T.J. Pledger IV #5 of the Houston Roughnecks runs the ball against the Michigan Panthers during the first quarter in the game at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images for UFL
Jarrett Guarantano has bounced around for a couple of years, hoping to live out his dreams as an NFL quarterback
There have been stints on NFL practice squads, but nothing Guarantano can really hang his helmet on.
That is until now.
Guarantano, who went undrafted in 2022 after playing collegiately at Tennessee and Washington State, has finally been given the opportunity in professional football to have a team that’s his. He is the quarterback of the upstart Houston Roughnecks and he couldn’t be more pleased.
“I was grateful from jump street,” Guarantano said following the Roughnecks and United Football League (UFL) debut on Easter Sunday. “I was tearing up a little bit when they were playing the national anthem. It’s been a long time since I played ball, just being the guy. It’s just a different feeling and I’m grateful for this league giving me the opportunity to get my tape, play with these guys and try to win ballgames.
“All-and-all, I’m just so happy I get to play ball again and be the guy.”
That sentiment is shared by every player, every coach and across all eight teams in this merged XFL and USFL league now known as the UFL. For some, this is a league that is allowing players to continue doing what they love, but for most this is a chance to put something on tape that just might get the attention of the NFL.
Fans have had to keep track of players and some known-name coaches toiling in both the XFL and USFL. But now they are all under the UFL umbrella in what appears to be a much less watered-down minor-league spring football action.
It’s also legitimized by the television partnership of football-content-starved Fox and ESPN networks which are carrying all eight of the teams’ 10 regular-season games.
Roughnecks QB Jarrett Guarantano. Credit NFL.com
“I just think this league has grown significantly and you can see the players, a lot of the players came from the NFL and they are trying to get tape and they are playing their butts off,” said Guarantano, who spent last season in Denver. “I think the speed of the game is definitely a little higher, the players are definitely better. So, all around I think it’s better football.”
Houston, which was one of the markets with overlapping teams in the XFL and USFL, is now home to the rebranded Houston Gamblers franchise of the defunct USFL. The UFL was wise to adopt the Roughnecks brand because of the great connection the team had with the city in 2020 when Vince McMahon resurrected the XFL and planted a team here in Houston.
The Roughnecks were wildly popular and regularly packed University of Houston TDECU Stadium before COVID-19 shut down the league. It was also seen as a place where players like Roughnecks quarterback P.J. Walker got the chance to put together game footage after hanging around the NFL for years as a practice squad player.
Roughnecks GM Lionel Vital
Only time will tell if this reincarnation of the Roughnecks will captivate the city like they once did, but general manager Lionel Vital seems optimistic.
“It’s really exciting whenever you are putting something together from the ground floor, from the bottom,” said Vital, who is a longtime NFL scout for franchises like the Cleveland Brown, New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens and most recently the Dallas Cowboys. “You are building it from scratch almost.
“I know Houston has had football with the XFL and USFL, so they’ve had a team there for the past couple of years. You’ve had football, but it’s great to add to it and that’s what we’ve done.”
Former WWE wrester-turned-movie star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is now part of the consortium ownership of the UFL.
A big difference between the original Roughnecks is that the franchise is based in Arlington with the other seven franchises and is only in Houston on Sunday’s. Also, they play home games in the much larger and older Rice Stadium. It’s a formula that both the XFL and USFL adopted over the last couple of years to reduce costs and the UFL has continued the business strategy.
The UFL is currently owned by a consortium from XFL and USL, which includes former WWE wrestler and current actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
“It’s something that the league is going to have to help to merge,” Vital said of the lack of connection between the teams and their home cities. “Right now, this whole thing is run by the league and not individual owners.
“But I think the league is on a good pace. The trajectory is good. That can happen the next year or the year after. We just want to get a good foundation before we move teams to cities, from what I’ve gathered.”
There were only about 1,000 fans who showed up for the season-opening 18-12 loss to the Memphis Showboats, which appeared rather underwhelming in a 70,000-seat stadium. But the Roughnecks, who are now 0-3, were grateful for those who showed up.
Roughnecks coach CJ Johnson. Credit: UFL
“I loved it. I thought they were good for an Easter Sunday,” said Roughnecks coach C.J. Johnson, whose team next plays at Rice Stadium against the Arlington Renegades on April 21 at 1 p.m. “The fans were excellent. I wish we could have shown them a little bit better game.
“The next time we play here, we will show them a lot better game.”
