ARLINGTON, TEXAS – January 12, 2026 – The United Football League (UFL) today announced its selections for its 2026 UFL Quarterback Draft and its Regional College Allocation. The remainder of the UFL Draft will take place at the UFL HQ in Arlington, Texas on January 13-14.
The Quarterback Draft is the first phase of the UFL’s player selection process. Head Coaches evaluated all available quarterbacks in collaboration with the UFL centralized scouting department. The Quarterback Draft was conducted on Friday, January 9, with all selections being announced today. The following quarterbacks were selected by UFL teams:
Birmingham Stallions Columbus Aviators
Matt Corral Jalen McClendon
Taylor Elgersma Jalen Morton
Jaren Hall Clayton Tune
Dallas Renegades* DC Defenders
Luis Perez Mike DiLiello
Austin Reed Spencer Sanders
Houston Gamblers* Louisville Kings*
Hunter Dekkers Jason Bean
Donovan Smith Chandler Rogers
Orlando Storm St. Louis Battlehawks
Jack Plummer Michael Pratt
Dorian Thompson-Robinson Brendan Silvers
Ben Woolridge
*Teams will continue to evaluate possible third quarterback selection.
The College Regional Allocation selection was held remotely on January 10, 2026. The regions were defined by the UFL Player Personnel Department to ensure equity. Head Coaches were then able to choose a maximum of up to three (3) players from their allocated colleges as part of the UFL Draft. The regional selection includes:
Birmingham Stallions (Name, Position, College, Previous UFL Team)
Kobe Jones, OLB, Mississippi State, San Antonio Brahmas
Mason Brooks, T, Mississippi, DC Defenders
Desmond, Little, DE, Alabama-Birmingham, FA
Columbus Aviators (Name, Position, College, Previous UFL Team)
Alize Mack, TE, Notre Dame, San Antonio Brahmas
Juwann Bushell-Beatty, T, Michigan, St. Louis Battlehawks
Jailin Walker, MLB, Indiana, FA
Dallas Renegades (Name, Position, College, Previous UFL Team)
Sam Tecklenburg, OL, Baylor, San Antonio Brahmas
Keondre Coburn, DT, Texas, FA
Siaki Ika, NT, Baylor, FA
DC Defenders (Name, Position, College, Previous UFL Team)
Gottlieb Ayedze, T, Maryland, FA
Brandon Smith, LB, Penn State, FA
Johari Branch, G, Maryland, DC Defenders
Houston Gamblers (Name, Position, College, Previous UFL Team)
Jontre Kirklin, WR Louisiana State, San Antonio Brahmas
Anthony Hines III, LB Texas A&M, DC Defenders
Rashard Lawrence, DE, Louisiana State, San Antonio Brahmas
Louisville Kings (Name, Position, College, Previous UFL Team)
JaVonta Payton, WR, Tennessee, Dallas Renegades
Daniel Grzesaik, DE, Cincinnati, FA
Willie Tyler, OL Louisville, San Antonio Brahmas
Orlando Storm (Name, Position, College, Previous UFL Team)
Cole Schneider, G, Central Florida, Birmingham Stallions
Samuel Jackson, G, Central Florida, Houston Roughnecks
Elijhah Badger, WR, Florida, FA
St. Louis Battlehawks (Name, Position, College, Previous UFL Team)
Hakeem Butler, WR, Iowa State, St. Louis Battlehawks
Kevon Latulas, RB Missouri State, St. Louis Battlehawks
Michael Ojemudia, FS, Iowa, DC Defenders
FA: Free Agent
Each team was allowed to add up to 12 players–six on offense and six on defense–to its Reserve List to prevent exposure in the UFL Draft. The Reserves will be announced on Tuesday, January 13, along with the first day’s selections for the 2026 UFL Draft.
The two-day position-by-position UFL Draft will conclude on Wednesday, January 14.
2 Comments
by Johnny the Angry Fuzzball
A few things that stand out:
– DC, obviously, with having the same coach, is keeping its entire QB room.
– St. Louis is likewise keeping a lot of its roster so far. Not surprising since Proehl has experience with this team. Interestingly, Becht hasn’t poached that much of the roster to Orlando (though that may simply be a lack of Florida university alumni on the Battlehawks’ roster).
– McCarron going WAY off the board with a Canadian QB. Even the CFL doesn’t do that unless you’re Nathan Rourke.
– The Roughnecks’ QBs are going to Columbus. That might be a hint that Ginn is hiring someone off of CJ Johnson’s staff.
– Unsurprisingly, the stalwart vets are largely staying put. Silvers is still in STL, Perez (being from a Texas college) in Dallas (unusual for him to stay this long, I’ll note!).
– Louisville pulls a power move and retains Jason Bean, who openly spurned the UFL last year. Unfortunately, that also means Sam Castronova gets passed up, which surprised me a bit given that he’s a Buffalo native and Eric Wood would be familiar with him.
– A few players here with NFL starting experience, which is a plus. DTR of course with the Browns (thankless job) and Clayton Tune. Time will tell if they or anyone else actually agrees to sign.
by Adam Simon
Could Will Levis go to Louisville? Does Kellen Mond go to Houston? Overall a better group than expected. Manny Wilkins retired??