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With UFL free agency officially open, the Houston Roughnecks have made a few moves. The team has signed four players to Letters of Intent, with more likely on the way:
RB Brian Burt
DB Malik Dunlap (UFL College Draft)
DB Chu Ogbonna
P Mike Rivers
To be clear, these letters of intent are not official contracts. Those will be signed when players arrive to Training Camp.
RB Brian Burt
A familiar face in the spring football scene, the Houston Roughnecks have added RB Brian Burt to the offense. Burt played with the Vegas Vipers in 2023, but didn’t see a ton of action. He recorded 18 carries for 62 yards, being active for six games.
Free Agent Watch: RB Brian Burt | @XFLVipers@Bdawg_burt is no stranger to spring football. He played in @TheSpringLeague with the Alphas, posting 216 rushing yards in 2021. Burt made an impact during the limited snaps (60) he had in 2023 with Vegas. #UFL pic.twitter.com/vguxP4sCd7
— James Larsen (@JamesLarsenPFN) January 11, 2024
Burt was also in The Spring League in 2021, totaling 216 yards with the Alphas. Since the USFL-XFL merger, Brian has been a free agent, and now lands in Houston with the Roughnecks. Houston currently rosters Mark Thompson, Kirk Merritt, Ezra Gray, and T.J. Pledger in the backfield.
DB Malik Dunlap
BREAKING: The Houston Roughnecks have signed DB Malik Dunlap, per @UFL_PR.
Dunlap is the first #UFL College Draft pick to officially sign with their UFL team. The @XFLRoughnecks selected him in the ninth round.
Houston already making moves with Will Lewis at the helm. pic.twitter.com/GVY6GogsPa
— James Larsen (@JamesLarsenPFN) July 23, 2024
Malik Dunlap is one of the most fascinating stories of the offseason so far. He was drafted by the Houston Roughnecks in the UFL College Draft, and since he’s a free agent, he has decided to join the UFL to get his professional career off the ground.
Dunlap began his time in college at North Carolina State. He started in 10 games there, totaling 41 tackles and a sack. In 2021, Malik made the move to Texas Tech. This proved to be a fantastic move, as he worked his way into a starting role from ‘22-23.
Pretty big play in the game last night. Still don’t understand how this isn’t an interception by Malik Dunlap.pic.twitter.com/CddPdssGAN
— Ben Golan (@BenjaminGolan) September 10, 2023
Across those final two seasons, Dunlap posted 68 tackles, a sack, and four interceptions. He also had a whopping 23 PBU’s. Malik was one of the best picks in the draft by Houston, and it’s excellent to see him make the decision to pursue the UFL.
DB Chu Ogbonna
#BREAKING The Roughnecks have signed 6’2 190 lb Corner Chu Ogbonna to a letter of intent! The Akron alum keeps the signings rolling and the trend of taller DBs joining one of the smaller secondaries in the #UFL. #DrillBabyDrill @_chuwop pic.twitter.com/iVIeGbKnYu
— Ace: United Football Media VP of Content (@AceUFM) July 23, 2024
With Chu Ogbonna, the Roughnecks have added some depth to the secondary. Ogbonna is an interesting story, having bounced around in college. He began his career at Savannah State, but didn’t record any stats there. The same occurred at MTSU, where he didn’t see any action.
See also
Gets greater later, stay tuned 🤫 pic.twitter.com/GdcTeIL4hI
— Chu Ogbonna (@_chuwop) December 29, 2020
It wasn’t until he got to Akron in 2020 that Chu was able to get on the field. He appeared in 19 games for Akron, totaling 16 tackles across that span. Ogbonna has remained a free agent since coming out of college, and now will look to kickstart his pro career in the UFL with Houston.
P Mike Rivers
Finally, the Roughnecks have added punter Mike Rivers. This is an intriguing one as well, since the Roughnecks roster Hunter Niswander who is one of spring football’s most consistent forces on special teams. His numbers were quite impressive in 2024, despite dealing with three blocked punts to start the year.
Mike Rivers is another journeyman. He began his career at North Carolina A&T, playing there from 2018-2019. COVID caused him to miss some time, but he landed at Troy for his final season of eligibility. Rivers punted the ball 62 yards for 2,610 yards, averaging 42.1 yards per punt. Just four of his punts were touchbacks, with 24 going inside the 20 yard line.
Had the privilege of competing at this years XFL Showcase on Oct 22.
Averaged 51 yards with a 4.81 hang on 8 punts. Here are my top 5 punts ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/yluH9EGZFF— Mike Rivers (@lilrivert) November 2, 2023
Rivers has participated in the XFL Specialist Combines in the past led by Nick Novak, being one of the stronger performers. Now, he’ll have an opportunity to prove himself in the UFL.
Final Thoughts
This free agency explosion from the Houston Roughnecks is not too surprising. After a 1-9 record in 2024 – and a recent change at General Manager from Lionel Vital to Will Lewis, the team needs to do whatever they can to improve this roster. Head Coach C.J. Johnson hinted at changes towards the end of the year, and it’s clear that they aren’t wasting any time. Lewis has been very active, and he’s only been hired for a couple of weeks.
The Roughnecks selected 10 players in the UFL College Draft last Wednesday, and with Dunlap already signing, there’s a good chance we see more make their way over.
What are your thoughts on Malik Dunlap and Chu Ogbonna signing to the Roughnecks secondary unit? Will Brian Burt and Mike Rivers make this roster? Let us know down in the comments below, or join the conversation on Discord!
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