First off, thank you J’mar. Thank you for being coming off the bench in 2022 leading the Stallions to the championship. Thank you for being a positive force in the USFL in 2023, despite an injury as your backup led your team to another championship when you could have sulked. Finally, thank you for despite being inactive the whole 2024 season providing the mentorship to Two young QBs that would go on and earn NFL contracts as you helped them in a new environment, playbook, during unsettling times during a merger. You were a class act, that many fans of Alt-Football were blessed to see take the field.
Recently. Head Coach Skip Holtz announced that Two Quarterbacks reported to training camp with sources indicating that J’Mar Smith had opted to retire. Smith, whose been Holtz’s QB since his days at Louisiana Tech has been an instrumental member of the Stallions since 2022 when he was drafted by Birmingham during the inaugural USFL draft.
The former Louisiana Tech Quarterback would be thrust into action in 2022, when then starter Alex McGough was injured during their week 1 matchup vs the New Jersey Generals earning week 1 USFL Offensive Player of the Week honors. Smith would take the reins for the rest of the season, leading the Stallions to the USFL championship throwing for 1,573 yards 10 TDs to 6 Ints. Smith would earn his first championship ring with Birmingham in 2022; however, an injury would sideline him in the 2nd half paving the way for Alex McGough to finish off the Philadelphia Stars.
In 2023 there was no mistake. This was J’Mar’s team. He opened the 2023 season as QB1 only to have suffer a season ending injury after throwing for 160 yds and a TD in the opening game. Despite the injury, the Stallions would win another championship, on the heels of Alex McGough’s MVP which would springboard the former FIU QB to the NFL with the Packers.
Despite every reason to call it a career, Smith returned for the 2024 season. Faced with a new QB room, Smith’s role changed from starter to mentor. With Adrian Martinez, and Matt Corral battling for QB1, Smith served as a mentor to the Two young QBs, which led to both players earning an NFL Contract, another Championship ring, and Adrian Martinez winning the UFL MVP.
With Three championship rings, on August 20th, 2024 Smith did resign with the Stallions, spending the majority of the off-season as the only QB on the roster. With the Stallions deciding to bring back Matt Corral, and Alex McGough the reality began to set in for the Smith that it could be another year in a reserve role. As a 28-year-old Smith came to the conclusion that the “juice may not be worth the squeeze” at this point in his life. With 3 championships, numerous college awards, and earning the “best hair” award in 2022, Smith’s career is nothing to scoff at especially to fans of the USFL/UFL.
This week Devin Darrington, Elijah Lee, and Dillon Faamatau were among the most recent retirements for the UFL to opt for retirement as the 2025 season inches closer to opening kickoff. With the recent retirement of Smith, the Stallions are now looking for a new Quarterback to fill out their room. While Smith impact on the field may have been limited the past Two seasons, there is no question his impact off of it was unmatched.
1 Comment
by Ken Granito
Nice sendoff to J’Mar Smith. He truly deserves it. Good luck to you.