The USFL is set to have its championship game on Saturday and West Virginia Football has four players that just wrapped up their second seasons in the USFL.
The four WVU Football alumni in the USFL are DB Dravon Askew-Henry of the New Jersey Generals, OL Marquis Lucas of the New Orleans Breakers, and DB Sean Mahone and WR Marcus Simms, both of the Michigan Panthers.
Dravon Askew-Henry was the only one of the group not to qualify for the playoffs. He was credited with 30 tackles on the season for the Generals as they regressed from 9-1 in 2022 to 3-7 in 2023.
Marquis Lucas and the Breakers qualified for the playoffs for the second consecutive season, improving from 6-4 in 2022 to 7-3 in 2023. Lucas was credited with starting eight games in the regular season plus their playoff loss to the Birmingham Stallions.
Mahone’s and Simms’s Panthers improved from 2-8 in 2022 to 4-6 in 2023 with a playoff appearance.
Mahone was credited with 51 tackles on the season, a huge improvement from his four-tackle season in 2022.
After spending the 2022 season on the inactive list, Marcus Simms had four receptions for 28 yards in the regular season while mostly making an impact on special teams. He had 243 kick return yards in the regular season while blocking a punt in the regular season finale, which led to him being named USFL Special Teams Player of the Week. He also caught a 72-yard touchdown in their playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Maulers.
Prior to the season, DL Dante Stills was drafted by the New Orleans Breakers in the sixth round of the USFL Draft. He was later drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the sixth round of the NFL Draft and is currently competing for an NFL roster spot with them.
