USFL College Draft: Birmingham Stallions select Malik Cunningham with No. 22 overall pick

The USFL College Draft is underway and a slew of former college stars from the 2022 season have already been picked, including a former starting quarterback for the Louisville Cardinals. The Birmingham Stallions announced Tuesday afternoon that they selected Malik Cunningham with their third round pick, the No. 22 overall selection. He spent all five years in college as the UL starter and threw for 9,600 yards throughout his career while rushing for more than 3,000.

Cunningham played high school football at Montgomery (AL) Park Crossing, where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 496 overall recruit in the 2017 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Here was the Stallions’ post that they had picked Malik Cunningham:

With the 22nd pick of the 2023 USFL College Draft, we select Malik Cunningham 💪 @MalikMalikc10 🙌 pic.twitter.com/VBK5vOooJT

— Birmingham Stallions (@USFLStallions) February 21, 2023

More on the state of the USFL

Last year was the initial season for the USFL, which also resulted in some history for spring football. The USFL was the first league in 40 years to have a successful inaugural season and then come back for a second season.

All eight USFL teams are remotely participating in this year’s draft, drafting the rights to 80 players who are eligible for the draft from a pool of 3,000 players. In order to be eligible for the USFL Draft, athletes must be out of high school for at least three years and either used all of their college eligibility, or waived it. Junior college players can request eligibility after being out of high school for two years and not be enrolled in a four-year school.

“We are building the USFL for long-term success and our first-ever College Draft demonstrates our clear focus on building winning teams for Season 2, Season 3, and beyond,” Daryl Johnston, the USFL’s Executive Vice President of Football Operations, said. “The USFL will continue to search for and evaluate the best players to join our league. We are excited to see who the next KaVontae Turpin will be to turn an opportunity with the USFL into a springboard for success in the NFL. Conducting our inaugural College Draft shows that the USFL is committed to providing these talented players an alternative route to pursue their professional football dreams.”