Reviewing The Birmingham Stallions 2025 UFL Season

There haven’t been many stories quite as unique as the Birmingham Stallions. They’ve made history in the spring scene for a few years now, and added to that legacy this past UFL season – despite their Championship streak finally being broken.

For the first time in modern franchise history, the Birmingham Stallions didn’t make it to the Championship. They were stopped short in the USFL Conference Finals, falling to the Michigan Panthers – also for the first time in modern franchise history.

While Birmingham fell short of the ultimate goal, to accomplish all that they did this season was quite impressive, given the circumstances. Skip Holtz led this team to a 7-3 campaign, earning the regular season title of the USFL Conference once again – despite five different quarterbacks seeing action.

Let’s take a look back on Birmingham’s 2025 season, as it was a wild ride from start to finish.

Early Hype & Changes

As the Birmingham Stallions reloaded for their 2025 campaign, they made a major splash by re-signing QB Alex McGough – formerly the USFL’s MVP in 2023 as Birmingham cruised to a Championship victory that year.

However, the team would have a small bump early in camp. Co-Offensive Coordinator Phillip Montgomery left for a gig at Virginia Tech, which resulted in Lester Erb joining Skip’s staff as Montgomery’s replacement.

Locked and reloaded, Birmingham prepared to face off against the DC Defenders, with McGough leading the way. It was a matchup that favored the Stallions, given their past success with Alex.

However, it was evident pretty quickly that Alex McGough wasn’t the same guy we saw in 2023. Between the improved defensive talent in the UFL, combined with the fact that McGough hadn’t played in a game at QB since 2023, he looked as rusty as you’d imagine. Alex sputtered and stumbled throughout the afternoon, as Birmingham fell to DC on the road 18-11.

McGough would look to bounce back next week against Michigan – but he was knocked out of the game on the very first play with a shoulder injury, which ended his season as he went to IR, never to return to the field.

Matt Corral Back In The Saddle

This would be just the tip of the iceberg with injuries to Stallions’ quarterbacks. Matt Corral stepped in against Michigan and led Birmingham to the road win, which wasn’t at all surprising given his success vs. Michigan the last couple of seasons.

In week three, Corral and the Stallions pulled out what was a miraculous home victory over Arlington, in a game that easily could have gone another direction. Matt played some of the worst ball of his UFL career, and threw an interception to Steven Jones that seemingly sealed the deal for Arlington. However, a penalty on Birmingham’s own Barry Wesley resulted in the play being re-run, and Corral ended up leading a game-winning drive capped off with a TD to Cade Johnson.

After those heroics, Birmingham was getting into a groove. Corral came out firing against Houston in week four, putting the Stallions in a position to get their third win of the year…until he wasn’t. Matt would suffer a hip injury late in that game, which put him on IR throughout the rest of the regular season.

The Case Cookus Era

This resulted in Birmingham turning to a rather strange face to see in a Stallions uniform: Case Cookus. Cookus had joined the team during Training Camp as QB3, with J’Mar Smith opting not to return to the team, as he preferred to have a legitimate opportunity to compete for QB1.

Cookus closed things out in Houston looking as sharp as ever, giving Stallions fans hope that the former Philadelphia Stars legend could keep things stable.

In week five, Case got his first start of the year – against his former team in the Memphis Showboats. Cookus looked relatively shaky in the pocket, as the Showboats ended up taking Birmingham down on their own turf in an overtime thriller.

Cookus and Co. would get back on track the following week, facing off against a reeling Brahmas organization. The Stallions took down San Antonio with ease, as Cookus and newly-signed QB Andrew Peasley split time as Skip Holtz continued to pursue answers at the quarterback position.

With a 4-2 record, Birmingham turned to a surging Houston Roughnecks team – one that was seeking revenge.

J’Mar Smith…Returns?

In the midst of all of this chaos, J’Mar Smith returned to the Stallions roster – originally on a one week deal in week five, due to Corral’s injury. At first, it seemed that Matt’s injury would only keep him out a week, but once he went to IR, Smith ended up re-signing as QB3.

He was quickly elevated to QB2, as Andrew Peasley’s injury in week six pushed him to QB3. Then, all of a sudden, J’Mar Smith was thrust into action.

Houston was trampling the Stallions in week seven, with a 25-6 lead in the second quarter. Case Cookus began to lead the comeback, but then went down with his knee injury re-aggravated – and J’Mar took to the field for the first time since W1 of the 2023 season.

Smith had a legendary performance, closing the door on Houston and finishing out the comeback for the Stallions, as they scored 27 unanswered points – storming back to victory.

With J’Mar being the only healthy quarterback rolling into week eight, he got the start against St. Louis – and immediately turned the clock back as he dropped a dime to Deon Cain for the first score of the game.

That said, we were quickly introduced to the ups and downs of the J’Mar Smith experience – as he threw a boneheaded pick six to Callahan O’Reilly. Even though he did get Birmingham back in front, a C.J. Marable fumble sealed the deal, and St. Louis came out victorious.

Historical Final Two Weeks

J’Mar Smith would not be denied, though, as he put together what was one of the most impressive string of performances we’ve seen yet. In week nine against Michigan, as the two USFL Conference giants faced off, Smith and this offense made history – converting on 11 of 13 third down attempts en route to a 26-22 victory. It was one of the most bizarrely efficient stat-lines in the UFL’s existence, and one that essentially clinched home field advantage for the Stallions.

