Former Alabama high school star returns for his fourth season with Birmingham Stallions
If Marlon Williams were only a little taller, he might be playing for the Squadron instead of the Stallions in Birmingham.
The 5-foot-11 wide receiver was a two-sport standout at McGill-Toolen Catholic High School in Mobile. Williams thought he had basketball in his future “until I went to a camp and I was the shortest dude there. I was like, ‘This probably’s not going to be good for me, so I’m going to stick to football.’ I talk about that all the time. If I was about 3 inches taller, I’d probably be playing basketball.”
McGill-Toolen defeated Spain Park 14-12 in the 2015 AHSAA Class 7A championship football game, then downed Central-Phenix City 79-75 in the AHSAA Class 7A boys’ basketball title game for the 2015-16 season.
The next season, McGill-Toolen had an undefeated football season going until falling to Hoover 17-7 in the 7A championship contest. In basketball, the Yellow Jackets lost to Mountain Brook 52-41 in the semifinals of the state playoffs.
“I think it was basketball,” Williams said on Friday about which loss stung worse, “because I knew I wasn’t going to play again. They both sting. I was fortunate to go to four state championships, so it stung. But at least I got me one in both of them. Me and my boys from high school, we still talk about that.”
Williams is at training camp with the Stallions, preparing for his fourth spring-football season with Birmingham.
“Just being able to play football and still getting paid to do it,” Williams said of his return for another season. “Still love the game. Love the Birmingham atmosphere. Wish we were staying in Birmingham, but it’s great to be able to go out there on the weekends and play in a place I’m familiar with.”
In the Stallions’ first season in 2022, the USFL played every game of its regular season in Birmingham, where all eight teams practiced. In the USFL’s second season, the Stallions and New Orleans Breakers practiced and played their home games in Birmingham.
After the merger of the USFL and the XFL formed the United Football League last year, the new league put its headquarters in Arlington, Texas, where all eight teams practice.
Williams’ involvement in the spring-football revival gives him a historic view of the game’s growth.
“I think in the USFL, when it first started, it had some really good players in that league,” Williams said. “But I think now in Year 2 of the UFL, I think every team is loaded from the top of the depth chart to the bottom of the depth chart. I think it’s a lot more competitive. But that’s good for the league — brings eyes and attention on us.”
In 2023, Williams sustained a season-ending Achilles injury in the opening game. He feels more like his old self this year than he did in 2024.
“I think I’m way better,” Williams said. “I came back in, like, 12 months, so I was still in the rehab process, so last year was really a year for me to get my feet back wet. But I feel like at this point I’m in great health right now.”
That overcoming attitude is something instilled in him in Mobile, Williams said.
“I definitely think that growing up in Mobile prepared me for the real world,” Williams said. “It’s a lot of great athletes that come out of Mobile, so it’s competitive all the time. When we would meet up and work out and do like just a seven-on-seven session, it would be one of the most competitive atmospheres I’ve been a part of, so when I got to college, I was ready for it.
“And playing at McGill definitely got me right for college. The discipline they instilled in us. Again, we had a lot of great guys on that team, so we was always competing all the time. Great strength program. McGill and definitely growing up in Mobile have helped me a lot in football. I feel like that’s a big part of why I’m still playing – the never-give-up attitude of that city.”
Williams had 71 receptions for 1,039 yards and 10 touchdowns in his senior season at UCF, but he went undrafted by the NFL in 2021. Williams joined the Houston Texans as an undrafted rookie. After he failed to make the team, Williams turned to the new USFL and was drafted by the Stallions.
Williams had 32 receptions for 474 yards and four touchdowns in 2022. In Birmingham’s 33-30 victory over the Philadelphia Stars in the USFL’s inaugural championship contest, Williams had seven receptions for 105 yards. He caught a 41-yard touchdown pass as the Stallions took a 17-9 lead with 7:13 left in the second quarter.
Williams returned from his 2023 injury with 26 receptions for 313 yards and four touchdowns in 2024. He had four receptions for a team-high 36 yards in Birmingham’s 25-0 victory over the San Antonio Brahmas in the UFL’s inaugural championship game.
“That’s a goal of mine this year is to get back to where I was before my injury,” Williams said. “I think last year got me back in the right head space, so just looking forward to reaching that goal this year, and, of course, winning again.”
The Stallions start their season against the DC Defenders at 2 p.m. CDT March 30 at Audi Field in Washington.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.