The United States Football League took a major step towards kicking off its inaugural season, as the league held a 35-round draft over the past two days.
Specific positions were selected in each round to help fill the rosters for the eight teams making up the USFL, which is not affiliated with the league by the same name from the 1980s.
There were four players with Utah college ties who were taken in the 2022 USFL draft.
- Round 2: EDGE/DE Adewale Adeoye, Utah State — drafted by Michigan Panthers
Adeoye, who last played for the Aggies in 2018, earned Mountain West honorable mention all-conference honors as a senior. His brother Aaron was taken by the Birmingham Stallions five picks before him. - Round 6: OT Corbin Kaufusi, BYU and Timpview High — drafted by Tampa Bay Bandits
Kaufusi switched to the offensive line in the pros and has bounced around with a few NFL team practice squads, most recently with the San Francisco 49ers this past season. He was also taken in the XFL draft back in 2020, but never played in that league. - Round 8: CB Brian Allen, Utah — drafted by Birmingham Stallions
Allen was a fifth-round NFL draft pick back in 2017 and has played for a handful of NFL teams. He spent the past season with the Cleveland Browns and was elevated from the practice squad to the active roster for three games. - Round 25: DT Tomasi Laulile, BYU — drafted by Houston Gamblers
Laulile signed with the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints after his college days, though he never played a down in the NFL. He also played in the XFL, for the Dallas Renegades. - Also, tight end Nicholas Truesdell, who played for the Salt Lake Stallions in the Alliance of American Football was a Round 34 selection by the New Jersey Generals.
The USFL will begin training camp next month and kick off its season April 16.