USFL Stars Participating in Championship Game ‘Grateful’ for Opportunity to Play in the League

USFL Stars Victor Bolden Jr. and Maurice Alexander Jr. will play for a championship on Sunday.

Bolden’s Birmingham Stallions will take on Alexander’s Philadelphia Stars at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio for the title, wrapping up the rebooted league’s inaugural season.

bolden came to the USFL After being unable to keep up with an NFL team. He was with the San Francisco 49ers for over a year and then joined the Buffalo Bills.

He was on the Detroit Lions roster for a few months before leaving in August 2021.

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Birmingham Stallions wide receiver Victor Bolden Jr. (7) celebrates after a 19-yard touchdown reception against the New Orleans Breakers during a USFL game at Protective Stadium on April 30, 2022 in Birmingham, Ala.
(Joe Robbins/Icon SportsWire via Getty Images)

The Stallions selected Bolden in the 13th round of the draft, and he became an All-USFL selection as a wide receiver and a special team player.

Alexander was groomed by the stars a few years after he played his last collegiate game. Alexander was a quarterback and wide receiver at Florida International, where he was a backup quarterback for Alex McGaugh, who plays for the Stallions.

USFL star Victor Bolden Jr. Talk Milestone Touchdown, Championship Game

Philadelphia Stars wide receiver Maurice Alexander returns for 87 yards for a game-winning touchdown during a USFL playoff game against the New Jersey Generals on June 25, 2022, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio Celebrated.
(Joe Robbins/Icon SportsWire via Getty Images)

He made the most of his USFL experience, Becoming an All-USFL Select As a punt returner.

Both players told Fox News Digital that they were grateful for their experience in the league.

“One thing I want to say is the quality of football is very good. We have players who are really trying to get to the next level and you can see that in our game,” Bolden said. “The guys are working really hard out there. The USFL has done a good job of providing an opportunity to show us what we have.”

,we don’t need to go to canada Or across the country and far away from your family. The quality of the football is great, and I think they did a great job preparing for this league with Fox Backup. I think it created consistency while keeping everyone in the same bubble. This also helped a lot. I am very grateful for this opportunity. I’m glad I decided to play.”

Alexander said that the USFL helped him overcome some of the struggles he had tried to make as a football player over the years.

USFL star Maurice Alexander Jr. Go-Ahead Punt-Returns TD, Talks Misses Championship Game

The USFL logo on a football during the warmup before a game between the New Orleans Breakers and Michigan Panthers at Protective Stadium on May 28, 2022 in Birmingham, Ala.
(Patrick Smith/USFL/Getty Images)

“The USFL took a chance on me, and I’m grateful for that, because my college senior, prior to 2019, had an injury. Then, in 2020, hit by COVID, So, it was tough for me, and I was grateful and eager to come back and show that my hard work was being used and it was paying off now,” Alexander said.

“After two and a half years of not playing and then getting into it the right way, the way I am contributing now is the kind that when I was not playing, I was putting in the work, focused was doing, keeping faith the man is above and when the opportunity presented itself, I was here to execute and follow.”

Bolden and Alexander each made major plays that helped their teams reach the title game.

bolden Kick returned for touchdown against the New Orleans Breakers. Alexander had a game-winning punt-return touchdown against the New Jersey Generals.

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The Stallions and Stars plays Sunday night at 7:30 ET on FOX.