The United Football League held its 2nd dispersal draft on Monday during which the Michigan Panthers selected 6 players.
A quick recap of the offseason up to this point.
With the USFL and XFL merging the total number of teams reduced from 16 to 8 leaving many players without a team. These players are redispersed to the teams surviving the merger through dispersal drafts.
On January 5 teams were required to reduce their rosters to 42 players ahead of the first dispersal draft. The Panthers proceeded to add 20 players to their roster at that time. You can read about the players added at that time in the link below.
Michigan Panthers UFL Dispersal Draft Phase 1 Recap
In the January 5 draft, the Panthers were required to choose from players who were among the USFL player pool and not able to choose players from the XFL player pool. For Monday’s UFL Super Draft, teams were able to choose players from both player pools.
Four of the players selected by the Panthers Monday were previously with the team but were not among the 42 players that the Panthers elected to protect heading into the January 5 Dispersal Draft.
Round 1: CB Nate Brooks – North Texas (28 y/o, 6’0, 200 lbs)
Previous Team: Birmingham Stallions
Brooks signed with the USFL’s Birmingham Stallions ahead of the 2023 season and started all 10 games contributing 43 tackles and 2 interceptions. The Stallions dominated the 2023 season which saw them finish the regular season 8-2 and go on to win their second USFL Championship in 2 seasons. Over the 2 playoff games, Brooks added 11 tackles (7 solo) and 2 passes defended.
Brooks’ 2023 USFL season was good enough to get him more NFL attention as the San Francisco 49ers signed him in August although they released him 2 weeks later.
Brooks was signed again by the Stallions in September of 2023 but was not protected by the Stallions for the January 5 dispersal draft.
Nate Brooks is no stranger to pro football and has been around a lot of NFL systems. He signed with the Arizona Cardinals in 2019 as an undrafted free agent. Since that time he has had contracts with 8 different NFL teams primarily appearing on practice squads including the Patriots, Dolphins, Ravens, Buccaneers, Titans, and Raiders. Most recently he was signed in August of 2023 with the San Fransisco 49ers in 2023 but waived 2 weeks later.
In college, he played 48 games with 41 starts at North Texas where he had 135 solo tackles, 58 assisted tackles, 29 passes defended, 10 interceptions, 3 forced fumbles, and a sack.
Round 2: S Will Adams – Virginia State (25 y/o, 6’3, 195 lbs)
Previous Team: DC Defenders
Will Adams played his college ball at Virginia State in the NCAA II level where he played in 36 games. He had 102 solo tackles, 49 assisted tackles, and 5 interceptions. He posted impressive numbers at the 2022 HBCU Combine with a 40.5 vertical leap, 10’3 broad jump, and 4.57-second 40-yard dash.
He signed with the Washington Commanders as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and was released 1 month later.
Adams played in 10 games with the XFL’s Vegas Vipers at cornerback in 2023 appearing in 10 games and registering 5 tackles. His grade from Pro Football Focus would imply that he is a great tackler but he had a low PFF grade in coverage although it is not based on a large body of work as he only played in 26 coverage snaps.
Adams was claimed off of waivers by DC Defenders following being released by the Vagas Vipers after the XFL Rookie Draft.
Round 3: OT Eric Abojei – Wyoming (6’4, 338 lbs)
Previous Team: Michigan Panthers
Eric Abojei played for Wyoming in college where he played in 46 games with 39 starts. He started every game he played in over his final 4 seasons. He played both guard and left tackle for the program. He was named Third Team All-Mountain West Conference in 2022 by Phil Steele.
Abojei signed in 2023 as a free agent with the Michigan Panthers and appeared in 1 game. Prior to signing with the USFL Abojei attended a mini-camp with the Miami Dolphins.
Round 4: K Cole Murphy – Syracuse (27 y/o, 6’3, 215 lbs)
Previous Team: Michigan Panthers
Cole Murphy played 48 games for Syracuse with his final year being in 2017. He made 59 of his 83 field goals during his time there 717.1% and 118 of his 123 extra points.
Murphys signed with the San Diego Fleet in 2019 of the Alliance of American Football after going undrafted in 2018.
In 2022 he made 11 of his 12 field goals with the Michigan Panthers and 9 of his 11 extra points. Last season he made 14 of his 18 field goals and 13 of his 17 extra points. On Football Database he is listed to have made all 16 of his field goals from within 39 yards over his 2 seasons with the Panthers.
Round 5: P Kyle Kramer – Miami (OH) (26 y/o, 6’3, 215 lbs)
Previous Team: Michigan Panthers
Kyrle Kramr played for Miami University in college where he was Third Team All-Mac in 2018 and First Team All-Mac in 2019. He averaged 42 yards per punt over his 4 seasons during which he punted the ball 229 times. He averaged 43.4 yards per punt over 75 punts and had 19 punts for over 50 yards.
Kramer joined the Michigan Panthers in 2022 where he averaged 46.6 yards per punt on 16 punts. In 2023 he averaged 42.7 yards per punt on 39 punts.
Round 6: DE Vantrel McMillan – Chattanooga (29 y/o, 6’2, 250 lbs)
Previous Team: Michigan Panthers
Vantrel McMillan played for Tennessee-Chattanooga in college where he played in 33 games with 15 starts. He contributed 72 solo tackles, 40 assists, 9.5 sacks, and an interception during his time with the program. He was First Team All-SoCon in his senior season in 2016.
In 2018 he played in the CFL with the Montreal Alouettes appearing in 4 games and recording 3 tackles. In 2020 he played in 4 games for the Houston Roughnecks in the XFL contributing 4 tackles.
McMillan joined the Michigan Panthers in the USFL for the 2022 season during which he played in a limited role contributing 7 tackles and a sack. This past season he had 9 tackles and 1.5 sacks over 9 games in 2023. He had a high-pressure rate of 13.7% in the 2023 regular season.
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