2024 UFL Awards: Panthers' Breeland Speaks, Defensive Player of the Year
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by FOXSports.com
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Breeland Speaks, Michigan Panthers
Speaks led the league with 9.5 sacks and 13 tackles for a loss during the regular season. He also recorded the most tackles for a loss in a single game this season when he had four against the Houston Roughnecks in Week 9.
The 6-foot-3 edge/outside linebacker is also the only player to record 3.0 sacks in two games, reaching that mark against the Memphis Showboats in Week 5. Earlier this week, Speaks was named to the inaugural All-UFL defensive team.
The former Ole Miss standout was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft (46th overall), but he didn't do much to make a name for himself before landing on IR in the summer of 2019. He was subsequently waived by K.C. in the fall of 2020, but he has been a force over these past two years of spring football.
Last season in the USFL, Speaks racked up 9.0 sacks and 53 total tackles.