The United Football League’s first championship game will be held Saturday, and one team will be led by a contingent of players with ties to Hampton Roads.
The San Antonio Brahmas will take on the Birmingham Stallions in St. Louis, marking the conclusion of the spring professional football league’s first season after the XFL and USFL merged last winter.
Wide receiver Justin Smith, linebacker Tavante Beckett and defensive end Tim Ward are all on the Brahmas’ roster and have connections to the 757. Beckett attended Indian River High in Chesapeake, Ward played for Old Dominion and Smith for Norfolk State.
Smith said Wednesday he and his teammates are realizing just how special an opportunity they have to be the UFL’s first champions.
“In 50 years, I’ll have a ring and if you go to Google (and search) ‘who won the first UFL championship,’ it’ll be our team,” Smith said. “So like all of us are taking that into account and really realizing we have a really, really, really big opportunity in front of us.”
Last year, Smith played for the XFL’s Houston Roughnecks, bringing in 16 catches for 238 yards and one touchdown. When the merger of the XFL and USFL was announced, Smith said he was worried what it would mean for his roster spot until San Antonio picked him up in the XFL dispersal draft.
“It definitely was a sigh of relief,” Smith said. “But going into it, it was more like all right, I gotta get back to work. Because it is two leagues joining together with way more talent, everything, like way more competition. So I had to lock in and make sure I was ready to go.”
Smith has played well in his second season as a pro. He’s currently third in receiving for San Antonio with 25 catches for 265 yards and a touchdown.
The Brahmas defeated the St. Louis Battlehawks 25-15 last weekend in the XFL conference championship game. Smith made a 63-yard touchdown catch early that helped San Antonio build an early lead and silenced the St. Louis crowd.
“From catching the ball and to the end zone, nobody really was around me,” Smith said. “I just took that moment in, hearing 35,000 people just go quiet. It was a great time, it was a good feeling.”
WE ARE HERE!!! 🫡@Justoo_ gives us another TD and it's 13-0! #TorosUnidospic.twitter.com/feVhsjjoKy
— San Antonio Brahmas (@XFLBrahmas) June 10, 2024
Although Smith is a Richmond native, he knows he’ll be representing Hampton Roads on the national stage when he steps onto the field Sunday. It’s something he takes pride in.
“I’m always a Virginia advocate,” Smith said. “We got a lot of DMV (DC/Maryland/Virginia) guys here. So I feel like us and the DMV as a whole, we always get overlooked, but especially in Virginia. I’m gonna put on for the 804, of course, but going to Norfolk State, I really got a lot of love for 757. (There’s) a lot of talent that comes out of the 757. So, just being remembered as one of the guys to come out, especially for sports, with all the great athletes like Allen Iverson, Mike Vick, guys like that, it’ll be something for sure.”
As an alum of an HBCU and someone whose initial opportunity in the pros was catapulted by the XFL’s HBCU Showcase, Smith is hoping his success in the UFL is an example that anyone from Norfolk State or other HBCUs can achieve the same.
“Come to Norfolk State, you’ll get opportunities in the league,” he said. “A lot of talent comes through Norfolk State, a lot of talent in general at HBCUs. … So there’s a lot of talent out here at HBCUs and hopefully people are starting to open their eyes to it.”
The game
UFL championship
Sunday: Birmingham Stallions (10-1) vs. San Antonio Brahmas (8-3), 5 p.m. (WVBT)
757 connections in game
- San Antonio LB Tavante Beckett (Indian River HS)
- San Antonio OL Rashaad Coward (Old Dominion)
- San Antonio DE Tim Ward (Old Dominion)
- San Antonio WR Justin Smith (Norfolk State)
Michael Sauls, (757) 803-5774, michael.sauls@virginiamedia.com
