The most memorable name from each USFL roster

Names across the football world are moving at a breathtaking pace in a transaction sense. Thanks to the USFL, they'll be moving in due time.

The football world is a month away from welcoming back the United States Football League, the latest attempt at lasting spring football that will seek to pull off what the Alliance of American Football and fellow retread XFL could not: last an entire season. Kickoff for a season entirely based in the Birmingham, AL area arrives on April 16, when the local Stallions battle the New Jersey Generals at Protective Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC/Fox). The dual broadcast will make it the first professional football game simulcast on multiple American networks since the original Super Bowl in 1967.

While one shouldn't expect to see gridiron superstars that the original USFL boasted (with Jim Kelly, Doug Flutie, Hershel Walker, Reggie White, and Steve Young among its alumni), each of the league's eight teams, all taking on the identity of a club from the last edition, boasts some memorable names nonetheless.

The USFL reboot features a fair share of notable names

Shaw, a USC alum, was chosen in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft (Photo: Getty)

Birmingham: CB Josh Shaw

A talented defender, Shaw is known for some off-the-field incidents that perhaps cost him a chance at a more lucrative professional career. Stationed initially in Florida, Shaw transferred to USC in 2012. His senior season in 2014 was preceded by an ankle injury, which he initially claimed to have sustained when he leaped from a balcony to rescue his younger nephew from drowning. However, the natural source of his injury was an attempt to run from police when a neighbor called them to his apartment complex in response to an argument with his girlfriend (no charges were filed).

Despite the abbreviated senior campaign, Cincinnati chose Shaw in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL draft. He became an instant Bengals folk hero when he earned the game-sealing interception in an opening week win over the Jets. But, after further tenures in Kansas City, Tampa Bay, and Arizona, Shaw was suspended by the NFL for gambling, becoming the first player in over three decades to be suspended for such an offense. He was reinstated in March 2021 but was not re-added to a roster before the Stallions chose him in the USFL Draft.

Other notable Stallions: RB Jordan Chunn, TE Sage Surrat, LB Scooby Wright.

The Seattle Seahawks drafted the Albanian-born Sokoi in 2015 (Photo: Getty)

Houston: DE Kristjan Sokoli

Though Sokoli played only one game in the NFL, his story garnered national attention when the Seattle Seahawks chose him in the sixth round of the 2015 draft out of Buffalo. The son of an Albanian immigrant who fled to the United States during the country's civil war in 1997, Sokoli made a name for himself as a three-sport varsity athlete in New Jersey before moving to the Bulls, where he formed a dominant pass rush alongside Khalil Mack.

After drafting, Sokoli became the first Albanian-born player to partake in a regular-season game, seeing eight special teams snaps in a January 2016 win over Arizona. Before his USFL calling, Sokoli played with Germany's Potsdam Royals, which followed tenures in the Colts, Saints, and Giants systems. Though the Seahawks tried to turn Sokoli into a center, he is listed in his usual spot at defensive end for USFL play.

Other notable Gamblers: LB Azeem Victor, WR JoJo Ward.

Michigan: QB Paxton Lynch

Lynch gained football fame as a three-year starter at Memphis, notably guiding the program to its first 10-win season in nearly eight decades in 2015. Such endeavors caused him to forego his senior season and enter the subsequent draft. He was chosen 26th overall by the Denver Broncos, the third thrower behind the opening tandem of Jared Goff and Carson Wentz.

Though envisioned as the successor to Peyton Manning in Denver's franchise quarterback role, injuries and consistency prematurely ended his time as an NFL starter. Lynch struggled to wrangle the Broncos' starting duties away from names like Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler, and Case Keenum. During the 2018 preseason, Lynch was demoted to the third-string spot behind Keenum and Chad "Mr. Irrelevant" Kelly. Though he lingered in Seattle and Pittsburgh's systems, Lynch hadn't appeared in an NFL regular-season game since 2017, though he's only one of the 16 quarterbacks chosen in the USFL's original draft to have started a game at the highest level (four in Denver).

Other notable Panthers: WR Lance Lenior, QB Shea Patterson, OT Teton Saltes

New Jersey: S Shalom Luani

Beyond American borders, Luani is likely better-known for his skills in a different kind of football, the sport that some refer to as soccer. The American Samoa native developed a strong career on the pitch and even repped his country's national team during an ultimately futile quest to reach the 2014 World Cup. Nonetheless, Luani did earn a historic goal for Samoa in the qualification process, notable earning the winning goal in a 2-1 win over Tonga in the 2011 Pacific Games, the team's first win in a FIFA-sanctioned event.

