Pittsburgh Maulers (2022)

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.

This article is about the second edition of the USFL. For the original USFL from the 1980s, see Pittsburgh Maulers (1984).
Pittsburgh Maulers
Current season
Established 2021
Play in Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium
in Canton, Ohio
https://twitter.com/USFLMaulers
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)

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)

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.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6]

On October 18, 2022, the Maulers named Lonnie Young as the team's new general manager.[7] In early January, 2023, Wilson stepped down as the head coach of the Maulers, citing personal reasons. He was replaced on January 17, 2023 by Ray Horton.[8]

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.[9]

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.[10][11]

Pittsburgh Maulers roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

  •  4 Bailey Gaither
  • 17 Isiah Hennie
  • 22 Xavier Lewis
  • 38 Josh Simmons
  • 13 C. J. Turner
  • 89 Tre Walker

Tight ends

  • 80 Matt Seybert
 Offensive linemen
  • 74 Myron Cunningham T
  • 52 Xavier Dampeer C
  • 69 Tre'Quan Dorsey T
  • 51 Justin Evans G
  • 58 Brayden Patton C
  • 68 Terry Poole T
  • 50 Colby Thomas G

Defensive linemen

  • 91 Terry Beckner DT
  • 92 Will Miles DT
  • 90 Christopher Okoye DT
  • 95 Nasir Player DE
  •  8 Boogie Roberts DT
  • 94 Olive Sagapolu DT
  • 56 Vaughn Taylor DE
 Linebackers
  • 27 Tyson Graham OLB
  •  6 Malcolm Howard OLB
  • 31 Kyahva Tezino OLB
  • 45 Dale Warren OLB

Defensive backs

  • 20 Malcolm Elmore S
  • 30 Mark Gilbert CB
  •  5 Keith Gipson Jr. CB
  • 29 Sedevyn Gray CB
  •  2 Arnold Tarpley III S
  •  1 Bryce Torneden S
  •  3 Eli Walker S

Special teams

 Reserve lists
  • 40 Luke Barnes LS (Suspended)
  • 13 Jalen McCleskey WR (IR)
  • 27 Beau Tanner DB (IR)

Inactive roster

  • 72 Charles Baldwin T
  • 25 Eric Burrell S
  • 67 Jon Dietzen G
  • 10 Reuben Foster ILB
  • 21 Duane Gary RB
  • 34 Shedrick Kirk CB
  • 85 Artayvious Lynn TE
  • 18 Hunter Rison WR
  • 15 Connor Sampson QB
  • 98 Savion Williams DT


Rookies in italics

Roster updated May 11, 2023

40 active, 3 reserve(s), 10 inactive

→ USFL rosters

Staff
2023 Pittsburgh Maulers staff
Front office

Head coaches

  • Head coach – Ray Horton
  • Assistant head coach/defensive coordinator - Jarren Horton

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks – John Tomlinson
  • Tight ends/running backs - Bill Khayat
  • Wide receivers - Alex Wood
  • Offensive line - Emerson Martin
 Defensive coaches
  • Defensive line/run game coordinator - Rick Courtright
  • Linebackers coach/special teams coordinator - Marc Hull
  • Defensive backs - Steve Meyer



Head coaches
Name Tenure Seasons Record Division
titles
WLT
Kirby Wilson January 6, 2022 – January 17, 2023 1 190 0
Ray Horton January 17, 2023 – present 1 2 3 0 0

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 Pct
20222022 USFLNorth4th190.100––
20232023 USFLNorth230.400––
Totals 3 12 0 .200 (2022–2023, regular season)
0 0 — – (2022–2023, playoffs)
3 12 0 .200 (2022–2023, regular season and playoffs)

Records
All-time Maulers leaders
LeaderPlayerRecordYears with Maulers
PassingVad Lee729 passing yards2022
RushingMadre London415 rushing yards2022
ReceivingTre Walker362 receiving yards2022
Coaching winsRay Horton2 wins2023
SacksCarlo Kemp5.0 sacks2022
Interceptions7 players tied1 interception2022

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. Kevin Gorman (February 22, 2022). "Pittsburgh Maulers select QB Kyle Lauletta with 1st-round pick in USFL Draft". www.triblive.com. Trib Total Media. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. "Lonnie Young named Maulers general manager". www.triblive.com. Trib Total Media. October 18, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  8. "Ray Horton named Pittsburgh Maulers head coach in USFL". www.wtae.com. Hearst Television Inc. January 17, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  9. Alan Saunders (January 24, 2023). "USFL Maulers Get New Look, Move Closer to Pittsburgh". www.steelersnow.com. Pittsburgh Sports Now. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  10. "USFL to have a "player selection meeting" on February 22–23". ProFootballTalk. 2022-01-04. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  11. "USFL expands game-day rosters by two, total rosters by five". ProFootballTalk. 2022-05-18. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
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