If the leaked document posted by State of the Stallions on Twitter/X holds true, the UFL will finalize each team’s quarterback assignments on Monday, January 5. There’s no word on whether those assignments are set to be made public on that date.
According to the player allocation plan, head coaches will submit a list of five quarterbacks, and the league office will decide on three for each team based on that list. Among the considerations when assigning QBs will be college allocation. That is, each team has four to five schools from which UFL teams will have preference on players.
Though quarterbacks may not be a part of the separate allocation process, head coaches and the league could want some local flavor at the position to create further interest from the media and fanbases in those areas. With that in mind, I looked back over the last three NFL draft classes, as well as other players who have been active in the NFL other leagues during that time, to come up with a list of possible quarterbacks that could be assigned to teams based on the college allocation (assuming the colleges to be allocated from are the same as on the document posted by SotS).
I’ve also included a few players eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft because, according to the player allocation plan, 2026 draft eligible players will be a part of the player pool and therefore, one would imagine, would be able to be claimed through the QB allocation process.
While last year’s UFL College Draft included players under contract to NFL teams, my assumption is only free agents will be eligible to be selected at any phase of player dispersal. Therefore, I’ve left off names like Max Duggan and Bryce Perkins, who both played in the UFL last year but who are currently under contract to CFL teams. I did include one IFL player as that’s a lower level of play, and the league would most likely release them for this opportunity.
Birmingham:
Spencer Sanders (Ole Miss): The number three quarterback for D.C. last season, the league office will have to decide whether Sanders qualifies to be part of the college allocation process – he spent only one year at Ole Miss, throwing just 29 passes. Sanders was a four-year starter at Oklahoma State and threw 70 touchdowns in college.
Matt Corral (Ole Miss): Could Corral return to the Stallions? He started five games in two years under former head coach Skip Holtz, never playing well enough to run away with the job. He’s a former 3rd round NFL draft pick of the Carolina Panthers back in 2022.
Jordan Ta’amu (Ole Miss): It’s hard to imagine Ta’amu’s former position coach – and interim head coach – Shannon Harris not putting Ta’amu number one on his claim list given that Ta’amu was a league MVP candidate who led the Defenders to the UFL Championship last season. If Stallions head coach A.J. McCarron also puts Ta’amu number one, does he go to the Stallions based on the allocation tiebreaker? Or will the league view him as too attached to the Defenders franchise to move him?
Payton Thorne (Auburn): Thorne spent two years at Auburn after four at Michigan State. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals this spring but didn’t make the team. Without much interest coming from elsewhere around the NFL, the UFL could be a good move to continue his football career, if that’s what he wants to do. (Note: Thorne recently signed with Winnipeg of the CFL)
Columbus:
Ian Book (Notre Dame): With schools like Michigan and Ohio State as part of the allocated college associated with Columbus, there will be few opportunities to get QBs from those schools because they almost always land in the NFL. At 27 years old, Book is an NFL veteran, having played for four teams since being a 4th round draft pick of the New Orleans Saints in 2021. He has the intangibles and running ability to be successful in the UFL environment.
Dallas:
Jalan McClendon (Baylor): McClendon came into his own last year, climbing from number three on the Houston Roughneck depth chart to be the unquestioned starter by the end of the year. McClendon had already re-signed with Houston this off-season, so he’s clearly interested in returning to the league.
Tanner Mordecai (SMU): A 2024 UFL College Draft pick of the D.C. Defenders, Mordecai didn’t end his college career with SMU – he played a year at Wisconsin after spending two with the Mustangs. This is another situation that the league office will have to parse. I put him here because he may qualify as an allocated player from this college. Mordecai has experience in the pass-first, run-and-shoot offense.
Chandler Morris (TCU/North Texas): A member of the 2026 NFL Draft class, Morris played at two of Dallas’s territorial protected colleges, TCU and North Texas. He has completed more than 62% of his passes every year he has started a game. His measurables may hold him back from getting a legit NFL opportunity, which is part of the reason the UFL exists – for players like him.
D.C.:
Taulia Tagovailoa (Maryland): The brother of Miami Dolphins QB Tua, Taulia didn’t have the college or pro success of his older sibling. After getting a tryout with the Seattle Seahawks following the 2024 NFL Draft, Tagovailoa headed north of the border, playing with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He now plays in the Indoor Football League.
Collin Schlee (Virginia Tech): There wasn’t much NFL interest in Schlee after he came out following the 2024 season. He was only a full-time starter for one season in college, but ran for over 1,000 yards, showing the ability to make plays with his legs. Schlee had minicamp tryouts with the Washington Commanders and Baltimore Ravens after the 2024 draft, but that’s it.
