How Birmingham Stallions are using Alex McGough after NFL position switch
The Birmingham Stallions received good news ahead of the 2025 UFL season when 2023 league MVP Alex McGough returned to the team after spending two seasons with the Green Bay Packers.
There was just one question about McGough rejoining the Stallions. What position would the 29-year-old be playing?
In his first UFL stint, McGough played quarterback for the Stallions. He spent his entire career as a quarterback before the 2024 NFL offseason when the Packers converted him to receiver.
Birmingham head coach Skip Holtz provided a firm answer to that question. The Stallions are allowing McGough to return to his roots during the 2025 UFL season.
"Right now, he's been all quarterback," Holtz told USA TODAY in a phone interview.
Why Birmingham Stallions are playing Alex McGough at QB
That McGough will play quarterback isn't overly surprising. He was the best player at his position during the 2023 season, winning MVP after completing 67.4% of his passes for 2,105 yards, 20 touchdowns and just five interceptions across 10 games. He also ran for five touchdowns during the regular season and logged nine total across two playoff games.
Even so, Holtz's reasoning for keeping McGough at quarterback goes beyond the 29-year-old's performance at the position. It also stems from the coach's confidence in his wide receiver room, which is headlined by former NFL players like Deon Cain, Amari Rodgers and Austin Watkins Jr.
"We have a deep, talented receiver group right now, so I don't want to take any reps away from them," Holtz said.
But more importantly, Holtz believes McGough could win the starting quarterback job for the Stallions after successfully reacclimating to the position after spending the 2024 campaign at receiver.
There were some challenges in making that happen. Notably, McGough's arm had "a little rust on it" early in camp and "fatigued a bit." That led Holtz's staff to adjust his throwing plan as he built back up.
"He started floating balls as practice went on, so we've kind of put him on a little bit of a pitch count," Holtz explained, "Just to make sure that we don't overthrow him while he's getting back into the number of throws you got to have during camp, because that's not what he's been training his arm to do."
Despite this obstacle, Holtz said McGough was in "a heck of a competition" with Matt Corral, who started in tandem with 2024 UFL MVP Adrian Martinez for the Stallions last season.
That, plus the retirement of veteran third-stringer J'Mar Smith, will allow McGough to remain at quarterback even if Corral wins the job.
Could Alex McGough eventually play WR for Birmingham?
That said, Holtz isn't categorically ruling out using McGough as a receiver.
"If we were to get into a situation, I know Alex is capable of going outside and playing receiver," Holtz said. "I've watched him do it."
Holtz wasn't just discussing McGough's time with the Packers. He was referencing a game during which the quarterback got a "battlefield promotion" into the receiver rotation.
The Stallions had suffered several injuries to wide receivers before and during a contest. That was a problem given the team's small, 50-man roster size, so McGough volunteered to play out wide.
"Alex said, 'Coach, I'll go out there and play receiver. I know what to do. I know what everybody does on every play so I'll go out there and play,'" Holtz detailed.
Holtz further explained that he preaches to his players yearly that they need to be able to play two positions because of the league's smaller roster size.
However, that doesn't typically extend to the quarterback position. As such, the 61-year-old coach particularly appreciated McGough's willingness to play receiver despite not having much experience doing so.
And Holtz sees the appeal of having the 6-3, 214-pound McGough play receiver.
"When you look at how big he is, how rangy he is and how well he runs, he's an attractive piece to put out there," Holtz said.
Still, the coach remains steadfast in his assessment of McGough's role with the team to begin the 2025 season.
"Right now, I want to find out if he's going to be the [starting] quarterback."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How UFL's Stallions are using Alex McGough after NFL position change
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