THREE WAY DANCE FOR BATTLEHAWKS QB

The St. Louis Battlehawks will enter 2025 with a trio of players vying for the starting quarterback position as Chevan Cordeiro, Max Duggan, and Manny Wilkins have signed with the team.

“Three guys that we feel really good about moving into this process,” said Head Coach Anthony Becht. “It will be an open competition from the moment they jump on their first zoom with Bruce (Gradkowski) and the offensive staff.”

One of the most prolific offensive players in Mountain West history, Chevan Cordeiro began his collegiate career at Hawaii before playing his final two seasons at San Jose State. He is the conference’s all-time leader in touchdowns responsible (113), total yardage (13,811), and completions (971).

“The guy’s talented, he made a lot of great plays,” Becht stated. “Just a humble human being…he takes a lot of pride in what he does and is just hungry for the opportunity to come in.”

Signed by the Seattle Seahawks this past April, Cordeiro was selected by the St. Louis Battlehawks in the first round of the 2024 UFL Draft in July.

A runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 2022, Max Duggan helped lead Texas Christian University to victory over Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl before losing to Georgia in the CFP National Championship game.

“Incredible intangibles from top to bottom,” Becht said. “He’s a warrior when he plays a football game. He runs as hard as a running back when he has to run and he’s got a great, great deep ball.”

In four seasons at TCU, Duggan threw for 9618 yards with 73 touchdowns and an additional 1856 yards and 28 scores on the ground. Duggan was drafted in the 7th round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Chargers and spent the season on their practice squad, being activated for two games.

“He’s an incredible leader,” Becht added. “He didn’t come into this thing saying ‘I’m not coming to St. Louis unless I’m the starter’, he’s like I want the opportunity to compete and to learn and I’ve got to respect him for that. He’s going to get that opportunity.”

Before joining St. Louis, Manny Wilkins spent 2019 on the practice squad of the Green Bay Packers. After joining the Battlehawks in 2023, Manny started two of the three games he appeared in this past season, throwing for 305 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. He also rushed for 141 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries.

“You see some really good things out of Manny,” Becht said. “He’s special with his legs, he’s got good arm talent, the locker room loves him, again, he’s a guy that wants to be coached. The thing with Manny, he’s gonna have that advantage knowing the system but can he take the next steps. Can he do it the way we want him to do it every single play? Is he preparing himself this offseason to show up and look the part? If he does, he’ll have an advantage.”

While each player will bring different talents to the competition, it’s notable that all three not only have had a taste of the NFL, but are also dual threats to affect the game through the air or on the ground.

“The quarterback must win in the pocket and when needed to extend and when needed to run, there’s got to be something there,” Becht said. “All these guys have that, which is great. I think the biggest thing is picking up our system as fast as possible. The one thing I love about our system, it’s very unique. It’s an NFL style, West Coast hybrid, so when you’re talking about the best offenses in the NFL, we do that.”

With less than a month from the start of training camp to the UFL kickoff on March 28th, Becht acknowledged it may be necessary for different quarterbacks to start or split playing time in the first couple of games before the competition can be truly decided.

“Everybody’s going to get that opportunity to go out there to play fast and do great things and may the best man win,” Becht promised.

The Battlehawks still have a few roster spots open, with plans of adding more starting caliber talent on the interior of both lines, linebacker, tight end, and perhaps even an additional wide receiver or tight end.

“I think it’s just about more competition,” Becht explained. “Just bringing guys in and letting them go out there and figuring it out. I’m trying to find the most talented players out there that need a home.”