On Friday, the UFL held a disposal draft of active teams drafting players from the teams that did not make it in the XFL and USFL merger. The Maulers were not one of those teams and will not play in 2024. Here are the players who were taken on Friday.
Chris Blewitt- Birmingham Stallions
Chris Blewitt is five foot nine and weighs 195 pounds. The 28-year-old from Alexandria, Virginia, converted 21 of 25 field goals (84%) with a long of 54 yards and made 10 of 13 extra points in eight games for the Maulers in 2023. In the playoffs, Blewitt made six of eight field goals (75%) with a long of 59 yards and made three extra points.
The Maulers signed Blewitt as a free agent on April 27, 2023. Before Pittsburgh, Blewitt attended a rookie minicamp with the Pittsburgh Steelers before signing with the Chicago Bears in 2019. In 2021, he signed with the Washington Football Team and appeared in two games converting one of four field goals (40%) with a long of 52 yards, making two extra points, and had six kickoffs for 335 yards. After Washington, Blewitt signed with the Cleveland Browns.
Collegiately, Blewitt played four seasons at Pittsburgh (2013-16) making 55 of 79 field goals (70%) with a long of 56 yards, made 198 extra points, and 306 kickoffs for 18,976 yards with 119 touchbacks and six kicks out of bounds in 52 games for the Panthers.
He is the Panthers all-time leader in Kick Scoring Leader (363), Field Goals Leader (55 FGs), Extra Points Leader (198 PATs), and Points Scored (363). He was named an ACC Honorable Mention in 2016.
Olive Sagapolu- Houston Roughnecks
Olive Sagapolu is six foot two and weighs 341 pounds. The 26-year-old from Pago Pago, American Samoa, signed with the Philadelphia Eagles on August 14, 2023. He played two preseason games with one tackle.
Before Philadelphia, Sagapolu made 22 tackles (13 solo, 9 assists), three tackles for loss, four sacks, and one forced fumble in ten games for the Pittsburgh Maulers in 2023. The Maulers drafted Sagapolu in the 24th round (199th pick) in the 2022 USFL Draft.
In his first season, Sagapolu had 28 tackles (16 solo, 12 assists), six tackles for loss, two sacks, one forced fumble, and one pass breakup in ten games for the Maulers in 2022.
Before Pittsburgh, Sagapolu signed with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2019. Then, he signed with the Detroit Lions later in the season and was placed on the practice squad. After being released by the Lions, he signed with the Atlanta Falcons on May 17, 2021, but was released on August 24, 2021.
Collegiately, Sagapolu played four seasons at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2016-18) with 61 tackles (31 solo, 30 assists), ten tackles for loss, six sacks, one interception for four yards, one pass breakup, and one fumble recovery in 44 games for the Badgers. He was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention in 2017.
Reuben Foster- Houston Roughnecks
Reuben Foster is six foot one and weighs 228 pounds. The 29-year-old from Roanoke, Alabama, made 53 tackles (28 solo, 25 assists), three tackles for loss, half a sack, one interception, one forced fumble, and five pass breakups in eight games for the Pittsburgh Maulers in 2023. In the playoffs, Foster made 11 tackles (6 solo, 5 assists), two tackles for loss, one sack, and one forced fumble in two games. The Maulers signed Foster as a free agent on January 31, 2023.
Before Pittsburgh, the San Francisco 49ers drafted Foster in the first round (31st pick) of the 2017 NFL Draft. Foster played two seasons in San Francisco with 101 tackles (84 solo, 17 assists), ten tackles for loss, seven quarterback hits, and two pass breakups in 16 games. After the 49ers, Foster was with the Washington Football Team.
Collegiately, Foster played seasons at Alabama (2013-16) with 223 tackles (124 solo, 99 assists), 24 tackles for loss, seven sacks, and nine pass breakups in 45 games for the Crimson Tide. He was named First Team All-SEC in 2016, a winner of the Butkus Award in 2016, Unanimous All-American in 2016, and a CFP national champion in 2015.
Bryce Torneden- Michigan Panthers
Bryce Torneden is five foot nine and weighs 190 pounds. The 25-year-old from Lawrence, Kansas, made 46 tackles (29 solo, 17 assists), 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack, and 3 pass breakups in 10 games for the Maulers in 2023. In the playoffs, Torneden made 10 tackles (7 solo, 3 assists), and one pass breakup.