Chandler Morris (Virginia): Another complication of the territorial process is a player like Morris, who played at multiple schools that qualify as territories of multiple UFL teams. In this case, Morris finished his career at Virginia – if the league puts more weight on their final stop, Morris could be a D.C. claim. If they put more weight on the number of years spent at a college, he would be a claimant of the Renegades.
Houston:
Kellen Mond (Texas A&M): Mond was not a fit for the A.J. Smith offense in San Antonio last year, which hampered his and the team’s success. A fresh start in a new city with a new staff may be just what the doctor ordered. Mond showed potential at times in 2025; could he unlock that potential as a Gambler in 2026?
Danny Etling (LSU): When the UFL MVP is ahead of you on the depth chart, it’s hard to get an opportunity to shine. Etling started seven games for Michigan over the last two years and performed well enough – he just wasn’t as dynamic as Bryce Perkins. With Michigan no longer in the league, Etling’s services will be up for grabs and Houston could decide to put in a claim on the veteran to compete for a starting job.
Donovan Smith (Houston): He didn’t win enough games as a starter and threw too many interceptions, but Smith’s dual-threat abilities coming out of Houston may be intriguing to Kevin Sumlin and his staff. Not only did Smith go to college locally but he also went to high school in Texas as well. Smith tried out for the Dallas Cowboys in 2024 after going undrafted.
Louisville
Jarrett Guarantano (Tennessee): Five years at Tennessee led to one year at Washington State, so this will once again depend on how the UFL office will view players that attended multiple colleges when deciding if they qualify for a territorial school. He has seven games of UFL experience under his belt if Louisville wants to add a veteran to pair with some younger arms on this list.
Jack Plummer (Louisville): Of all the new potential players profiled here, Plummer may be the most likely to end up in the UFL: A guy who has been in NFL training camps for two years, has received pre-season playing time, but was ultimately cut and has fallen off the radar. Plummer is a traditional pocket passer with great size – but he’s not going to outrun anyone.
Devin Leary (Kentucky): Another solid UFL candidate, Leary was a Baltimore Ravens 6th round draft pick in 2024 after just one year with the Wildcats. He spent 2024 on the team’s practice squad and was brought to camp this year only to be released at the end of August.
Miller Moss (Louisville): A member of the 2026 draft class, Moss’s NFL prospects are murky due to size and arm strength concerns. If he doesn’t sign as an undrafted free agent, he could decide to roll the dice on a UFL opportunity. Moss came into his own this fall, winning nine games with the Cardinals in just his second season as a starter.
Orlando
Micah Leon (Florida): Seven years in college produced just 16 pass attempts for Leon, his final year of those seven coming at UF. After throwing at Florida’s pro day, Leon received an invitation to Miami Dolphins minicamp on a tryout basis. Earlier this year, he traveled overseas to play for Hamburg of the European League of Football.
John Rhys Plumlee (UCF): Plumlee has been on and off NFL practice squads, playing quarterback, receiver, and kick returner during that time. He was picked by the Renegades in the 2024 UFL College Draft but he’ll be free to be selected by any team with the reorganization of the league.
K.J. Jefferson (UCF): Jefferson started three years at Arkansas before transferring to UCF for his last year in 2024. He was benched after five starts, a rough way to go out for a player who threw over 70 touchdown passes in college. Orlando head coach Anthony Becht has featured both a traditional pocket QB (A.J. McCarron) and a QB with more of an athletic profile (Manny Wilkins), so he doesn’t seem married to one “type,” making it difficult to discern what he’ll be looking for in his QBs this go-round.
St. Louis
John Paddock (Illinois): Out of the game since 2024 when he was with the Atlanta Falcons in training camp, Paddock walked on at Illinois for his last season after playing at Ball State previous to that. He started just one season in college so he’s more of a blank slate than many players who could be claimed.
Mark Gronowski (Iowa): A winner who led South Dakota State to two FCS Championships, it’s difficult to envision Gronowski being skipped over by every NFL team even if he doesn’t have any outstanding physical traits that you could see translating to the NFL. With as few choices as St. Louis may have at QB – at least from their allocated schools – they could decide to take a chance on someone like Gronowski either for this year or for next.
1 Comment
by John
Jordan absolutely needs to stay in D.C. – if only for your sake Mark! Lol, seriously though, would like to see at least SOME form of continuity from last year to this year. I’ve seen Plummer firsthand as a Carolina Panthers fan, and other than him having no relation to the great JAKE Plummer other than the no. 16, dude is Not that impressive. though all I’ve seen is garbage 2131321415th quarter time. Hoping this year provides a spark of excitement from the 2026 UFL QB class. Let’s Go! Thanks for y’alls hard work!