The Birmingham Stallions can’t catch a break with special teams. Colby Wadman went down with an injury, leading to Drue Chrisman signing with the team this week.
DRUE CHRISMAN HIGHLIGHT REEL 🎥 pic.twitter.com/0bV6KMiu1j
— State of the Stallions (@SOTStallions) April 24, 2024
Wadman is an All-USFL punter, and is a tremendous loss. Thankfully, he hasn’t been placed on the injured reserve like his counterpart in Kicker Chris Blewitt, but his injury is something to monitor.
Chrisman comes into the UFL after recently spending time with the Cincinnati Bengals. He played his college football at Ohio State from 2017-2020. He totaled 185 punts for 8,145 yards there, averaging 44.0 yards per punt.
Drue was signed by the Bengals in 2022, and ended up playing in seven games for the team that season. He punted 28 times for 1,338 total yards, averaging 47.8 YPP with a long of 65 yards. His net average in the NFL was solid, at 42.6 yards.
NFL free agent Drue Chrisman (@DChrisman91), former Ohio State punter and NFL starter, was the top charter and a competition finalist at the #KohlsProCombine with multiple 60+ yard punts.@OhioStateFB // #NFL pic.twitter.com/gPB8Qy7YYG
— Kohl's Kicking Camps (@KohlsKicking) February 16, 2024
Now with Colby Wadman set to miss some time, Chrisman will join the squad in an effort to get more film – and provide the Stallions with quality punting.
Chris Jackson To Injured Reserve
Chris Jackson has had an up and down season for the Birmingham Stallions. He got off to a rough start in week one, allowing a deep touchdown pass to Isaiah Winstead for the first score of the UFL season. His grades on PFF have not been ideal, with a 46.2 Defensive Grade on the year. His coverage grades, in particular, have been rough, with an average of 42.5.
Stallions' top five graded players from Week 2 according to @PFF:
– DE Dondrea Tillman 93.1
– DT Jordan Thompson 91.5
– CB Chris Jackson 82.5
– CB Lorenzo Burns 81.3
– DT Jaylen Twyman 79.8#UFL x #GiddyUp🐎 https://t.co/pzfXdD6ulC pic.twitter.com/8vnvRDfZGp— State of the Stallions (@SOTStallions) April 9, 2024
That said, Jackson has started three games for Birmingham this year. He came off the bench against DC, and got injured after playing 13 snaps. Now, he’ll likely miss the rest of the season, with a minimum of five weeks on IR. John Chavis will have to adjust, since he won’t have Jackson back until, at best, the playoffs.
The Birmingham Stallions continue to find their way to navigate the injuries. After losing Blewitt, newly signed kicker Ramiz Ahmed went 4-4 with a game winner against the Defenders, dazzling in his UFL debut. General Manager Zach Potter never misses when it comes to free agency.
Now, the focus shifts to Houston, as the Stallions travel to face the Roughnecks this weekend.
What are your thoughts on Drue Chrisman signing to Birmingham? Will Chris Jackson return this year? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!