The Maulers drafted Torneden in the 19th round (151st pick) of the 2022 USFL Draft. In 2022, Torneden made 70 tackles (41 solo, 29 assists), 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, and 4 pass breakups in 10 games. Before the Maulers, Torneden played for the Sea Lions (TSL).
Collegiately, Torneden played four seasons at Kansas (2016-19) with 233 tackles (161 solo, 72 assists), 15 tackles for loss, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, and 3 fumble recoveries in 46 games for the Jayhawks. He was named Third Team All-Big 12 by Phil Steele in 2017.
Isiah Hennie- Houston Roughnecks
Isiah Hennie is five foot seven and weighs 171 pounds. The 26-year-old from San Diego, California, had a big year with Maulers in 2023 with 46 catches for 474 yards, three touchdowns, 12 carries for 50 yards, five kick returns for 95 yards, 17 punt returns for 297 yards, and one touchdown in ten games. He was named a USFL All-Star in 2023.
On April 16th, Hennie returned an 82-yard punt return for a touchdown against the New Orleans Breakers, which set a new All-Time USFL record.
The Maulers signed Hennie as a free agent in 2022. He caught 18 passes for 198 yards, three touchdowns, 8 kick returns for 178 yards, and ten punt returns for 130 yards in five games, of which two were starts.
Collegiately, Hennie played four seasons at Sacramento State (2014-17) with 139 catches for 1,523 yards, 11 touchdowns, eight carries for 24 yards, 64 kick returns for 1,347 yards, one touchdown, 38 punt returns for 308 yards, and two touchdowns in 43 games for the Hornets. He is a two-time All-Big Sky Honorable Mention.
Eli Walker- Birmingham Stallions
Eli Walker is six foot two and weighs 202 pounds. The 26-year-old from Long Beach, California, made 37 tackles (25 solo, 12 assists), one sack, one interception, two fumble recoveries, two touchdowns, and three pass breakups in ten games for the Maulers in 2023. In addition, he made seven tackles (6 solo, 1 assist) in two playoff games.
The Maulers signed Walker as a free agent on April 22, 2022. He made 15 tackles (5 solo, 10 assists) in seven games in 2022. Before Pittsburgh, Walker signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He would later play for the Blues (TSL) that same year.
Collegiately, Walker played two seasons at Cerritos College (2015-16) with 117 tackles (67 solo, 50 assists), four tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, four interceptions for 65 yards, and six pass breakups in 20 games for the Falcons.
Then, he transferred to Kansas State (2017-18) with 89 tackles (69 solo, 20 assists), five tackles for loss, and one sack in 23 games for the Wildcats.
Diondre Overton- Memphis Showboats
Diondre Overton is six foot five and weighs 210 pounds. The 25-year-old from Greensboro, North Carolina, made 30 catches for 333 yards, and two touchdowns in 10 games for the Philadelphia Stars in 2023.
The Stars drafted Overton in the 16th round (121st pick) of the 2022 USFL Draft. In 2022, Overton made 12 catches for 97 yards and three touchdowns. In the playoffs, Overton made two catches for 65 yards.
Before Philadelphia, Overton signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (CFL) in 2021 but was released. He later signed with the Vienna Vikings (ELF) but was released.
Collegiately, Overton played four seasons at Clemson (2016-19) with 52 catches for 777 yards, seven touchdowns, and one carry for three yards in 51 games for the Tigers.
Nasir Player- Michigan Panthers
Nasir Player is six foot five and weighs 271 pounds. The 26-year-old from Columbia, South Carolina, had 28 tackles (17 solo, 11 assists), three tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one pass breakup in ten games for the Maulers in 2023.
The Maulers drafted Player in the third round (23rd pick) in the 2022 USFL Draft. He had 14 sacks (9 solo, 5 assists), two tackles for loss, and one sack in nine games in 2022.
Before Pittsburgh, Player signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent on April 27, 2020, but was released during training camp. Then, he signed with the Alphas (TSL) in 2021.
Collegiately, Player played four seasons at East Tennessee State (2016-19) with 182 tackles (97 solo, 85 assists), 40 tackles for loss, 18.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one interception, one touchdown, and three pass breakups in 43 games for the Buccaneers. He was named First Team All-SoCon in 2017.