Luani would then make a name for himself on the community college circuit, which drew the attention of Washington State. He would earn 157 tackles and eight interceptions as a Cougar, leading to first-team All-Pac-12 honors at the end of the 2016 season and an NFL calling from the Oakland Raiders, who chose him in the seventh round of the following year's draft. Luani has appeared in 31 NFL regular-season games, the most recent three coming with Seattle in 2019.

Other notable Generals: CB De'Vante Bausby, WR J'Mon Moore, WR Darrius Shepherd.

Taylor, seen in 2018, was a third-round pick of the Tennessee Titans (Photo: Getty)

New Orleans: WR Taywan Taylor

Taylor is a rare USFL draftee who heard his name called within the first two days of the NFL's selection proceedings. The Tennessee Titans chose him in the third round of the 2017 draft in the 72nd overall slot. Taylor made a name for himself through scorching seasons at Western Kentucky, seeing him score 41 touchdowns and nearly 4,000 receiving yards. An impressive Senior Bowl week showing in Mobile only boosted his stock further.

While Taylor didn't make Titans fans forget that Cooper Kupp went to the Rams three picks prior, he earned a respectable 697 yards over two seasons. An injury derailed his sophomore campaign. More ailments prevented Taylor from reclaiming the narrative on his NFL career, as he was traded to the Cleveland Browns shortly before the 2019 season kicked off and was limited to three games. Taylor's most recent NFL experience came in Houston Texans camp.

Other notable Breakers: WR Johnnie Dixon, K Austin MacGinnis, RB Larry Rose III

Cookus drops back to pass in a 2017 game against Arizona (Photo: Getty)

Philadelphia: QB Case Cookus

Though Carson Wentz is gone, the City of Brotherly Love still has a Football Championship Subdivision passing hero to rely on as Cookus arrives for the USFL's Stars. Cookus introduced himself with a fabulous freshman campaign that saw him earn 40 total touchdowns, allowing him to earn the Jerry Rice Award presented to FCS' top freshman (which also been won by Kupp, Chase Edmonds, and Trey Lance). In perhaps one of the most bizarre happenings in recent college football memory, Cookus is also a rare quarterback that has been ejected for targeting.

Injuries perhaps kept Cookus off the radar of NFL teams, as he was limited to six games combined during the 2016 and 2018 seasons. He has nonetheless spent time in the systems of the Giants, Broncos, Vikings, and Raiders over the last two seasons and most recently worked with the CFL's Edmonton Elks.

Other notable Stars: LB Te'Von Coney, TE Bug Howard, S Jack Tocho

Pittsburgh: QB Kyle Lauletta

For a brief moment in time, some saw Lauletta as the successor to Eli Manning. The Richmond alum, responsible for 83 total touchdowns over his last three Spider seasons, jumped into the Giants' radar thanks to an MVP performance at the Senior Bowl, leading Big Blue to take him in the fourth round of the 2018 draft.

Lauletta was destined for metropolitan headlines. Alas, for the Giants, they appeared in the police blotter rather than the sports page. Lauletta's most notable New York moments came when he was arrested for reckless driving and resisting subsequent arrest. He duplicated Manning's famous last-minute touchdown against the New England Patriots in the 2019 preseason. He threw five passes in New York during a blowout victory in Washington, the sole "completion" being an interception that gave him a 0.0 passer rating in his brief NFL career. Lauletta had since appeared on practice squads in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Cleveland, and Jacksonville before the Maulers made him a first-round pick in the USFL selections.

Other notable Maulers: QB Josh Love, RB De'Veon Smith, DT Ethan Westbrooks

Tampa Bay: S Obi Melifonwu

The football-loving public's obsession with the NFL Draft has transformed the Scouting Combine from a little-heralded spring event into must-see television. Careers have been made and lost on the fields of Indianapolis, and Melifonwu, a secondary defender from the downtrodden University of Connecticut program, was a member of the former category.

Melifonwu shot up the draft boards with great workouts, including an 11-foot-9 broad jump, a 44-inch vertical, a 4.40 40-yard dash. Scouts were particularly impressed with how he was able to do so in his 6-foot-4, 223 lbs. frame. The impressed Oakland Raiders chose him in the second round of the 2018 draft, though injuries partly prevented him from finding a long-term role with the team. Melifonwu has lingered in the NFL through stops in New England, San Francisco, and Philadelphia, earning a Super Bowl ring with the Patriots in 2019.

Other notable Bandits: WR John Franklin III, WR Eli Rogers, QB Jordan Ta'amu