While the UFL appears to be just another Spring football league that has tried to provide a lasting alternative to football. What separates the UFL from the others is its real legacy as a league. The UFL's legacy is to provide opportunities for players, coaches, and front-office personnel to grow professionally, and it has successfully done so. A large number of UFL players have moved on to NFL opportunities, and several UFL coaches have moved on to college football opportunities. In addition, former Birmingham Stallions GM Zach Potter is the next UFL product to make an impact on a bigger stage at the University of Connecticut.
Zach Potter spent three seasons as the General Manager of the Birmingham Stallions. During his time with the Stallions, Potter worked with Birmingham head coach Skip Holtz to build the best team in modern Spring football history. While Potter served as the GM of the Stallions, Birmingham won back-to-back USFL championships and the inaugural UFL championship.
The next step in Potter's career was leaving the Birmingham Stallions and moving to the college football level, where he became the GM of the Sacramento State Hornets. While serving as the GM of Sacramento State, the Hornets turned their 3-9 record in 2024 into a 7-5 record in 2025. Potter's success has opened the door to move on to the FBS level as the GM of the UCONN Huskies.
The Huskies have recently made a change at the head coach position, replacing Jim Mora with former University of Toledo head coach Jason Candle. Potter has a pre-existing relationship with Candle because Potter played on Toledo's defensive line while Candle was the head coach there. The Huskies are working to turn their reputation from a top-performing college basketball program into one that also builds a nationally competitive football program.
UCONN is an independent at the FBS level, which means that if they want to have a chance to play in the College Football Playoffs, they will most likely need to go undefeated and may still need some help. Candle has established himself as a high-performing coach at Toledo, where the Rockets were a perennial Mid-American Conference power. In 2025, the Huskies posted a 9-3 record and will play against Army in the Fenway Bowl on December 27th.
Whether Potter can help the UConn program become a national football power is unclear. But Potter comes to the Huskies with a wealth of experience in building a championship team. If Potter is able to help UCONN take the next step in their program-building process, Potter will become the first UFL representative to lead a team to the College Football Playoffs at the FBS level.
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