We’re about a month away from UFL kickoff, where the DC Defenders will embark on their quest to “maintain the terror”. Fresh off a Championship victory, DC has a target on their backs, as they defend their title.
The Defenders feature quite a few new faces on this roster. With the UFL doing an entire re-draft, Shannon Harris and his staff will have to sift through several position groups that have been revised.
We had the chance to watch the DC Defenders’ practice today. Here is what we observed.
Offensive Observations
To no one’s surprise, Jordan Ta’amu is taking the starting reps at quarterback. He looked sharp, completing a couple of deep passes on the day. What was really impressive, though, was Mike DiLiello’s development. DiLiello completed a long touchdown down the seam to Keke Coutee towards the end of practice.
“Jordan has picked up right where he left off last year. Mike has really picked it up, another year into our system as a backup. Spencer has gotten better as well. We’re excited about how our guys look.” – HC Shannon Harris
The DC Defenders brought back both Deon Jackson and Abram Smith in the backfield. Smith notably looks more spry than he did last year, still recovering from an ACL injury suffered in 2024. Deon Jackson is trending towards a starting role, which makes sense given his emergence last season. That said, Xazavian Valladay flashed quite a bit as well. He’s shifty, and explodes through open lanes. Watch for Valladay to be involved in a myriad of ways offensively come March 28th.
As for the wide receivers, here’s our major takeaways:
- Ty Scott and Montrell Washington were both heavily involved in the 1’s
- Cornell Powell tweaked a muscle early, and spent most of practice doing work on the sidelines
- Seth Williams, who played a big role late in DC’s Championship run, was running with the 3’s
- As previously mentioned, Coutee was an immediate impact player, scoring a long TD
With Briley Moore no longer in the picture in DC, Mason Fairchild is a tight end prospect who DC’s staff wants to see more out of. Mason notably was involved offensively early on. His reps should uptick in 2026.
We didn’t get to see much of the O-Line; but, Parker Clements and Jaelyn Duncan both were effective at the tackle position from what we gathered.
Defensive Observations
Up front, the UFL will have to learn the name Casey Rogers. He’s one of the new additions to this Defenders franchise, and was delivering in the trenches. With Joseph Wallace and Devonnsha Maxwell returning to DC, plus the pickup of Rogers, the Defenders’ run defense should be strong.
“Up front, the guys can really feel Casey Rogers, especially inside as a defensive tackle who can stuff the run.” – DC Blake Williams
At edge, Derick Roberson is picking up right where he left off. He’s got a few new faces around him in the EDGE/OLB room, with Gabriel Murphy, Derek Parish, and Durrell Johnson. Johnson had a strong run defense rep which we caught on tape:
The linebackers have been playing well all week. Coach Williams and safety Leon O’Neal both mentioned Brandon Smith’s pick six, which happened a couple of days ago. Smith is expected to help fill the void that Anthony Hines left, having been picked up by the Gamblers.
We were really impressed with both Gareon Conley and Azizi Hearn in the secondary. Hearn, a new pickup for DC, is explosive. He plays with an aggressive edge, which is what defines the culture of DC. He was taking on tough assignments from the first snaps, thriving under the pressure when the competition was raised.
At safety, the Defenders were rotating quite often. Early studs appear to be Leon O’Neal Jr., Sam Kidd, and Maceo Beard-Aigert. Kidd is someone who DC is hopeful can see the field more often, after spending the majority of the past two seasons on IR. Sam was active today, flying downhill to make a couple of plays in the flat. O’Neal, who earned All-UFL honors with Houston last year, is going to perfectly fit Blake’s defensive scheme. It’s easy to see how he commands a defense, with strong leadership skills that come naturally.
The biggest takeaway from the defense: they’re fast. We spoke with Defensive Coordinator Blake Williams post-practice, who emphasized their focus on acquiring speed:
“The biggest thing that I am excited about right now is our team speed. We purposely tried to assemble a roster on defense that could run. Now, we also want to see them do it. Like, I don’t want to see a 4.7 guy run past a 4.4 guy on the field. If you can run a 4.4., run that or better on the field. I love the way that they are flying around, showing their speed and conditioning. Coaches on both sides can feel the way we’re flying around.”
Speaking With HC Shannon Harris
Right off the bat, Harris was honest and upfront with how he feels about the Defenders roster currently. There’s a lot of promise, but Shannon knows that it’s going to take some serious work to get to where they need to be.
“Right now, I’d say we’re scrappy. We’re trying to find our way. We’ve got a lot of new faces – we gotta get guys to completely understand what we’re doing schematically. I’ll tell you, these guys are picking it all up fast. They understand what we want to do. I’m excited.”
Harris echoed exactly what Blake was telling us – this Defenders team is stacked with speed. From top to bottom, they’ve got some guys who can fly, which is evident when watching the tape:
“Offensively, man, we’ve got a lot of speed. We’ve also got a great backfield. Deon is doing an amazing job, and our guy Abram Smith – he’s back in good shape, way ahead of where he started last season. These wideouts, they’re showing a lot of juice and speed – catching the ball well. They’re competing.”
Comments From Blake Williams & Leon O’Neal
We asked Coach Williams about some of the new additions to this roster, and who might be standing out so far. Here is what he had to say:
“I’ll be candid – we have new additions, but they’re people that I’ve known for a long time. Gabe Taylor, I’ve known him since he was a toddler, having coached his brother. Gareon, he lives 15 minutes from my house. Leon, same thing, I’ve known him since his college days. They were brought in because they fit the mold of our guys and what we want. Guys like him have been a great addition to our culture, with their ball-hawking mentality.”
Speaking of Leon O’Neal, we had the privilege of catching up with him as well. Leon’s an exciting new prospect to this roster, who is thrilled to be a part of this Blake Williams-led defensive system:
“We play fast, we play hard. Blake is more detail oriented. There’s a lot of concepts we’re running to try to confuse the offense. We’ve got a lot of these things that we’re doing early. You go to teams sometimes, and it’s just basic training the first weeks. For us, it’s been advanced basic training immediately with Coach Blake. He don’t play games. He’s really straight forward, and he wants everyone to be successful. It’s not about what you did last year, it’s about how you can grow and get better today.”
As for what he wants to accomplish personally, Leon is laser focused on being the best version of himself every day. There aren’t any accolades he’s chasing – he just wants each day to be better than the last.
“I live in the moment. I’m a process-oriented type of guy. The majority of the time, I’m just living in the moment. I could focus on ‘oh, my goal is this, or my goal is that’, but no – let’s focus on being great today, and let everything else play out in the end. That was my motto last year, and I’m sticking to it. Just trusting God, and keeping the faith.”
Final Thoughts
As for Special Teams, all of their work was wrapped up by the time we arrived to practice, unfortunately. That said, with Matt McCrane, Paxton Brooks, and Trae Barry all back in the building – the core three won’t see any changes on that front.
The DC Defenders have a few weeks to figure things out, before cutting rosters down. On March 19th, the Defenders will slim down from 64 players to 50.
There’s a lot of talent to go around in the UFL, but the Defenders have a different type of swagger with Coach Harris and Williams at the helm. For a full breakdown of their coaching staff, click here.
Are you excited to watch DC Defenders football this UFL season? Who do you think will be the starters in DC? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!
