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The 2025 United Football League (UFL) season begins on Friday, March 28, with a contest between the St. Louis Battlehawks and the Houston Roughnecks.
The league is entering its second official season after the XFL and the United States Football League (USFL) merged last March. Those two separate entities still exist as conferences within the UFL, each with four teams. The USFL includes the defending champion Birmingham Stallions, Roughnecks, Memphis Showboats and Michigan Panthers, while the XFL includes the Arlington Renegades, DC Defenders, San Antonio Brahmas and the Battlehawks.
The premier professional minor league has sent 24 players to the NFL in its one year of official existence. None of those players are Wisconsin products, at least not yet.
Three former Badgers are on UFL rosters entering its 2025 campaign, set to kick off this weekend: cornerback Faion Hicks (Stallions), cornerback Rachad Wildgoose (Stallions) and defensive tackle Olive Sagapolu (Roughnecks).
Hicks signed with the Stallions earlier this month after three years in the NFL. He bounced to and from practice squads after the Denver Broncos selected him in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL draft. He played a total of 57 snaps during those three seasons, 14 on defense and 43 on special teams.
The cornerback played five seasons at Wisconsin, appearing in 44 total games (39 starts). Most notably, he was a starting cornerback on the team's 2021 defense that argues as the best in program history.
Wildgoose, next, signed with the Stallions last September after two-plus years in the NFL. The former sixth-round pick appeared in 20 games over two seasons, starting three. That playing time, mostly with the Washington Commanders in 2022, included 19 tackles and three pass deflections.
Wildgoose played three seasons with the Badgers (2018-20) before entering the NFL draft after his junior season.
Sagapolu, finally, has bounced to and from the NFL and USFL since turning professional in 2019. He spent offseason or practice squad time with the Green Bay Packers (2019), Detroit Lions (2019-20) and Atlanta Falcons (2021), then played for the USFL's Pittsburgh Maulers from 2022-23, spent 2023 training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles, and finally returned to the soon-to-be UFL.
The defensive tackle played for the Badgers from 2015-18. He appeared in 44 games in that time, starting 26. He tallied 61 total tackles, 11 for loss, six sacks and one interception.
Hicks, Wildgoose, Sagapolu and the rest of the league will begin to showcase their talent and value to NFL teams when the UFL's 2025 spring season kicks off this weekend.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin football players on UFL rosters entering 2025 season
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The league is entering its second official season after the XFL and the United States Football League (USFL) merged last March. Those two separate entities still exist as conferences within the UFL, each with four teams. The USFL includes the defending champion Birmingham Stallions, Roughnecks, Memphis Showboats and Michigan Panthers, while the XFL includes the Arlington Renegades, DC Defenders, San Antonio Brahmas and the Battlehawks.
The premier professional minor league has sent 24 players to the NFL in its one year of official existence. None of those players are Wisconsin products, at least not yet.
Three former Badgers are on UFL rosters entering its 2025 campaign, set to kick off this weekend: cornerback Faion Hicks (Stallions), cornerback Rachad Wildgoose (Stallions) and defensive tackle Olive Sagapolu (Roughnecks).
Hicks signed with the Stallions earlier this month after three years in the NFL. He bounced to and from practice squads after the Denver Broncos selected him in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL draft. He played a total of 57 snaps during those three seasons, 14 on defense and 43 on special teams.
The cornerback played five seasons at Wisconsin, appearing in 44 total games (39 starts). Most notably, he was a starting cornerback on the team's 2021 defense that argues as the best in program history.
Wildgoose, next, signed with the Stallions last September after two-plus years in the NFL. The former sixth-round pick appeared in 20 games over two seasons, starting three. That playing time, mostly with the Washington Commanders in 2022, included 19 tackles and three pass deflections.
Wildgoose played three seasons with the Badgers (2018-20) before entering the NFL draft after his junior season.
Sagapolu, finally, has bounced to and from the NFL and USFL since turning professional in 2019. He spent offseason or practice squad time with the Green Bay Packers (2019), Detroit Lions (2019-20) and Atlanta Falcons (2021), then played for the USFL's Pittsburgh Maulers from 2022-23, spent 2023 training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles, and finally returned to the soon-to-be UFL.
The defensive tackle played for the Badgers from 2015-18. He appeared in 44 games in that time, starting 26. He tallied 61 total tackles, 11 for loss, six sacks and one interception.
Hicks, Wildgoose, Sagapolu and the rest of the league will begin to showcase their talent and value to NFL teams when the UFL's 2025 spring season kicks off this weekend.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin football players on UFL rosters entering 2025 season
Continue reading...