A new competitor has joined the Birmingham Stallions' quarterback room just mere days before they play their first game of the 2026 UFL season.
Per the UFL Communication Department's X page, the Stallions signed quarterback Donovan Smith to the roster. Smith had just spent training camp with the Houston Gamblers, but lost the starting job to Nolan Smith and was released in favor of Taulia Tagovailoa.
During his college career, Smith played two years at Texas Tech and two more with the Houston Cougars. In 44 career games, he threw for 6,354 yards and 45 touchdowns to 31 interceptions, adding another 845 rushing yards and 19 scores.
Donovan Smith joins the Birmingham Stallions QB room
Smith most likely would be at the bottom of the depth chart at quarterback for the Stallions. Birmingham head coach A.J. McCarron named Matt Corral as the starter, with Taylor Elgersma and Michael Hiers as the backups.
The Stallions are unlikely to carry four quarterbacks on the roster, so one of them will most likely be cut from the team. No official announcement has been made, as the Stallions' roster on the UFL website still lists all four quarterbacks as of the time this article was written.
One thing about Smith is his athletic ability, which makes him a good fit for spring football, but he has struggled with accuracy throughout Gamblers training camp as well as in college. Unless there are injuries to Corral or whoever else is remaining at quarterback for Birmingham, it doesn't seem likely that Smith is going to end up getting much playing time and could use the 2026 season to learn and develop as a professional from one of spring football's best quarterbacks ever in Coach McCarron.
This was a good move for the Stallions to upgrade the quarterback room and add another potential weapon to an offense loaded like no other in the UFL.