The next week against Memphis, Smith and this offense continued to pour it on. They dropped a UFL season high 46 points on the road against the Showboats, with Smith and a healthy Andrew Peasley splitting reps.

Heading into the postseason, the Stallions were red-hot – looking for their fourth straight Championship berth.

Dynasty Comes To An End

At some point, all good things must come to an end. The Birmingham Stallions have been the kings of spring for what feels like forever at this point – but they finally met their match in the Michigan Panthers.

J’Mar Smith’s magic ran out of steam in a rematch against a hungry Panthers defense. Down 14-6, Smith threw a pick six to Kai Nacua – which had Skip Holtz so upset that he pulled J’Mar from the game, putting Matt Corral in despite Matt not playing a snap since week four.

Ultimately, it was Michigan’s offense that was too strong for Birmingham to slow down. The Stallions had one of their worst defensive outings in franchise history, as Michigan ran and threw all over that unit. Bryce Perkins and Toa Taua had a day, while the Panthers O-Line established dominance early, never relenting. The Stallions would fall at home 44-29, with the first playoff loss under the Skip Holtz Regime.

Injuries A Factor

What isn’t talked about enough: the amount of injuries that Birmingham suffered throughout the season. They ended up placing several players on IR (notably QB’s Alex McGough & Matt Corral) – but they also lost the following players to IR at some point in Training Camp, or during the season:

TE La’Michael Pettway
OT Jarron Jones
OG LaChavious Simmons
DE Ronnie Perkins
DB Ike Brown
DB Madre Harper
LS Ryan Langan

Not to mention, other standouts such as DE Bradlee Anae, CB Mario Goodrich, C Cole Schneider, OT Alex Taylor, etc. missed significant time due to injury.

It was the unhealthiest season that Birmingham has had in team history, yet they still managed to win seven games.

Major Takeaways From 2025

There’s plenty of things to look at from this past season and reflect on for this Stallions organization. They once again boasted some serious talent, largely due to the work that former GM Zachary Potter did before he left for a gig at Sacramento State.

Up front, Birmingham simply could not stay healthy. Their offensive line was battered and beaten all year long, being shuffled around each and every week. Skip Holtz spoke about this down the stretch of the season, as they didn’t have the same starting O-Line up until the final week or two of action.

Something to address this offseason: the running back room. Birmingham decided to run it back, pun intended, with the same three RB’s from 2024. Primarily, C.J. Marable and Ricky Person Jr. were the go-to backs, with Larry Rountree serving as a reserve once again.

Skip spoke about this early on in the year, saying that “we’ve won with them before”. What became clear this year, though, was that they did not have a consistent ground game at all. Marable averaged just 2.8 yards per carry, as he never found much of a rhythm this year as a veteran on this team. Having a steady ground game would have been a huge help for this offense – especially with the nonstop carousel at quarterback.

Birmingham arguably had the top TE room in the league. Jace Sternberger and Jordan Thomas led the way once again, with both making splash plays when their names were called upon. Thomas, in particular, was a menace in the postseason – doing what he could to get the Stallions back in the game.

Defensively, the Birmingham Stallions had a solid season. Corey Chamblin was the full-time DC all year long, after taking over midway through the 2024 campaign for John Chavis.

The late collapse in the playoffs was a bit of an anomaly, as they simply had zero answers for Bryce Perkins. Without that game on record, the Stallions were excellent. They allowed just 16.7 PPG (2nd) and 267.0 YPG (T-2nd), while giving up the fewest touchdowns of any team (18) in the UFL.

Their biggest struggle was the secondary play. This was partially due to injury, as they could not find a way to keep the back-end fully healthy. That said, offseason additions such as Rachad Wildgoose and Faion Hicks were rather underwhelming, both getting cut towards the end of the season. Madre Harper was another CB that struggled, prior to a season-ending injury. This will be an area that also needs to be addressed in the offseason.

Questions Towards 2026

The biggest question for Birmingham heading into this offseason: what’s next?

This is the first time they’re in this position without GM Zach Potter. Instead, Paul Roell is in his place – who did an outstanding job during the season bringing in talent that kept this team rooted despite all of the injuries.

That said, at quarterback, where does this team turn? There’s no guarantee that Alex McGough and/or Matt Corral return. J’Mar Smith is probably not too pleased with how things ended, being benched by Skip after making one mistake. Meanwhile, Case Cookus didn’t exactly prove that he can still be a starter – and remain healthy.

Andrew Peasley is the odd man out, as he did flash quite a bit of potential during his short-lived tenure.

For Skip Holtz, Paul Roell, and this entire organization – there’s a lot to figure out moving forward.

Final Thoughts

There is no denying that the Birmingham Stallions had one of the wildest seasons we’ve seen in spring ball. While they fell short of the ultimate prize, it’s still one to be proud of – and this team has the pieces available to build back to the top next year.

Not surprisingly, we’ve already seen a few Stallions sign NFL contracts. OL Barry Wesley, DT Perrion Winfrey, CB Mario Goodrich, and K Harrison Mevis have all made their way to the NFL over the last week.

What are your thoughts on the Birmingham Stallions 2025 UFL season? What do you want to see the team address this offseason? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!