Observations from Arlington Renegades' First UFL Open Practice: Special Teams
With the sun hiding all day Saturday in Arlington, Texas, the cloudy and 60-degree weather conditions made for the perfect setting for fans to watch the defending XFL champions practice just two weeks before the UFL season begins.
The Renegades held an open practice in front of hundreds of fans on Saturday for almost three hours. Spectators first got to watch the team practice for the first two hours before players and coaches met with fans to sign autographs and chat.
“We’ve had a great turnout," Arlington Renegades head coach Bob Stoops said. "It’s a nice Saturday morning. The rain had held off for us, so we got a good crowd out here.”
Some key observations were made during the practice on Saturday. In Part Three of this series, we'll discuss what we learned about special teams.
Arlington Renegades Observations: Special Teams
Breaking Down Position Groups
Kicking Game Continues to be Strength
Taylor Russolino is a veteran to spring football, having played in the XFL in 2020 and 2023. He’s back for his second season with the Renegades after converting 16 of 19 field goals a year ago.
During the open practice, he continued his success, converting all but one field goal. He was hitting them from over 50 yards out to show off his strong leg to the fans. As was the case last year, Russolino appears to already be in mid-season form.
Marquette King An Asset to Defense
Another veteran of spring football, Marquette King played for the St. Louis Battlehawks in 2020 and Arlington last year along with Russolino. King is back for season two and, not to sound redundant, but he too is in mid-season form.
There were no concerns about his punting abilities Saturday as he boomed punts without any issues. King should once again be one of the best punters in the UFL.
Ortiz Back to Handle Long-Snapping
Long snappers don’t get as much attention as they should. Arlington is fortunate enough to bring back their long snapper from last year in Antonio Ortiz. Ortiz played every game at long snapper in 2023 without any issues.
It was more of the same on Saturday, as there didn’t appear to be any issues with the snap to the holders. King and quarterback Lindsey Scott were the holders practicing and were able to handle every snap. The operation appears to be all smooth entering the season.
Return Game Looks to be Dangerous in 2024
There were two players who especially stood out in the return game: wide receivers Tyler Vaughns and Juwan Manigo. Vaughns will most likely be more focused on offense as he looks to be in line to be one of the starting receivers. The speedy Manigo took punt returns for the Renegades in practice, so his path to the 50-man roster will be to win the returner job for Arlington.
Arlington Renegades Continue to Bolster Offensive Line with Addition of Former NFL Guard
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Anthony Miller has been covering professional spring football since 2019 including XFL, USFL, and CFL. He was a local news reporter in Texas before transitioning to sports. Other sites he writes for includes College Football Network and NTZ Network.