one touchdown and added 15 yards rushing on three carries, lifting the Roughnecks to an 18-17 victory, their first win since April 21, 2024, and snapping an eight-game losing streak.

"It feels good; every time you are going out on the field you are preparing to win, you're expecting to win," said Henderson. "We have come up short. Today just having all three phases of the game coming together in the second half, fighting together, believing in each other, getting a win. Hopefully you can build on it. It makes you feel better about the work you put in. Today we came out and fought to the end, and that was the difference."

"I have all the faith in the world in Nolan," said Roughnecks Head Coach Curtis Johnson. "In each game I want to section off his plays and play him. When Nolan came in, not only did he spark it with his feet, he sparked us with his accuracy throwing the ball. It seemed like it was coming on time, we got in our fast-paced offense. I thought he did an outstanding job. It's a credit to him; it's hard being number two. He never flinched; I never heard him down. I never heard him say anything negative. Always in the offense, always helpful. Phenomenal young man, I loved being with him the past two seasons."

Henderson will be the starting quarterback against the defending UFL champion Birmingham Stallions on Saturday,

Against the San Antonio Brahmas, Michigan Panthers starting quarterback Danny Etling suffered a brutal hit from Brahmas safety Jordan Mosley, knocking him out of the game early in the first quarter with a concussion.

In came Bryce Perkins who connected on 17-of-23 passes for 193 yards and one interception, while adding 10 carries for 30 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Panthers to a 26-23 win over San Antonio.

"I do like what Bryce did (today); he just had the one bad choice on that one pass, the interception," said Michigan Head Coach Mike Nolan. "But outside of that, he did a nice job. You know, I love both of them, but Bryce's energy is really good. You know, he still tries to hurdle everybody, but he did fall forward for a couple of yards."

With Etling still out, Perkins will start this Friday against Memphis. Rocky Lombardi will serve as the backup. The team also signed quarterback Alan Bowman who played at Oklahoma State this past season and is eligible to be selected in the NFL Draft.

Earlier last week D.C Defenders Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams left the team to join former coach Reggie Barlow at Tennessee State as their defensive coordinator. His son, Linebackers Coach Blake Williams was promoted to defensive coordinator.

The defense remained dominant in their 27-15 victory on the road against the St. Louis Battlehawks. The Defenders rang up three more sacks, nine tackles for loss, three interceptions, one forced fumble, and five pass breakups. In addition they held St. Louis, averaging 218 rushing yards per game, to just 45 yards on the ground and only 147 passing yards. They applied constant pressure on Battlehawks quarterback Manny Wilkins.

"Our defense has been setting the tone all season, and we have been battling adversity throughout camp with coach Reggie Barlow leaving, Gregg Williams leaving and then Blake coming in," said interim Defenders Head Coach Shannon Harris. "These guys have been battle tested both mentally and physically. The performance the guys put out there was outstanding. We have a team that is very resilient. They deserved this win and they worked their butts off for it."

The Defenders are the only undefeated team left in the UFL. They look to improve to 4-0 on Easter Sunday at home against winless San Antonio.

With the Birmingham Stallions trailing 9-3 against the Arlington Renegades, they had the ball on fourth and six at their own 34-yard line. Stallions quarterback Matt Corral threw a pass that was intercepted by Renegades cornerback Stephen Jones. But replay confirmed a false start on Stallions offensive tackle Barry Wesley that gave Birmingham one more opportunity. On fourth and eleven Corral connected with wide receiver Marlon Williams for a 12-yard gain and a first down.

Seven plays later Corral threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Cade Johnson to tie the game and then scampered for the one-point touchdown conversion to give the Stallions a 10-9 victory.

UFL Top 10 Plays From Week 3

Every Touchdown of Week 3

Week 4 Games

Friday April 18th

Memphis Showboats at Michigan Panthers - 8 pm est. FOX

Saturday April 19th

St. Louis Battlehawks at Arlington Renegades - 12:30 pm est. ABC

Birmingham Stallions at Houston Roughnecks - 7 pm est. FOX

Sunday April 20th

San Antonio Brahmas at D.C Defenders - 5 pm est. FOX

EXTRA POINTS

  • Friday's Arlington Renegades at Birmingham Stallions on FOX drew 682,000 viewers. Saturday's Houston Roughnecks at Memphis Showboats broadcast totaled 621,000 viewers. Sunday's San Antonio at Michigan telecast on ABC averaged 719,000 viewers, and the D.C. Defenders at St. Louis Battlehawks game on ABC completed the weekend with 967,000 viewers.

  • Attendance at Friday's Arlington at Birmingham game was 10,126. Saturday's Houston at Memphis contest drew 4,753. San Antonio at Michigan attracted 11,013 and D.C at St. Louis drew 30,014.

  • D.C. Defenders quarterback Jordan Ta'amu, the Defenders defense, and Michigan Panthers kicker B.T. Potter were named the OurSports Central United Football League Offensive Player, Defensive Player and Unsung Hero of the Week, respectively, for week three of the UFL season.

  • Teams went three-of-five on one-point conversion attempts from the two-yard line, two-of-nine on two-point conversions from the five-yard line, while no three-point conversions were attempted.

  • The United Football League announced that The Dome at America's Center, home of the St. Louis Battlehawks, will host the 2025 UFL Championship Game airing on ABC on Saturday, June 14, at 8:00 p.m. ET. The announcement that the league will return to St. Louis for its title game for a second straight year was made by UFL Owner Dany Garcia and UFL President & Chief Executive Officer Russ Brandon at halftime of the Battlehawks home game against the D.C. Defenders.

  • The D.C. Defenders have placed wide receiver Ty Scott on Injured Reserve. Scott is second in the UFL in receiving yards with 205. He will miss a minimum of five games. He ended up suffering a broken arm so his season could be over.

  • Ken Whisenhunt announced that he is stepping down as head coach of the Memphis Showboats. UFL President & CEO Russ Brandon and UFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Daryl Johnston have named Offensive Line Coach Jim Turner, who served as the team's interim head coach earlier this season, as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2025 UFL season.

  • Memphis Showboats interim head coach Jim Turner has announced the addition of Noel Mazzone to the team's coaching staff. Mazzone will serve as the Showboats' offensive coordinator and will coach the quarterbacks. His most recent coaching stint came as the offensive coordinator of the New Orleans Breakers during the 2022 USFL season.

  • United Football League President & CEO Russ Brandon and Executive Vice President of Football Operations Daryl Johnston announced that Wade Phillips, head coach of the defending XFL Conference Champion San Antonio Brahmas, has informed them that he will be taking a leave of absence from the team for personal reasons. Brandon and Johnston have named Offensive Coordinator Payton Pardee to serve as interim head coach for the 2025 UFL season.

  • My UFL best bet lock of the week is the D.C Defenders -7.5 over the San Antonio Brahmas. D.C has been the best team in the UFL so far this even with a swirl of coaching changes. After St. Louis they have the second best home field advantage in the league. The Brahmas will miss not having Wade Phillips on the sidelines. Look for another dominant performance on defense for the Defenders.
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United Football League Stories from April 17, 2025


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