The USFL kicks off its second season on Saturday with 39 players from Alabama high schools and colleges on the active rosters of its eight teams.

Thirteen of those players are pass-catchers – seven wide receivers and six tight ends.

The USFL’s 2022 champion, the Birmingham Stallions, have three of the wide receivers after acquiring a pair of UAB alumni in the offseason – getting Myron Mitchell from the Michigan Panthers on Dec. 15 and Austin Watkins from the Memphis Showboats on Jan. 11.

The former Blazers join former McGill-Toolen standout Marlon Williams, who finished third in the USFL in receiving yards last season, when he had 32 receptions for 474 yards and four touchdowns for Birmingham.

But the Stallions don’t have All-USFL wide receiver Victor Bolden anymore. The other 2022 all-league wide receiver, KaVontae Turpin of the New Jersey Generals, is gone, too, as is the All-USFL tight end, former Auburn standout Sal Cannella.

Birmingham also lost its two other All-USFL position players from last year’s championship team – guard Cameron Hunt and linebacker DeMarquis Gates. But the Stallions still return high-profile players from its championship team, with quarterback J’Mar Smith, former Alabama running back Bo Scarborough and linebacker Scooby Wright III among those back in the red and gold for coach Skip Holtz.

Birmingham and New Jersey lost only one regular-season game apiece last season. Four of the 10 All-USFL position players who are returning for a second season in the league are on the Generals’ roster – running back Darius Victor, offensive tackle Terry Poole, defensive tackle Toby Johnson and safety Shalom Luani. Only New Orleans, with two, returns more than one All-USFL position player from 2022, but the Breakers have a new coach with former NFL offensive coordinator John DeFilippo replacing Larry Fedora.

After playing its enter regular season in Birmingham last year, the USFL has four cities hosting games in 2023, with the 10-week season kicking off in Memphis and Birmingham this weekend.

The season will start at 3:30 p.m. CDT Saturday, when the Philadelphia Stars and Showboats square off at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee.

The Stallions kick off their campaign in a marquee matchup with the Generals at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Protective Stadium in Birmingham.

FOX will televise both games.

On Sunday, the Panthers and Houston Gamblers meet at 11 a.m. in Memphis and the Pittsburgh Maulers and Breakers square off at 5:30 p.m. in Birmingham. NBC and Peacock will televise Sunday’s opener, with the nightcap on FS1.

The Gamblers in Memphis and Breakers in Birmingham will be the home teams in Sunday’s games. Houston is sharing Liberty Stadium with the Showboats, and the Breakers are back with the Stallions at Protective Stadium for 2023.

The USFL also will play games at Ford Field in Detroit and Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, this season.

The Maulers and Generals will play their home games in Canton, with the Panthers and Stars based in Detroit.

While the Stallions got the city name in Birmingham, the Breakers have the most players in the league with Alabama football roots on their roster with 11. New Jersey has 10.

The alumni of Alabama high schools and colleges on USFL rosters include:

Birmingham Stallions

· Safety T.J. Green (Sylacauga)

· Wide receiver Myron Mitchell (Jasper, UAB)

· Running back Bo Scarbrough (Northridge, Alabama)

· Wide receiver Austin Watkins (UAB)

· Wide receiver Marlon Williams (McGill-Toolen)

Houston Gamblers

· Tight end Brandon Barnes (Russell County, Alabama State)

· Defensive end Tim Bonner (Demopolis)

· Safety Bydarrius Knighten (Auburn)

· Kicker Nick Vogel (UAB)

Memphis Showboats

· Defensive end Big Kat Bryant (Auburn)

· Wide receiver John Franklin III (Auburn)

· Tight end Jay Jay Wilson (Auburn)

Michigan Panthers

· Offensive tackle Brodarious Hamm (Auburn)

· Defensive tackle Garrett Marino (UAB)

New Jersey Generals

· Offensive tackle Calvin Ashley (Auburn)

· Tight end Braedon Bowman (South Alabama)

· Linebacker Jalen Choice (Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa, Jacksonville State)

· Cornerback Blake Countess (Auburn)

· Running back Kingston Davis (Prattville, UAB/Miles)

· Cornerback Trae Elston (Oxford)

· Wide receiver Randy Satterfield (Jemison, West Alabama)

· Tight end Wes Saxton (Hueytown, South Alabama)

· Defensive tackle Tyrone Truesdell (Auburn)

· Cornerback Christian Tutt (Auburn)

New Orleans Breakers

· Tight end Justin Alexander-Johnson (Hoover)

· Wide receiver Dee Anderson (Alabama A&M)

· Defensive tackle Connor Christian (Jacksonville State)

· Quarterback Aqeel Glass (Alabama A&M)

· Running back Ezra Gray (Alabama State)

· Guard Kirk Kelley (Troy)

· Linebacker Zakoby McClain (Auburn)

· Guard Steven Rowzee (Troy)

· Linebacker Shaheed Salmon (Samford)

· Tight end Jared Scott (Jacksonville State)

· Wide receiver Eli Stove (Auburn)

Philadelphia Stars

· Offensive tackle Colby Ragland (UAB)

Pittsburgh Maulers

· Center Xavier Dampeer (Auburn)

· Linebacker Reuben Foster (Auburn High, Alabama)

· Defensive back Sedevyn Gray (West Alabama)

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.