The Battlehawks have been extremely busy with returning some of their premiere talent along with fan-favorites. Several days after Hakeem Butler was announced to be returning to the UFL, Head Coach Anthony Becht dropped a teaser that another player was “back”. On Tuesday evening the UFL PR announced that Mike Rose Linebacker from Iowa State would be returning for his 3rd season with the Battlehawks. Several days later Austin Faoliu also signed his contract for the 2025 season.
Rose returns after spending training camp with the New Orleans Saints. Rose has been a key force in the Battlehawks Defense, not only being one of the highest graded defenders per PFF but also being one of the leaders for Defensive Coordinator Donnie Abraham. Rose has been with St. Louis since the return of the Battlehawks in 2023, earning an opportunity with the Miami Dolphins in 2023 as well. Over two seasons Rose has totaled 80 tackles and 2 interceptions in 15 games despite missing time with injuries. Rose looks to take another stab at spring football in hopes of solidifying his chances of being retained on an NFL roster. At 24 years old (turning 25 on May 25th)
Faoliu returns for his 2nd season with the Battlehawks and 3rd season in spring football. A 2021 UDFA from Oregon, Faoliu has spent time with the Cowboys, Sea Dragons, Battlehawks, and Seahawks earning All-XFL honors in 2023. Faoliu provides a stout option as a run defender for Donnie Abraham’s defense totaling 36 tackles, and 1 sack through 16 spring football games.
With the UFL season less than 80 days away the Battlehawks return two key players on defense for the upcoming season. Currently 59 Battlehawks are under contract for the 2025 as the team is set to report in late February. The Battlehawks are scheduled to take on the Houston Roughnecks week 1 on March 28th at TDECU Stadium to kickoff the UFL season.
1 Comment
by Ken Granito
I love the UFL keeping it’s better players. It’s what we need to do as a league and it’s also good for its players to build on home so signings like Mike Rose and Austin Faoliu. It’s good for the players, the fans and the team. If you have read some of my comments in the past, you likely know that I am always looking for players and I have a list of UFL prospects. Along with many of the UFL vets, I look for us to sign, I often look at the NFL transactions lists to see which players have been cut from camp. Recently, l wrote about UFL vets I would like to see back. Although the list is not complete, I mention quite a number of what I would call larger stars for the league that we would love to have back. e.g. This did not include Josh Pederson, but you could imagine I feel he would be a great signing for the Roughnecks tight end corps as I feel Ethan Westbrooks could help most defensive lines as a rotational piece. Right now I am going to mention a few NFL vets who I think could help the league. This list included Malik Turner who has since signed with Michigan Panthers so I will not include him. I don’t know of the health of some of these players and I don’t know if they would be willing to sign with the UFL, but I think these players may be worth a call. CFL Quarterbacks McLeod Bethel-Thompson (perfect for Battlehawks), Dakota Prukop (perfect for Stallions. Prukop is Skip Holtz type of QB and Holtz could make help Prukop further develop his US game and maybe even help Prukop develop his foundation to be a coach after his playing days are done.). I believe Nathan Peterman & Nate Sudfeld could have homes in this league. If they get in the league now they could even be here for expansion. I would also like to see what Chase Brice has. I would like to see Darrell Henderson be brought into camp by Memphis and Derrick Gore anywhere really. JJ Koski might really be able to help in the return game as well as determining for him if he could play a tangible role as a receiver. Antoine Wesley might want to see what the UFL is about and the UFL might want to see about putting his height to good use if healthy. For the line maybe they could inquire about Shaq Calhoun, Colby Gossett, Keith Ismael, Solomon Kindley and on the defensive side Tanzel Smart. I have seen Smart play. Never a dominating force in the NFL, but he came to play. Former 2nd round pick Ben Banogu seems to be able to put pressure on the QB, but he remains unsigned. as does Clay Johnston. I am not familiar with their stories, but they might be worth a look. The UFL consistently is signing players in the secondary. That stated the following players have likely all been vetted by the league, but being I have seen Javelin Guidry and former Stallion Tae Hayes play and they would be good performers for the UFL. As teams start rounding out their squads, maybe some of these players will help.