With the NFL season approaching the end, the postseason is currently in full swing. The UFL is looking to capitalize on this as they start to drum up excitement going into their league season! They have been relatively active in the offseason with new owner Mike Repole expressing some vehemence in this second iteration of the UFL, after inheriting it from Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia of Red Bird Capital. This has been primarily online through the X platform, but it has gained a lot of attention from the UFL community, especially in St. Louis. The first big chunk of news for St. Louis was that they would be getting a new head coach before the next season.
Head Coach Anthony Becht is out as the figurehead for the Battlehawks since the league was kick-started back up as the XFL back in 2023. Instead of it being a normal firing process, he will be transferring to a change of scenery down in sunny Florida, where he will become the Head Coach for the brand-new Orlando Storm team. Now, that does leave a void in the head coaching position in St. Louis, but thankfully, the league has answered in a great way to show love to St. Louis. They have assigned Ricky Proehl to be the next Head Coach of St. Louis and in charge of building the team’s roster. Now that name might sound familiar because he has been the wide receiver coach for the Battlehawks for the past couple of years, but he was also part of the late 90s/early 2000s “Greatest Show on Turf,” St. Louis Rams, as a wide receiver. This means that the new head coach not only understands how important football is in the St. Louis area, but also how to win on the biggest stage for the city.
Now, Coach Proehl got to work right away as the draft was held on January 13th and 14th, and something unique with the UFL this year was picking his quarterback room and a list of reserve players to go into the season with, so they stay with the team and do not fall in the draft. I will not go into depth over these players’ stats in this article, but I will let you know who and what position they play and where they were taken during the two-day draft. Whether it was day one from former UFL talent, or during day two from free agency. For a full in-depth list, please go look at United Football Media on X as they have the players listed for all teams and not just for the Battlehawks.
Pre-Draft: Quarterbacks and Reserves
This is an assortment of players, both on offense and defense, that St. Louis feels is their best chance of winning from their previous season. Some of these are fan favorites, and some are lesser-known. Without further ado, these are the QBs and the returning St. Louis Battlehawks.
- Ben Woolridge – Quarterback
- Michael Pratt – Quarterback
- Brandon Silvers – Quarterback
- Frank Darby – Wide Receiver
- Jahcour Pearson – Wide Receiver
- Hakeem Butler – Wide Receiver
- Kevon Latulas – Running Back
- Jarveon Howard – Running Back
- Bradley Ashmore – Offensive Tackle
- Ryan Coll – Offensive Tackle
- Pita Taumoepenu – Defensive End
- Travis Feeney – Defensive End
- Miles Sims – Corner Back
- Myles Jones – Corner Back
- Kameron Kelly – Safety
- Michael Ojemudia – Safety
Draft Day One
Now, the first draft day was for the coaches to choose exclusively from players within the UFL system already. These were players that, for one reason or another, were not kept or used as a regional college allocation. For day one, the St. Louis Battlehawks would select;
- Blake Jackson – Wide Receiver
- Gary Jennings Jr. – Wide Receiver
- Justin Smith – Wide Receiver
- Mike Panasuik – Center
- Spencer Rolland – Guard
- Carlos Davis – Defensive Tackle
- Taylor Stallworth – Defensive Tackle
- Steve Linton – Defensive End
- Jordan Williams – Linebacker
- Mike Rose – Linebacker
- Daniel Isom – Corner Back
- Sean Fresch – Corner Back
- J. Thomas – Safety
- Jordan Mosley – Safety
Draft Day Two
The second day of the draft was definitely the biggest as it handled free agents from everywhere, not just in the UFL system. This allowed the teams to dip into a much larger pool of talent than what was accessible before by letting them take players who were recently released from NFL practice squads. Prepare yourselves because this list is going to be the longest one with coach Proehl going all out on the free agents. The St. Louis Battlehawks would select;
- Thayer Thomas – Wide Receiver
- Jha’Quan Jackson – Wide Receiver
- Lideatrick Griffin – Wide Receiver
- Kelly Akharaiyi – Wide Receiver
- Morin Taylor – Wide Receiver
- Jordan Waters – Running Back
- Kylin James – Running Back
- Dillon Johnson – Running Back
- Tyler Neville – Tight End
- Jarrod Hufford – Guard
- Javion Cohen – Guard
- Addison West – Guard
- Wyatt Bowles – Guard
- Ozzie Hutcherson – Guard
- Corey Stewart – Tackle
- Aiden Williams – Tackle
- Richard Gouraige – Tackle
- Michael Dwumfour – Defensive Tackle
- Nesta Jade Silvera – Defensive Tackle
- Neil Farrell – Defensive Tackle
- Raymond Johnson III – Defensive End
- Abraham Beauplan – Linebacker
- Tariq Carpenter – Linebacker
- Jonathan Sutherland – Linebacker
- Luke Masterson – Linebacker
- Luc Barcoo – Corner Back
- Nate Brooks – Corner Back
- Nevelle Clark – Corner Back
- Matthew Hembrough – Long Snapper
- Ryan Sanborn – Punter
- Tucker McCann – Kicker
And that is the end of the UFL Draft for the St. Louis Battlehawks! The season kickoff is on Friday, March 27th, with the official season schedule coming out on January 22nd.
