The knock on these spring football leagues is the play behind center. The quarterback position. Since 2019, the spring fling had numerous leagues trying to establish football after the NFL season. The American Alliance Football League in 2019, XFL Reboot 2020, USFL Reboot in ’22, The return of the XFL part 3 in ’23, and the USFL season two. Now we have the merger of the XFL and the USFL transforms into the new Optimus Prime, the UFL (United Football League.) The UFL will have retreads of quarterbacks that have played for years in these spring football affairs. The league will showcase some guys that have made NFL rosters as a back up but never got their chance to play. Abandoned on the practice squad for most of these guys. With the merger of both leagues that had 16 teams total being condensed down to 8 teams, the rosters are better going into the first ever UFL. With that said, you’re getting rid of lots of junk behind center over the last few years if you watched the spring formal on the weekends while you did your laundry. The top quarterbacks from these leagues from the past are with some new blood and potentially up and coming talent and solid rosters. As a result, we may see some pretty good play behind center for a change. I ranked the potential starter for each team. I warn you teams could make a change before kick-off happens this weekend. I will start from the highest ranking QB on my list to the weakest link. The first face is very familiar.

#1. AJ MCCARON ST.LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS, AGE 33

AJ McCaron has the most experience behind center with 7 seasons in the NFL. He has made 4 starts in the NFL in those 7 seasons as he played in 19 games. Last season he played his lone season in the XFL & then went back to the NFL where he played in 2 games for the Cincinnati Bengals. Last season McCaron broke Tommy Maddox’s old 2001 XFL record with 24 touchdown passes. McCaron completed 203-295 which is 68.8% of his passes completed. He tallied up 2,150 passing yards and almost had St. Louis in the playoffs. McCaron is a no brainer as the number 1 QB going into this first UFL season.

#2.LUIS PEREZ ARLINGTON RENEGADES, AGE 29

Luis Perez is the King of the Spring Fling. Perez has played in every spring league starting with the Birmingham Iron in 2019. Perez in 2020 played in the XFL for the New York Guardians. In 2022 he played in the USFL for the New Jersey Generals of the USFL. Last year started with the Vegas Vipers & then he was traded to the Renegades. For the Renegades, Perez took the keys to the car as they made the post-season and went all the way to the championship game to win it all. Perez learned how to play quarterback looking at YouTube videos. He played college ball at Texas A&M Commerce which is division II. He had invites to NFL camps: the Rams and Eagles. He has even bowled a perfect game in bowling. Perez has started 22 games in Spring football and has a record of 14-8. He’s 2-1 behind center in the post-season.

#3.CASE COOKUS MEMPHIS SHOWBOATS, AGE 28

Case Cookus played the last two seasons in the USFL out of Northern Arizona University. Cookus was not drafted as he latched on to multiple NFL teams and went to camp only to get cut by these teams. Cookus played the last two seasons for the Philadelphia Stars. He led the Stars all the way to the championship in 2022. The Stars were winning that championship game versus the Stallions late in the second half. Cookus got hurt & left the game. The Stallions ended up prevailing at the end. In two seasons, Cookus has tallied 3,629 passing yards with 27 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Cookus is a gunslinger who will sometimes force the football into coverage and get picked off. He has that mentality to try to make the big play. Sometimes it works out.

#4. JORDAN TA’AMU DC DEFENDERS, AGE 26

Jordan Ta’amu is another guy that has bounced around these spring football leagues. Ta’amu played his college ball at Ole Miss. He was not drafted in the NFL. In 2020 he played for the St.Louis Battlehawks in the XFL and was the only starter in the league with no professional experience. He did pretty good. In 2022, he was a starter for the Tampa Bay Bandits in the USFL. Last season Ta’amu led the DC Defenders to a 9-1 record in the XFL. Ta’amu would get the Defenders to the championship game only to find themselves on the losing end and getting beat by Luis Perez and the Renegades. Last year Ta’amu threw 14 touchdown passes for the Defenders and had only 3 interceptions as he tallied up 1,878 passing yards. Ta’amu is a duel threat quarterback as he found the end zone three times with his legs.

#5. MATT CORRAL BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS, AGE 25

The Stallions have two choices as their stating quarterback, Matt Corral or J’Mar Smith. Smith is a duel threat quarterback who’s better with his legs than his arm. Smith led the Stallions over the Stars in the first USFL reboot champion in 2022. Last year the Stallions had the MVP of the USFL behind center, Alex McGough, who made the Packers team in 2023. Corral had a very good college career at Ole Miss. He was MVP of the Outback Bowl in 2021. Corral did sustain an injury in the Sugar Bowl that may have set him back after a 10-2 regular season. He was still drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft, number 94 overall. In pre-season for the Panthers, Corral suffered a Lisfranc injury and landed on the season ending injured list. Corral was released in August of 2023 and picked up by the Patriots. His Patriots career did not last long as he left the team’s building without notice. The Patriots did not hear from him for 2 days. They got rid of him. Under Skip Holtz, I think you may see the old Corral from Ole Miss. If the Corral experiment goes south, Smith can be inserted into the starter’s role.

#6. REID SINNETT HOUSTON ROUGHNECKS, AGE 27

Reid Sinnett has been hanging on NFL teams’ practice squads for the last few years. He has never thrown a pass in the NFL. He was not even drafted. Sinnett played his college ball at San Diego University. Last season he appeared in one game for the San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL. He started the game which resulted in a loss for the Brahmas. Sinnett completed 13-19 passes for 97 yards & had 1 touchdown pass and 1 interception. The Brahmas did not have much of an offensive line so they had to dink and dunk. Sinnett would suffer a broken foot and be placed on injured reserve. He has gotten his feet wet in spring football and must have done a solid job to get the starting nod for the Roughnecks this season.

#7.DANNY ETLING MICHIGAN PANTHERS AGE 29

Danny Etling was drafted by the New England Patriots in the 2018 NFL draft as he was selected in round 7 219th overall. Etling holds the record for longest QB run in pre-season history for the New England Patriots. That was not enough to get him a gig in Boston. Etling traveled around the NFL trying to get a job as he was in and out of camps before they put his name on the locker. Some teams he had second stints with but resulted in the same outcome. Etling lasted 3 weeks on the BC lions of the Canadian Football League before getting his walking papers. Etling was drafted out of LSU in 2017 & he was 9-4 as the starter. You never know, maybe Etling has found a home and has learned things over the last few years taking tidbits here and there from coaches and inserting them in his own game.

#8.CHASE GARBERS SAN ANTONIO BRHAMAS, AGE 24

It looks like Chase Garbers will be the youngest starting quarterback in the UFL to start this new merger. Garbers just won the job as it was announced this week, and he’s only 24 years old. The Brahmas have Quinten Dormady who started multiple games last year for the Orlando Guardians of the XFL if Garbers fails to deliver. Garbers played his college ball at the University of California. Garbers was not drafted in the NFL but has lived on and off the practice squad for the Las Vegas Raiders. Garbers even was activated when the Raiders benched Derek Carr. Garbers was promoted to the back up spot behind Jarrett Stidham. You can say Garbers has at least stayed with one franchise in the NFL not being cut or released by different teams over and over like other guys in the UFL. Maybe he soaked in enough knowledge from Carr and Stidham to use it in his own game. We will wait and see.