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On Wednesday, the St. Louis Battlehawks selected ten players in the UFL College Draft – claiming rights to them for the future.

The Battlehawks are one of the teams in the UFL who love to target young athletes that want to play in the spring football scene. After the XFL’s Rookie Draft last year, St. Louis ended up bringing eight of those athletes to Training Camp with them in the UFL.

While only one (Nico Bolden) ended up making the roster during the season, it’s been a theme for the Head Coach Anthony Becht and General Manager Dave Boller to use these drafts to attract quality talent that may be available once the spring football season begins.

In the UFL College Draft, the Battlehawks ended up selecting five players who are not on NFL rosters. Let’s take a look at the players the Battlehawks picked, and who could potentially make an impact for St. Louis in the future.

QB Chevan Cordeiro | San Jose State

Chevan Cordeiro is an intriguing prospect out of San Jose State, as a quarterback who was signed to the Seattle Seahawks roster this spring, but has since been released. Chevan had an outstanding college career at Hawai’i, before transferring to SJSU for his final couple of seasons. In 2023, he earned All-Mountain West First Team honors.

Cordeiro threw for over 12,100 yards and 88 touchdowns across his collegiate seasons, to just 32 interceptions. He’s also more than capable of using his legs, rushing for over 1,400 yards and 25 scores at Hawai’i and San Jose State. Cordeiro has the potential to make plays similar to Manny Wilkins, but with more efficiency and less turnovers. With A.J. McCarron’s return for 2025 currently up in the air, Cordeiro would be a fascinating addition to the roster, if he’s available.

RB Cody Schrader | Missouri

If Cody Schrader doesn’t make the San Francisco 49ers’ roster or practice squad, it would be quite the storyline for him to sign with the St. Louis Battlehawks. Schrader was a star at Missouri, having been named as the 2023 Burlsworth Trophy Winner – earning multiple All-America First Team honors.

Across two seasons at Missouri, he rushed for 2,371 yards and 23 touchdowns, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. Prior to Mizzou, Cody was at Truman State, turning heads at the NCAA II level. In 2021, he rushed for 2,074 yards on 300 carries in one season alone, totaling 24 scores that year. With his accomplished career and familiarity with the state, Cody would be a fantastic fit to sign with the team at some point.

DL Pheldarius Payne | Virginia Tech

Throughout the last couple of seasons, Coach Becht has emphasized the importance of building up the defensive line to effectively put pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Payne is a D-Lineman out of Virginia Tech who made an impact in 2023 with 31 tackles, 10 TFL’s, four sacks, and five quarterback hurries.

Pheldarius spent time at Lackawanna College and Nebraska prior to transferring to Virginia Tech. He missed the entire 2022 season with an injury, but did enough to get picked up by the Houston Texans. Interestingly enough, Houston released him just hours after St. Louis drafted him.

OL Bradley Ashmore | Vanderbilt

Bradley Ashmore is a free agent offensive lineman out of Vanderbilt, one who could prove to be a valuable piece to a stout St. Louis O-Line. The Battlehawks know how to build a solid offensive line, and Ashmore is no slouch. He was a Team Captain for Vanderbilt in 2023, starting all 12 games at right tackle. He earned a Pro Football Focus run block grade of 77.4, which is sixth-best among SEC offensive linemen.

LB Carl Jones Jr. | UCLA

Carl Jones Jr. spent the entirety of his college career at UCLA, totaling 135 tackles and eight sacks with the team. He also notched an interception in 2022. The Battlehawks have dealt with plenty of injuries at the linebacker position, so could always use more depth on that end. Right now, Jones is signed to the Chicago Bears roster.

DT Isaiah Coe | Oklahoma

Another free agent that the Battlehawks selected is DT Isaiah Coe, out of Oklahoma. Coe began his college career at Iowa Western CC, posting 37 tackles and 6.5 sacks during the 2019 season.

In 2021, Coe made the move to Oklahoma. Across three seasons, he totaled 55 tackles and three sacks. Isaiah was in a couple of different Rookie Mini-Camps this spring, but remains a free agent at the moment.

WR Jelani Baker | Limestone

The Battlehawks are always adding talent to the WR core, and Jelani Baker is no different. While he signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an UDFA, he was released in May, and is available to sign with the UFL if he desires.

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Baker played his final two seasons of college football at Limestone, where he posted 1,681 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns. At 6’1” 195 lbs., Baker runs a 4.42 40 yard dash – certainly sounding like a prospect who would fit into Bruce Gradkowski’s offense nicely.

WR Jadon Janke | South Dakota State

Jadon Janke is another wide receiver who the St. Louis Battlehawks selected in the UFL College Draft. Janke played all of his college ball at South Dakota State, working his way into a starting role during his final seasons. Jadon racked up 2,800 receiving yards and 30 touchdowns across his career, averaging 16.5 yards per reception.

Interestingly enough, Jadon and his brother Jaxon both were signed to the Houston Texans. Jaxon was released yesterday, but Jadon remains on the roster and is not a free agent right now.

CB Myles Sims | Georgia Tech

With their final two picks in the draft, St. Louis targeted a couple of young cornerbacks. First up, they selected Myles Sims out of Georgia Tech, who had a lengthy and accomplished career there. Sims racked up 136 tackles, 4.5 TFL’s, 19 PBU’s, and two interceptions across that span.

Myles started in 21 of his final 24 games with Georgia Tech at the cornerback position. St. Louis completely revamped their secondary in 2024, and with some of the potential changes coming this offseason, Myles would be an excellent addition to the roster if he decides to sign. He is not with any NFL teams right now.

CB Myles Jones | Duke

Myles Jones is another cornerback who had quite a bit of success in college. He played for several seasons with Texas A&M, registering 124 tackles, six TFL’s, four interceptions, and an impressive 29 pass breakups. He then transferred to Duke for his final year of eligibility, and played in four games, posting seven tackles and two interceptions. Myles was signed to the New York Jets as an UDFA, and is on the roster for now.

Final Thoughts

For the St. Louis Battlehawks, they’ve had two successful regular seasons in a row. However, that hasn’t translated to any postseason success quite yet. They missed out on the playoffs in 2023 despite a 7-3 record. Then, they dropped a dud in the playoffs this season against San Antonio.

With these latest UFL College Draft picks, it will be interesting to see how many – if any – decide to make the move to St. Louis. The UFL and spring football in general have proven to be incredible platforms to get players to the NFL, so if any of these players are available come next spring, it would certainly be in their best interest to at least consider playing.

What are your thoughts on these UFL College Draft Picks for the St. Louis Battlehawks? Let us know down in the comments below or join the conversation on Discord!

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