One of the pleasant surprises of the UFL’s 2025 season was the resurgence of the Houston Roughnecks, who found their stride late in the year. After what was an embarrassing 1-9 campaign in 2024, Houston didn’t punch a postseason ticket – but showed major improvements with a 5-5 record in 2025.
Heading into the year, C.J. Johnson was on the hotseat – at least from the fan’s perspective. He was 1-9 a season ago, and after a 1-3 start this year – it seemed like the writing was on the wall for his future in the UFL.
That all changed, though, as the Roughnecks surged back. While it wasn’t the prettiest end to their campaign in the UFL, Houston did wrap things up with a 5-5 record – matching the Gamblers’ campaign in the USFL in 2023.
It was a season “full of winters” for Houston a year ago. This year, C.J. described it as a year that showed a lot of growth. Let’s take a look at what went down in this Houston organization in 2025.
The Anthony Brown Experiment
Right off the bat, the Houston Roughnecks were boasting an offense that many expected would play at a higher level than the team did in 2024. Houston had the lowest scoring offense of any team in the league last year, but with Anthony Brown at the helm – the former Oregon standout – they were seemingly trending in the right direction.
That would be far from the case, though. In week one at home, Houston got smacked in the face by the St. Louis Battlehawks, 31-6. It was a rude awakening for a Roughnecks organization that had high hopes coming into the season. Anthony Brown threw two interceptions in the loss, as Houston sputtered on both ends. Defensively, they were a disaster – allowing over 270 rushing yards.
Week two told a bit of a different story. The defense cleaned things up, holding the Renegades to just 11 points on the day. However, with Brown still at the helm, Houston’s offense could not get much of anything going. Houston began the year 0-2, with little identity as a team – especially offensively.
Henderson Provides A Spark
It looked like the Roughnecks would begin the year 0-3, as Brown and the squad struggled once again facing off in Memphis against the Showboats. However, C.J. Johnson finally made a change at halftime – putting Nolan Henderson into the game.
This completely shifted the dynamic not just in this matchup, but for the entire season. Henderson came out firing on all cylinders, using his legs to extend plays and push the ball down the field. Before we knew it, the Roughnecks were right back in the ball game.
On top of that, the defensive unit stepped up showing who they could be. Keenan Isaac and Leon O’Neal came up with huge third quarter INT’s, including a pick six from O’Neal. With some late heroics defensively, Houston pulled out their first win of the year.
Unfortunately, it would be a short-lived stint for Henderson. Nolan flashed potential in 2024, and was quickly named “the guy” by C.J. Johnson heading into week four. However, an injury suffered early in that game would put him back to the bench for the rest of the season.
The Jalan McClendon Show
With Henderson injured, Johnson & Co. turned to Jalan McClendon – who was QB3 coming into the year. Jalan was acquired by Houston in the offseason, trading away starting CB Kiondre Thomas to the DC Defenders.
This trade turned out to work in Houston’s favor, it just took a while for it to do so. Once Jalan took command of the offense, it was clear that he had the most NFL-ready arm of any QB in the league. Even though they didn’t come away with a win over Birmingham – McClendon flashed more than enough potential for Eric Price to feel confident with him heading into week five.
This is where Houston really caught stride. On the road in San Antonio, Jalan McClendon & Co. were on fire, dominating en route to a 27-3 win.
The next week, they faced off against Memphis once again. Despite some rough patches along the way, Houston’s offense did enough to get the job done – and their defense stepped up for the second time against the Showboats. This time, it was an Armani Marsh scoop and score that sealed the deal for Houston.
McClendon’s season peaked in week nine, when he threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns against his former team in the DC Defenders.
Generally speaking, the Houston Roughnecks were not a team capable of playing competitive football until Jalan McClendon took over. His ability to throw the ball, and run when needed, elevated their offense to an entirely new level. Every wide receiver saw a tremendous uptick in production once Jalan came into the game – with his precision, on time passing.
Late Season Collapse
As the story has been for C.J. Johnson the last couple of years, though – it wouldn’t be a Houston Roughnecks team if they didn’t find weird ways to lose in the most important games of the season.
In week seven, this came to a head. With a 3-3 record, facing off against the 4-2 Birmingham Stallions on the road, Houston had everyone turning their heads as they held a 25-6 lead in the second quarter. It was an effort of sheer dominance that many weren’t expecting – especially with the Stallions being the home team.
However, just a couple of hours later, it was Birmingham who reigned victorious – scoring 27 unanswered points. How in the world did that happen? Well, it was Houston’s lack of discipline that once again came back to haunt them.
Penalties, defensive backs running into each other, dropped passes, fumbles – you name it, and Houston did it. They could not get out of their own way in the second half, with blatant lack of execution getting in the way. Houston’s defense was also not prepared for the J’Mar Smith onslaught, watching their cushion disintegrate on the final drives.
With their UFL season on the line in week eight against Michigan, the same things happened. Avoidable mistakes have been the story of this franchise, with Geor’Quarius Spivey dropping an easy completion on 4th and 2 midway through the 3Q – which would have been a first down. C.J. Johnson is also to blame, with a couple of coaching errors (i.e. calling a timeout that gifted Michigan with a first down) that held the team back from reaching their full potential.
