2024 DC Defenders season

2024 DC Defenders season
Owner	Alpha Acquico, LLC
General manager	Von Hutchins
Head coach	Reggie Barlow
Home stadium	Audi Field
Results
Record	4–6
Conference place	3rd in XFL Conference
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Uniform
←  2023 DC Defenders seasons 2025  →

The 2024 DC Defenders season was the third season for the DC Defenders as a professional American football franchise and their first as a member of the United Football League (UFL). The Defenders played their home games at Audi Field and were led by head coach Reggie Barlow.

Following an upset loss to the Arlington Renegades in the 2023 XFL Championship, the franchise looked to return the playoffs. However, the team would be troubled with injuries to key players and poor defensive play. This resulted in the team going on a poor 3–3 start by Week 6 in which they would never recover. They were officially eliminated from playoff contention following a Week 8 loss to the St. Louis Battlehawks.

Roster

2024 DC Defenders roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 11 Mike DiLiello 17 Jalan McClendon 10 Jordan Ta'amu Running backs (RB) 27 Darius Hagans  3 Cam'Ron Harris Wide receivers (WR) 81 Keke Coutee 12 Chris Rowland 19 Ty Scott  2 Brandon Smith 86 Vyncint Smith 82 Monroe Young Tight ends (TE) 87 Ben Bresnahan 18 Alex Ellis 88 Briley Moore 89 Kaden Smith

Offensive linemen (OL) 59 William Barnes T 70 Yasir Durant G 75 Liam Fornadel G 76 Greg Long T 51 Mike Maietti C 56 David Satkowski T 62 Jarrid Williams T 66 John Yarbrough G Defensive linemen (DL) 97 Kevin Atkins DT 72 T. J. Barnes DT  7 Davin Bellamy DE 92 Malik Fisher DE 33 Trent Harris OLB 91 Dennis Johnson DT 48 Andre Mintze DE 50 Derick Roberson DE 90 Niles Scott DT

Linebackers (LB)  6 Ferrod Gardner ILB 57 Anthony Hines ILB 49 Mikel Jones ILB  5 Reggie Northrup ILB 55 MoMo Sanogo ILB Defensive backs (DB)  9 Deontay Anderson SS 25 Deandre Baker CB  1 Kentrell Brice SS 20 Gareon Conley CB 32 Isaiah Johnson CB 15 Michael Joseph CB 24 Anthoula Kelly CB 21 Montae Nicholson FS 39 Santos Ramirez SS 38 Nydair Rouse CB Special teams (ST) 80 Trae Barry LS 47 Paxton Brooks P 16 Matt McCrane K

Reserve 43 Francis Bernard ILB(Susp.) 82 Shaun Beyer TE (IR) 73 Tommy Champion T (IR)  8 Deondre Francois QB (IR) 53 Lamont Gaillard C (IR) 13 Kelvin Harmon WR (IR) 37 Sam Kidd SS (IR) 26 DeJuan Neal CB(Susp.)  4 Abram Smith RB (IR) 99 Joseph Wallace DT (IR) Rookies in italics 50 active, 10 reserve

Signees to the NFL

Player	Position	Date	NFL team	Ref.
Daniel Whelan	P	May 17	Green Bay Packers	[1]
Ferrod Gardner	LB	May 22	Washington Commanders	[2]
Lucky Jackson	WR	May 23	Minnesota Vikings	[3]
Brandon Smith	WR	June 12	Arizona Cardinals	[4]
Chris Blair	WR	June 16	Atlanta Falcons	[5]
Liam Fornadel	OG	June 18	New England Patriots	[6]

Schedule

All times Eastern

Week	Day	Date	Kickoff	TV	Opponent	Results		Location	Attendance
						Score	Record
1	Sunday	March 31	12:00 p.m.	ESPN	at San Antonio Brahmas	12–27	0–1	Alamodome	13,164
2	Sunday	April 7	4:00 p.m.	Fox	Houston Roughnecks	23–18	1–1	Audi Field	15,052
3	Saturday	April 13	1:00 p.m.	ESPN	at Arlington Renegades	29–28	2–1	Choctaw Stadium	8,411
4	Saturday	April 20	7:00 p.m.	Fox	at Birmingham Stallions	18–20	2–2	Protective Stadium	7,262
5	Sunday	April 28	12:00 p.m.	ESPN	St. Louis Battlehawks	12–45	2–3	Audi Field	16,058
6	Sunday	May 5	4:00 p.m.	Fox	San Antonio Brahmas	18–12	3–3	Audi Field	14,303
7	Sunday	May 12	12:00 p.m.	ESPN	Michigan Panthers	9–22	3–4	Audi Field	12,222
8	Sunday	May 19	12:00 p.m.	ABC	at St. Louis Battlehawks	21–26	3–5	The Dome at America's Center	32,403
9	Sunday	May 26	2:30 p.m.	Fox	at Memphis Showboats	36–21	4–5	Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium	6,387
10	Sunday	June 2	12:00 p.m.	ABC	Arlington Renegades	31–32	4–6	Audi Field	13,080

