UFL begins 2025 season this Friday night on FOX

March 24, 2025 by CollegeFootballPoll.com Staff

The UFL hopes to build on its success in 2024 after the eight teams saw 60% of players of their players earn workouts with NFL teams. Ultimately, 21 were on NFL rosters by the time its season began. Those players included Jake Bates, the kicker who was just as impressive for the Detroit Lions as he was with the Michigan Panthers. He is expected to be the teams' kicker again in 2025 as Detroit has the 2nd-best odds to win the NFC.

The 2025 UFL season begins this Friday when the St. Louis Battlehawks visit the Houston Roughnecks at 8 p.m. eastern time on Fox. The opening matchup is the debut of FOX UFL Friday – a new night dedicated to UFL action every Friday during the 10-week regular season.

Perhaps, they should have thought flipping the home team to St. Louis if the league wanted to put its best foot forward. After all, the Battlehawks easily led the league in attendance a year ago with an average of 34,365 fans, whereas Houston was 7th out of 8 teams in attendance in 2024 with just 7,056.

Additionally, the Roughnecks had the league's worst record at 1-9 while St. Louis went 7-3 and won the XFL Conference. The Battlehawks were eliminated by the San Antonio Brahmas, 25-15, with 30,237 in attendance in St. Louis. The Brahmas then went on to get skunked, 25-0, by Birmingham in the UFL Championship game which was also held in St. Louis with 27,396 fans on-hand. It was Birmingham's third consecutive spring football championship, all led by Skip Holtz, who has 32-4 record with the Stallions.

Curtis Johnson (Houston) and Anthony Becht (St. Louis) return as the head coaches of each squad for Friday's game..

Nolan Henderson is the projected starter at QB for Houston while Max Duggan and Manny Wilkins are expected to split time for St. Louis.

The Battlehawks return five players who earned All-UFL honors in 2024 as well as the 2024 UFL Offensive Player of the Year Hakeem Butler and Special Teams Player of the Year Chris Garrett. Twenty-nine players return from last year’s squad, including seventeen players entering their second season in St. Louis and fourteen veterans back for their third. 

The DC Defenders, who open at home against Birmingham on Sunday at 3 p.m. on ESPN, will have a new head coach after Reggie Barlow stepped down over the weekend to take the same role at Tennessee State in the FCS. Quarterbacks Coach Shannon Harris was named the interim head coach. Barlow was 13-7 in two seasons with DC, including a 1-1 playoff record.

Jordan Ta'amu returns at quarterback for the Defenders after ranking 2nd in passing yards in 2024. Birmingham seems loaded on the QB side, even though 2024 league MVP Adrian Martinez signed with the NFL's New York Jets, the same team that signed Justin Fields on March 13 to a 2-year deal worth $40 million with $30 million guaranteed.

On Saturday at 4 p.m. on FOX, the Brahmas will open at Arlington. Bob Stoops is still the head coach of the Renegades who look to battle for a title this season with Luis Perez returning at quarterback, along with top targets Sal Cannella (TE) and Tyler Vaughans (WR). The pair combined for 98 reception and nearly 1,000 yards in the 10-game season.

Wade Phillips is back as the head coach in San Antonio where Kellen Mond, a free agent out of Texas A&M, is expected to get the starting nod.

On Sunday at Noon on ESPN, the Michigan Panthers visit the Memphis Showboats. Last year, the Panthers were 6th in attendance and the Showboats were last with a woeful average of 6,893.

Memphis head coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was hired last September, announced today he was taking a leave of absence so Jim Turner, the offensive line coach, will take on the interim duties. Whisenhunt was also the offensive coordinator and no one else on the staff has had play-calling experience. Top UFL draft pick Jason Bean (Kansas) is also on the Colts roster and just re-signed today. Thus, the Showboats will have to decide between three other QB"S on the roster.

They include Troy Williams, who has had a journeyman CFL, XFL, and now UFL career since his days at Utah where started the 2016 season and filled in for the injured Tyler Huntley for three games in 2017.

EJ Perry (Brown) is another possibility. In 2024, Perry started the first four games with the Michigan Panthers, completing 55-of-89 passes for 664 yards and 2 TD's with 3 interceptions. He also had 23 carries for 151 yards and 4 rushing touchdowns.

Michigan is led by head coach Mike Nolan whose NFL background includes three seasons, plus seven games, as a failed head coach with San Francisco where he compiled a record of 18-37. He is 11-9 with the Panthers, including 0-2 in playoff games. Danny Etling replaced Perry at QB last season and returns in 2025.