Whenever Houston had an opportunity to regain momentum, a stupid penalty – or a turnover – would kill any chance at getting back into the game. Michigan would ultimately hang on for the 30-18 win, eliminating Houston from postseason contention.
Offensive Line Improvement
One of the major storylines from this season: Houston’s offensive line got better. With the addition of veteran coach Tom Cable to the coaching staff, alongside some excellent signings from GM Will Lewis, this unit looked and operated at a higher level than they did in 2024.
It wasn’t perfect by any means, but the Roughnecks were able to 1) protect the passer better, and 2) run the football. Throughout the year, ZaQuandre White, Lorenzo Lingard, and Kirk Merritt all saw productive games due to the play of the O-Line.
The group got better as the season went on. It took several games for each to find their role – especially with some shifting around between guard and tackle (i.e. Samuel Jackson). Towards the end of the year, though, we saw that the group was capable of, as they got healthy. Injuries played a factor this year, especially with the midseason trade of OT Cam Carter to Michigan leaving them a bit thin at the position for a couple of weeks.
Strong Defensive Play
After a rocky start, Chris Wilson’s defense snapped out of the funk quickly. They ended up being one of the best units in the UFL, with a 71.9 Defensive Grade (3rd), via PFF.
This entire defense was filled with guys who played physical, efficient football. At EDGE, Jamir Jones never got enough attention for the job that he did – consistently getting pressure on the quarterback week in and week out.
The secondary deserves plenty of praise, too. Despite a revolving door due to injuries, Houston’s defensive play on the backend held up throughout most of the year, with multiple players stepping up to the challenge when their names were called upon.
Notably, CB’s such as Damon Arnette, Keenan Isaac, and Armani Marsh were all standout playmakers this year. Even Rayshad Williams pitched in with a couple of interceptions, while Corn Elder and Markel Roby were trustworthy pieces when healthy.
Positives From 2025
One thing is for certain: Houston made steps in the right direction this year. It isn’t easy to go from 1-9 to a playoff berth, but the Roughnecks came close to pulling that off. If they can continue to build off of the wins from this season, and maintain some of the core that helped improve this roster – they’ll be in great shape.
Offensively, this group is stacked. Looking at the WR room, it was great to see a QB like McClendon come in who could get these guys the football. Justin Hall and Keke Chism were outstanding as expected, while Lawrence Keys, Emmanuel Butler, and Cyril Grayson contributed as well. The crazy part is that they also had Marcus Simms and T.J. Vasher on the backend of the roster – both of which didn’t see the field nearly enough as they could have.
ZaQuandre White proved to be a hidden gem coming into the year. After stints with Birmingham and DC that didn’t result in much action, White came to Houston and excelled – earning starting minutes for large chunks of the year.
As previously mentioned, this defense has a lot of talent at every level. CB Damon Arnette already signed to the NFL, and one would expect that Leon O’Neal, Keenan Isaac, Marvin Moody, and others will be amongst names that get some attention, whether it be a contract or a workout.
Changes In 2026
The question remains: what does Houston need to accomplish in order to make a postseason run? There’s a few things that need to happen.
Firstly, it starts with C.J. Johnson continuing to show growth as a head coach. He’s had some rough moments throughout the years, and once again made some mistakes this season that hurt the team. Most notably, he’s struggled on super challenges – with just one successful call throughout the entire season.
Secondly, strong team discipline needs to be an emphasis heading towards 2026. This team has hampered themselves and their own potential time and time again with self inflicted wounds. There’s a plethora of moments from this season that you can look back on, and see that Houston wasn’t being beaten by the opposing team – they were simply beating themselves.
Finally, the Roughnecks will have to expect to make some changes to the roster moving forward. On the offensive line, veterans like Isaiah Battle and Avery Gennesy are likely headed to retirement. Additionally, there’s no guarantee that all of their CB’s will return to the group next season. Time will tell. That said, there’s a lot of learning that Houston can do in the offseason, looking at both the good and the bad from 2025.
Final Thoughts
One thing is clear: C.J. Johnson wants to bring back as many pieces as he can. At the end of the season, he talked about how confident he was in the leaders on this team, knowing who he wants to roll into 2026 with.
Fans of the Houston Roughnecks have a brighter future to look forward to. Last year, there wasn’t much that the Roughnecks could do right. While it was far from a perfect campaign in 2025, Houston’s strides forward have set them up for a potential playoff run in 2026.
Now the question remains: will Houston be playing in Houston next year? There have been plenty of rumors floating around in the UFL, with the potential for expansion – or relocation. Houston is one of the markets that has been talked about when it comes to relocation. Hopefully, the Roughnecks faithful will get to see their team return for at least one more season, but only time will tell.
On another note, so far we’ve seen CB Damon Arnette and TE Geor’Quarius Spivey sign NFL contracts.
What are your thoughts on the Houston Roughnecks 2025 UFL season? Which players impressed you this year? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!