^[7]

Game summaries

Week 1: at San Antonio Brahmas

Week 1: DC Defenders at San Antonio Brahmas – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Defenders	3	6	3	0	12
Brahmas	7	13	0	7	27

at Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas

• Date: March 31
• Game time: 12:00 p.m. EDT/11:00 a.m. CDT
• Game weather: None (Indoor stadium)
• Game attendance: 13,164
• Referee: Bryan Banks
• TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Monaco, Sam Acho, Cole Cubelic and Stormy Buonantony
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter SA – Anthony McFarland Jr. 28-yard pass from Chase Garbers (John Lovett one-point run), 9:08. Brahmas 7–0. Drive: 11 plays, 60 yards, 5:52. DC – Matt McCrane 50-yard field goal, 0:22. Brahmas 7–3. Drive: 7 plays, 19 yards, 3:06. Second quarter SA – Jontre Kirklin 4-yard pass from Chase Garbers (Chase Garbers-Justin Smith one-point pass), 11:21. Brahmas 14–3. Drive: 8 plays, 54 yards, 4:01. DC – Matt McCrane 34-yard field goal, 6:16. Brahmas 14–6. Drive: 9 plays, 42 yards, 5:05. DC – Matt McCrane 48-yard field goal, 2:00. Brahmas 14–9. Drive: 6 plays, 11 yards, 3:23. SA – Alex Mollette 40-yard pass from Brad Wing (two-point pass failed), 0:03. Brahmas 20–9. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 1:57. Third quarter DC – Matt McCrane 28-yard field goal, 2:54. Brahmas 20–12. Drive: 10 plays, 47 yards, 5:39. Fourth quarter SA – Chase Garbers 5-yard run (John Lovett one-point run), 7:16. Brahmas 27–12. Drive: 3 plays, 6 yards, 1:29. Top passers DC – Jordan Ta'amu – 25/45, 235 yards, INT SA – Chase Garbers – 19/25, 158 yards, 2 TD Top rushers DC – Cam'Ron Harris – 8 rushes, 21 yards SA – Anthony McFarland Jr. – 9 rushes, 47 yards Top receivers DC – Ty Scott – 4 receptions, 87 yards SA – Jontre Kirklin – 8 receptions, 61 yards, TD

Standings

2024 UFL standings v t e
USFL Conference
Team	W	L	PCT	GB	TD+/-	TD+	TD-	DIV	PF	PA	DIFF	STK
(y) Birmingham Stallions	9	1	.900	–	11	31	20	6–0	265	180	85	W1
(x) Michigan Panthers	7	3	.700	2	5	27	22	4–2	228	189	39	L1
(e) Memphis Showboats	2	8	.200	7	-19	20	39	2–4	188	290	-102	W1
(e) Houston Roughnecks	1	9	.100	8	-12	17	29	0–6	158	233	-75	L6
XFL Conference
Team	W	L	PCT	GB	TD+/-	TD+	TD-	DIV	PF	PA	DIFF	STK
(y) St. Louis Battlehawks	7	3	.700	–	7	31	24	5–1	260	202	58	W1
(x) San Antonio Brahmas	7	3	.700	–	12	24	12	3–3	192	153	39	L1
(e) DC Defenders	4	6	.400	3	-2	24	26	2–4	209	251	-42	L1
(e) Arlington Renegades	3	7	.300	4	-2	26	28	2–4	247	249	-2	W2
(x)–clinched playoff berth; (y)–clinched division; (e)–eliminated from playoff contention

Staff

The 2024 coaching staff was announced on February 21, 2024. ^[8]

DC Defenders staff

	Front office General manager – Von Hutchins Head coach Head coach – Reggie Barlow Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Fred Kaiss Wide Receivers – Sean Anderson Offensive Line – Sean Kugler Quarterbacks – Shannon Harris			Defensive coaches Defensive Backs – Vern Dean Linebackers – Deion Harris Defensive Line – Jeremy Watkins Defensive Coordinator – Gregg Williams

Offensive Line coach Russ Ehrenfeld was replaced by Sean Kugler Week 6.

References

1. Burke, Aidan. "Daniel Whelan becomes the first D.C. Defender to sign with NFL team". XFL Board. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
2. Manning, Bryan. "Commanders sign XFL linebacker". Commanders Wire. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
3. "Vikings sign XFL star wide receiver Lucky Jackson". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
4. Root, Jess. "Cardinals sign former XFL WR Brandon Smith". Cards Wire. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
5. Paolantonio, Christian. "DC Defenders WR Chris Blair Signs With Atlanta Falcons". XFL Newsroom. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
6. "Patriots Sign Guard Liam Fornadel". www.patriots.com. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
7. "2024 DC Defenders Schedule". FBS Schedules. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
8. "UFL announces 2024 coaching staffs for all eight teams". Fox Sports. February 21, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2024.