Michigan Panthers Acquire Rights to 10 Players During UFL College Draft

Additional information regarding player eligibility and draft information regarding the 2024 UFL College Draft is listed below: 

• Players must have been eligible to have been selected in the 2024 NFL Draft and were not selected
• UFL teams will hold exclusive rights to the players they select in the draft until the player reports to the team or the team gives up that player’s rights
• All players eligible for the 2024 UFL College Draft must have been out of high school for at least three years and exhausted or waived their college eligibility, with some limited exceptions
• All players who sign a UFL contract, including players who remain under contract from the 2024 season, will have an “NFL Out” during the NFL season

Players with local Michigan connections selected by the Panthers include offensive lineman Brian Dooley, who is the all-time leader in career games played and started at Eastern Michigan, quarterback Rocky Lombardi, who was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan and spent three seasons with Michigan State before ending his collegiate career at Northern Illinois, and offensive lineman J.D. Duplain was a five-year letterwinner at Michigan State.

In addition to the Panthers selections with local ties, the Houston Roughnecks selected defensive end Eyabi Okie, who spent the 2022 season with the Michigan Wolverines, the D.C. Defenders selected defensive end Braiden McGregor, who was three-year letterwinner with the Wolverines and hails from Port Huron, Michigan, and the St. Louis Battlehawks selected cornerback Myles Sims, who redshirted at Michigan in 2018.

MICHIGAN PANTHERS 2024 DRAFTEES

OL – Julian Pearl, Illinois

• Signed as an undrafted free agent with the Baltimore Ravens on May 3, 2024
• Was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention in 2023
• Started 23 consecutive games at left tackle to end collegiate career

CB – Dwight McGlothern, Arkansas

• Signed as an undrafted free agent with the Minnesota Vikings on April 27, 2024
• Led Arkansas in interceptions during junior and senior seasons
• Appeared in 22 games, making 19 starts, in two seasons with the Razorbacks making 72 tackles, to go with seven interceptions
• Started career at LSU and appeared in 16 games while making six starts for the Tigers from 2020-21

DE – Isaac Ukwu, Mississippi

• Signed as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions on April 27, 2024
• Appeared in 13 games while making five starts in lone season with the Rebels
• Finished 2023 season with 30 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks
• Started career at James Madison and earned 2022 Honorable Mention All-America and 2022 All-Sun Belt First Team honors

OL – Brian Dooley, Eastern Michigan

• Signed as an undrafted free agent with the Tennessee Titans on April 27, 2024
• All-time leader in career games (62) and games started (60) at Eastern Michigan
• The recipient of the 2023 Disney Spirit Award, which is presented annually to the most inspirational figures in college football, due to his more than 100 hours of community service and also gave his full-ride scholarship to a fellow lineman

QB – Rocky Lombardi, Northern Illinois

• Signed as an undrafted free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals on April 27, 2024
• Started career at Michigan State before transferring to Northern Illinois
• Finished Huskie career ranking second in career passing yards per game (183.9), third in completions per game (14.5), fifth in completions (439) and sixth in passing yards (5,516) and threw for 31 total touchdowns in three seasons
• Three-year letterwinner at Michigan State, playing in 22 career games, while making nine starts, finishing with 1,902 passing yards to go with 11 touchdowns

WR – Dayton Wade, Mississippi

• Signed as an undrafted free agent with the Baltimore Ravens on April 27, 2024
• Started all 13 games at wide receiver in 2023 and finished with a team-high 55 receptions for 830 yards and four touchdowns, tallying three 100-yard games for the Rebels
• Earned honorable mention All-SEC honors as a senior according to College Football Network
• Started career at Western Kentucky before spending final two seasons at Ole Miss

DB – Akeem Dent, Florida State

• Signed as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Chargers on April 27, 2024
• A five-year letterwinner with Florida State and earned honorable mention All-ACC honors in 2023 after finishing with 44 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sack, two forced fumbles and one pass breakup
• Finished Seminole career with 15 career pass breakups

OL – Andrew Meyer, UTEP

• Signed as an undrafted free agent with the Miami Dolphins on April 27, 2024
• Started 43 of the 54 games played in his career at UTEP
• Started 12 games at center in 2023

OL – J.D. Duplain, Michigan State

• Five-year letterwinner at Michigan State after making 47 career starts, which are the second most in MSU history by an offensive lineman, and appeared in 54 games overall
• Finished Spartan career starting 42 games straight, which is the second longest streak in MSU history
• Three-time honorable mention All-Big Ten selection

LB – Isaiah Stalbird, South Dakota State

• Signed as an undrafted free agent with the New Orleans Saints on April 27, 2024
• Finished with 238 total tackles with 18.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, one interception, 18 pass breakups, five force fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 52 career games at SDSU
• Started career at Nebraska, appearing in 12 games in 2019, and recorded 13 tackles and blocked punt

About the United Football League
The United Football League (UFL) is the premier spring football platform, formed by the merger of the XFL and USFL in 2024 under the combined ownership of Redbird Capital Partners, FOX, Dany Garcia and Dwayne Johnson. The UFL has eight teams in Arlington (TX), Birmingham (AL), Detroit (MI), Houston (TX), Memphis (TN), San Antonio (TX), St. Louis (MO), and Washington D.C.

Media Contacts

Michigan Panthers

Sage Sammons

Director, Team Communications & Media Relations

sage.sammons@uflpanthers.com

Cell: 702-478-0166

UFL Media Contacts

Bianca Gamez, Director of Communications and Media Relations

bianca.gamez@theufl.com