The Birmingham Stallions offered two things that D.J. Coleman found attractive – the opportunity to play football and the opportunity to play football in Alabama – after spending two seasons in the NFL on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad.
“They had hit me up probably a month after I got cut,” Coleman said on Friday. “Basically, I was thinking Alabama. I just was in Alabama when I was in college. It was a great experience. It’s like a home away from home. I was excited about it because, honestly, if you look at it, I’ve been practicing for two years since I got out of college, but I only got activated one time, so this was a big opportunity.”
After three seasons at Jacksonville State, the Atlanta native transferred to Missouri for one season before entering the NFL as an undrafted rookie with the Jaguars. Jacksonville elevated Coleman from the practice squad once, and he made his only NFL regular-season appearance in a 32-25 loss to the New York Jets on Dec. 15.
“You can say that’s the top of the mountain, but at the end of the day we play football and we are people, too,” Coleman said. “Everybody’s got feelings. …
“You as a person would want to be in a situation where you’re going to be valued every day that you come in. You’re not an afterthought as long as you come in and work every day. You ain’t working for nothing to stay in the same spot.”
With the Stallions, Coleman has been working toward Sunday’s United Football League opener against the DC Defenders. He joins Bradley Anae and Ronnie Perkins as Birmingham’s defensive ends. Working against his teammates in training camp and opposing UFL teams in two scrimmages in Arlington, Texas, Coleman has found the competition level comparable to what he experienced in the NFL.
“When I played at Jacksonville State, it was classified as an FCS school,” Coleman said. “But then I transferred my last year and went to the SEC, and there really was no difference. I just didn’t get the same amount of reps that I had at Jacksonville State. It’s players everywhere. And I seen it my whole career: There’s just some dudes that get overlooked.”
The Stallions open their season against the DC Defenders at 2 p.m. CDT Sunday at Audi Field in Washington. ESPN will televise the game.
“It’s out there for the taking,” Coleman said about the 2025 season. “Half of the team is different probably, but it’s going to be fun to build chemistry, and when we play together people are going to be making plays left and right. That’s why I said chemistry. I just look for it to be a big year, just like the Stallions have every year.”
Birmingham has won three consecutive league championships. But Coleman said that has no bearing on the 2025 squad.
“It’s a different team,” Coleman said. “Half of the team’s different. Every year, they bring in more and more talent into the UFL. Each team, they done got people. It’s going to come down to who’s going to make the most plays and have the least penalties.”
While Coleman is looking forward to getting back on the playing field in the Sunday’s opener, he’s also looking forward to getting back on the playing field in Alabama in the Stallions’ first home game on April 11, when Birmingham plays the Arlington Renegades at Protective Stadium.
“It’s going to be big,” Coleman said.
The game will be Coleman’s first in Alabama since Missouri’s 17-14 overtime loss to Auburn on Sept. 24, 2022, at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“I met a lot of great people that, I would say, helped to educate me in different ways – not just football, but being a person with different ways to look at life,” Coleman said about his time in Alabama at Jacksonville State. “Just like good people.”
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.