USFL is back: Players to watch as season kicks off this weekend
When the revived USFL begins its 10-week regular season this weekend, NFL and college football fans will see some familiar names dotting the rosters of the league's eight teams.
The league kicks off on Saturday when the Birmingham Stallions host the New Jersey Generals in a game broadcast on both NBC and Fox.
A pair of defensive standouts could be among the headliners for Birmingham.
Stallions linebacker Scooby Wright was the Pac-12 defensive player of the year and a unanimous All-American as a sophomore at the University of Arizona in 2014. That year he also won the Bronko Nagurski Award, Chuck Bednarik Award and Vince Lombardi Award after leading the nation in total tackles.
Wright was a seventh-round draft choice of the Cleveland Browns in 2016. He also played in both the AAF with the Arizona Hotshots and the XFL with the DC Defenders.
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The Stallions defense will also feature cornerback Brian Allen, who appeared in three games last season for the Cleveland Browns.
On offense, former Denver Broncos first-round pick Paxton Lynch is part of the Michigan Panthers' dynamic quarterback duo. He'll compete for the starting job with Shea Patterson, the No. 1 overall pick in the recent USFL draft, who played collegiately at Ole Miss and Michigan.
Elsewhere, quarterback Jordan Ta’amu of the Tampa Bay Bandits has bounced around the NFL and last played for the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL.
The Houston Gamblers have Clayton Thorson as their quarterback. The former Northwestern star was a fifth-round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019.
Former Richmond quarterback Kyle Lauletta is expected to start the opener under center for the Pittsburgh Maulers. He was a fourth-round pick in 2018 by the New York Giants and appeared in two games for them that season.
The Tampa Bay Bandits have trio of interesting wide receivers. Eli Rogers played four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, including three under offensive coordinator Todd Haley, who is now the Bandits' head coach.
Rashard Davis was a wideout on the Eagles' practice squad when they won Super Bowl 52. John Franklin III was a star on Netflix's "Last Chance U."
Also, the New Orleans Breakers have wideout Taywan Taylor on their roster. Taylor was a third-round pick by the Tennessee Titans in 2017 after decorated college career at Western Kentucky.
Defensively, the Philadelphia Stars will feature linebacker Gabriel Sewell, the older brother of Detroit Lions 2021 first-round pick Penei Sewell.
Cornerback Channing Stribling will also be part of the defensive unit in Philly. Stribling may be the USFL's most-traveled player, having seen action on several practice squads in the NFL, with the Memphis Express of AAF, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL and the Seattle Dragons of the XFL.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USFL 2022 players to watch include QB Paxton Lynch, LB Scooby Wright
