BY RALPH VENTRE
Three weeks into the 2022 United States Football League season, former NCAA Football Championship Subdivision players continue to make noteworthy contributions across the spring league.
Every week, Talking Pigskin spotlights five FCS alumni from the most-recent USFL action.
Of the five former FCS players who caught my eye during the third round of USFL games, there are two defenders from the league’s lone 3-0 team, two skill position players from the 2-1 New Jersey Generals and a former Stats Perform Jerry Rice Award winner.
DE Aaron Adeoye, Birmingham Stallions (Southeast Missouri State)
The former college basketball player makes a second straight appearance amongst Talking Pigskin’s Weekly USFL FCS Fab Five. Adeoye, who has logged multiple tackles in all three games for unbeaten Birmingham, was in on four stops during the Week 3 triumph over New Orleans. The 6-foot-6 defensive end, who spent time on the Green Bay Packers’ Practice Squad in 2021, contributed to an effort that limited the Breakers to 2.9 yards per rush and 5.1 Yards per pass attempt in the Stallions’ 22-13 victory.
TE Woody Brandom, New Jersey Generals (Sam Houston State)
Brandom, who began his collegiate career on the defensive line at Montana State before finishing with Sam Houston State, has been a contributor for the New Jersey Generals early on in his USFL tenure. In a Week 3 win over Philadelphia, the 6-foot-5 tight end was on the receiving end of the game’s longest pass play. He flipped the field with a 48-yard gain, converting a third-and-4 situation on an eventual fourth-quarter touchdown drive. Brandom was an All-Southland Conference first team tight end in 2019 and was subsequently invited to the NFLPA Bowl.
QB Case Cookus, Philadelphia Stars (Northern Arizona)
The former Flagstaff-based gunslinger saw his first USFL game action when Stars’ starter Bryan Scott left their Week 3 contest late in the second quarter due to injury. Cookus, who threw for 12,082 yards and 105 touchdowns over 41 games at Big Sky member Northern Arizona, hit Jordan Suell for a 47-yard gain on his first snap of the game. The 6-foot-4 signal-caller, who was the 2015 Jerry Rice Award recipient, finished 13-of-20 passing for 146 yards and one touchdown in the 24-16 setback to New Jersey.
QB De’Andre Johnson, New Jersey Generals (Texas Southern)
The former “Last Chance U” (on Netflix) star, who spent a graduate season at SWAC member Texas Southern, powered the Generals’ comeback victory on Sunday night. He went 6-of-8 passing for 130 yards along with spearheading New Jersey’s ground game in the 24-16 win over the Philadelphia Stars. Johnson, who also spent time at Florida Atlantic with Lane Kiffin, executed the read-option to perfection while rushing 11 times for 91 yards and one touchdown.
S JoJo Tillery, Birmingham Stallions (Wofford)
The former All-Southern Conference safety has been a stalwart on Birmingham’s defense for the season’s first three games. Tillery, who signed an UDFA deal with the Tennessee Titans in 2019, has totaled 23 tackles in three appearances for the undefeated Stallions. He made 10 stops (7 solo) while the Stallions shut down New Orleans in Week 3. The versatile defensive back helped bottle up the Breakers’ rushing attack in a 22-13 triumph.
TALKING PIGSKIN 
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