UFL College Draft Breakdown: Michigan Panthers | Rocky Lombardi
ColumnsUFLUSFL

UFL College Draft Breakdown: Michigan Panthers

·

Last week, the Michigan Panthers selected 10 players in the UFL College Draft. These picks were made in order to claim rights to these athletes for the future – as there is no guarantee that they’ll decide to play in the UFL.

In the past, the Michigan Panthers have been one of the teams who have seen quite a bit of success with these College Drafts. Their selections in 2023 led to playmakers such as Levi Bell, Dashaun White, Jarrett Horst, Chim Okorafor, and others to sign with the team for the 2023 and/or 2024 seasons.

This time around, nine of the ten Panthers draftees are currently on NFL rosters, so they’re not all available to sign quite yet. Let’s take a look at whose names were called by the Panthers last week; as one has already signed a Letter Of Intent with the team.

OT Julian Pearl | Illinois

In the 2023 USFL College Draft, the Panthers selected OT Jarrett Horst with their first pick. Not surprisingly, Michigan followed suit in 2024, picking up OT Julian Pearl in the first round.

Pearl played his college football at Illinois, growing into a starter for his final few seasons. He made 11 starts in 12 games during his sophomore season, and that led to even more success – starting in 12 games in both 2022 and 2023. Julian was a All-Big Ten Honorable Mention in 2023, and is currently signed to the Baltimore Ravens roster.

CB Dwight McGlothern | Arkansas

Michigan has a knack for finding elite cornerbacks, so the selection of Dwight McGlothern isn’t a shocker. While he’s with the Minnesota Vikings right now as an UDFA, Dwight had an excellent career at Arkansas, and is a player who would immediately make this secondary even better, if he were to become available.

McGlothern began his college career at LSU, playing for two seasons there in 2020 and 2021. During his sophomore campaign, Dwight had 32 tackles, six PBU’s, and an interception for LSU.

In 2022, Dwight transferred to Arkansas. He had 72 tackles, four TFL’s, 23 PBU’s, and seven interceptions across a two year span as a Razorback. In 2023, he led all cornerbacks nationally with a 91.8 Coverage Grade, according to PFF.

DE Isaac Ukwu | Mississippi

Isaac Ukwu is an intriguing prospect, having a lengthy college career that amounted to greatness in the final couple of years. Ukwu began his collegiate days at JMU, and earned 2022 All-Sun Belt First Team honors after posting 40 tackles and 7.5 sacks that year.

Ukwu then transferred to Ole Miss for his final season of eligibility, starting in five of 13 games played. He compiled 30 tackles, 4.5 TFL’s, and 3.5 sacks. This led to Isaac signing as an UDFA to the Detroit Lions, which is where he is now stationed.

OT Brian Dooley | EMU

Brian Dooley is another offensive line prospect that would fit right into Michigan’s offense. He’s with the Tennessee Titans right now, having signed there as an UDFA in early May. Dooley was a staple on the offensive line at EMU, starting in 58 of 60 games played. According to footballdb.com, he saw 58 consecutive starts to close out his college career – a ridiculous number.

QB Rocky Lombardi | NIU

Lombardi is another draftee who had a very long college career, playing from 2017-2023. His first stop was at Michigan State, starting in nine of 22 games played. Lombardi threw for 1,902 yards and 11 touchdowns as a Spartan.

He then transferred to NIU in 2021, quickly becoming the starter that year. In 2021, he threw for 2,569 yards and 15 touchdowns. An injury cut his 2022 stint short, so he returned in 2023 – compiling 2,247 passing yards and 11 scores. Throughout his collegiate career, Rocky rushed for 768 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground. As of right now, he’s in Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals.

WR Dayton Wade | Mississippi

As the only offensive skill position selected in this UFL College Draft by Michigan, Dayton Wade has quite a bit of potential at the WR position. He’s with the Baltimore Ravens currently, but is a smaller slot receiver who could fit the role of someone like Devin Ross, or even Trey Quinn, within Marcel Bellefeuille’s offense.

Wade began his college career at Western Kentucky, but was derailed by injuries during that campaign. He transferred to Ole Miss in 2022, and ended up recording 1,139 receiving yards and seven touchdowns across two seasons. Dayton averaged 13.9 YPR at Mississippi.

S Akeem Dent | Florida State

Akeem Dent is a tremendous young prospect out of Florida State, who is FSU’s career leader with 18 PBU’s during his time there. Dent played for five seasons at FSU, totaling 185 tackles, four TFL’s, an interception, 18 PBU’s, and two forced fumbles. He started in 10 of 11 games during his senior season, and signed with the Los Angeles Chargers as an UDFA.

See also

C Andrew Meyer | UTEP

Sticking with the trend of offensive linemen, the Panthers selected Center Andrew Meyer, who signed with the Miami Dolphins as an UDFA out of UTEP. Meyer was a starter for his final four seasons (44 consecutive games) at UTEP, proving to be a reliable face within that lineup across that span. It’ll be an uphill battle for him to make Miami’s roster or practice squad, which could result in him becoming a reality to join Michigan for the 2025 UFL season.

OL J.D. Duplain | Michigan State

Interestingly enough, J.D. Duplain was the only free agent that Michigan selected. He has already signed with the Panthers, which you can read more about here.

S/LB Isaiah Stalbird | South Dakota State

While the Panthers listed Stalbird as a safety, he’s primarily played linebacker throughout his career. He is actually listed on the New Orleans Saints roster as a LB, having signed with them as an UDFA in May. Isaiah began his college days at Nebraska, racking up 13 tackles and a blocked punt in 2019.

He moved to South Dakota State in 2020, originally playing some minutes at safety. He moved to linebacker full time in 2021, which is where he remained for the majority of his time at SDSU. Stalbird posted an outstanding 238 tackles, 18.5 TFL’s, three sacks, an INT, 18 PBU’s, and five forced fumbles as a Jackrabbit. He also ran a 4.43 40 yard dash at his Pro Day.

Final Thoughts

General Manager Steve Kazor has already started the process of bringing in new faces to this Michigan Panthers franchise for 2025. They signed their draft pick in Duplain, while also adding Punter Simon Laryea and OT Keith Russell this week.

Given Michigan’s prior success in attracting their draft picks to the roster, it would not be at all surprising to see at least a couple more make their way to the UFL before the 2025 season begins. Time will tell.

What are your thoughts on these UFL College Draft picks by Michigan? Are you excited to see J.D. Duplain on this roster in 2025? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!

XFL, USFL, UFL, CFL Retro Jerseys, Shirts, Hats & more