Pittsburgh Maulers
Current season
Established 2021
Play in Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium
in Canton, Ohio
https://twitter.com/USFLMaulers
Pittsburgh Maulers Logo 2023.png
League/conference affiliations
United States Football League (2022–present)
  • North Division (2022–present)
Current uniform
Team colorsBlack, gold, white
     
MascotMarty the Mauler
Personnel
Owner(s)National Spring Football League Enterprises Co, LLC, (Fox Sports)
General managerLonnie Young
Head coachRay Horton
Team history
  • Pittsburgh Maulers (2022–present)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Home stadium(s)

The Pittsburgh Maulers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Maulers compete in the United States Football League (USFL) North division. Founded in 2021, the Maulers are one of the eight inaugural teams for the re-launch of the original United States Football League, which ceased operations in 1986.

They currently play their home games at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, which also hosts the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. Prior to Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, the Maulers had played their home games in Protective Stadium and at Legion Field.

History

Original Pittsburgh Maulers logo (2022)
Original Pittsburgh Maulers logo (2022)

The Pittsburgh Maulers were one of eight teams that were officially announced as a USFL franchise on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on November 22, 2021,[1] Their first head coach was announced on January 20, 2022, when it was announced on The Herd with Colin Cowherd that former NFL running backs coach Kirby Wilson was named the Head Coach and General Manager of the Maulers.[2] Wilson revealed on February 9, 2022, that UConn Defensive Coordinator Jarren Horton would become the Defensive Coordinator for the Maulers, while Wilson would call the offense.[3] They made their first draft pick in franchise history, selecting quarterback Kyle Lauletta 7th overall. They drafted 35 players from February 22–23 in 2022.

The team begun the season 0–4, the worst in the league, but defeated the Houston Gamblers 21–20 behind an off the bench effort by newly signed quarterback Vad Lee.[4] Finishing with a record of 1–9, the worst record in the league, the team did not win the rights to the first overall pick in the 2023 USFL Draft, after the league decided that the winner of the Week 10 game between the 1–8 Maulers and 1–8 Michigan Panthers, would win the first overall pick. The Panthers were victorious 21–33.[5]

Logo and Uniforms

The team's 2022 colors of orange and purple were slightly different from what was used by the Pittsburgh Maulers team in the original USFL, as they used red and purple. In any event, the colors were a radical departure from the city's traditional sporting colors of black and gold and are more or less of an ode to the original Maulers franchise.

The logo depicts a worker swinging a large hammer, as an ode to the steel workers that Pittsburgh's history is known for. The current jerseys were a different design than the originals, with the home being purple with an orange bar across the shoulders and the away being white with a purple bar along the shoulders.

In 2023, the Maulers changed their teams colors to the traditional city colors of black, gold, and white.[6]

Personnel

Current roster

Initially, each team carried a 38-man active roster and a 7-man practice squad, but the rosters were increased to 40 active players and 50 total in May, 2022.[7][8]


Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

  •  4 Bailey Gaither
  •  7 Delvon Hardaway
  • 10 Isiah Hennie
  • -- Xavier Lewis
  • 13 Jalen McCleskey
  • -- Samson Nacua
  • -- Hunter Rison
  • -- Josh Simmons
  • 89 Tre Walker

Tight ends

  • -- Datryan Evans
  •  1 Artayvious Lynn
  • 80 Matt Seybert
Offensive linemen
  • 72 Charles Baldwin T
  • 69 Jerrod Brooks T
  • -- Jerome Brown G
  • 52 Xavier Dampeer C
  • 67 Jon Dietzen G
  • 51 Justin Evans G
  • -- Dominic Logan T
  • 58 Brayden Patton C
  • -- Colby Thomas G

Defensive linemen

  • 97 Terry Beckner DT
  • 98 Will Miles DT
  • 59 Christopher Okoye DT
  • 95 Nasir Player DE
  • 91 Boogie Roberts DT
  • 94 Olive Sagapolu DT
  • 97 Leevel Tatum III DT
  • -- Vaughn Taylor DE
  • -- Savion Williams DT
Linebackers
  • -- Reuben Foster ILB
  • -- Tyson Graham
  •  6 Malcolm Howard OLB
  • 31 Kyahva Tezino OLB
  • 45 Dale Warren OLB

Defensive backs

  • -- Trajan Bandy CB
  • -- Eric Burrell S
  • 20 Malcolm Elmore S
  • 11 Keith Gipson Jr. CB
  • -- Sedevyn Gray
  • -- Caleb Ham
  • -- Shedrick Kirk CB
  • 24 Jaylon McClain-Sapp CB
  • -- Beau Tanner
  • 21 Arnold Tarpley III S
  • 22 Bryce Torneden S
  •  8 Eli Walker S

Special teams

  • -- Luke Barnes LS
  • -- Nathan Hierlihy K
  • -- Matt Mengel P
Reserve lists

Inactive roster


Rookies in italics

Roster updated February 19, 2023

58 active, 1 reserve(s), 5 inactive

USFL rosters

Staff

2023 Pittsburgh Maulers staff
Front office
  • General manager – Lonnie Young

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches
  • Defensive coordinator – Jarren Horton
  • Defensive line - Rick Courtright
  • Linebackers coach/special teams coordinator - Marc Hull
  • Defensive backs - Jack Nudo



Statistics and records

Season-by-season record

Note: The Finish, Wins, Losses, and Ties columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play.

Legend
USFL champions Division champions Wild Card berth
Pittsburgh Maulers season-by-season records
Season Team League Division Regular season Postseason results Awards
Finish Wins Losses Ties
2022 2022 USFL North 4th 1 9 0

Records

All-time Maulers leaders
Leader Player Record Years with Maulers
Passing Vad Lee 729 passing yards 2022
Rushing Madre London 415 rushing yards 2022
Receiving Tre Walker 362 receiving yards 2022
Coaching wins Kirby Wilson 1 wins 2022
Sacks Carlo Kemp 5.0 sacks 2022
Interceptions 7 players tied 1 interception 2022

References

  1. ^ "USFL unveils team cities, nicknames, and logos for 2022 debut". FOX Sports. Retrieved 2021-12-18.
  2. ^ "What you need to know for USFL in 2022:Two more head coaches revealed". Fox Sports. January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  3. ^ "Jarren Horton Tapped as Defensive Coordinator for Pittsburgh Maulers". Pro Football Newsroom. 2022-02-09. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  4. ^ Austin Bechtold (May 15, 2022). "Pittsburgh Maulers Get First Win, Beat Houston on Final Play". www.steelersnow.com. Pittsburgh Sports Now. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  5. ^ Jeff Kerr (June 19, 2022). "USFL Week 10 takeaways: Panthers earn first pick in 2023 draft by winning matchup of two worst teams". www.cbssports.com. CBS Sports Interactive. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  6. ^ Alan Saunders (January 24, 2023). "USFL Maulers Get New Look, Move Closer to Pittsburgh". www.steelersnow.com. Pittsburgh Sports Now. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  7. ^ "USFL to have a "player selection meeting" on February 22–23". ProFootballTalk. 2022-01-04. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  8. ^ "USFL expands game-day rosters by two, total rosters by five". ProFootballTalk. 2022-05-18. Retrieved 2022-06-01.