Inaugural UFL Draft Features Some Familiar Names

The inaugural UFL draft took place on Thursday night, and at least a few names of the 96 called were recognizable ones.

Quick primer: The United Football League, which begins its first season of play in October, consists of four teams (Las Vegas, New York, Orlando and San Francisco). Each team has 20 players allotted to it -- we do not know the identities of those guys yet -- plus 24 draft choices. The four 60-man rosters would then be filled by players who are cut during NFL training camps, or who sign contracts in lieu of attending camps, like we hear J.P. Losman will do.

The biggest name taken on Thursday, in terms of players who have have had NFL careers, was Adam Archuleta. The former Arizona State Sun Devil, who played eight seasons in the NFL -- most recently with Chicago in 2007 -- was drafted by Las Vegas.

Las Vegas' roster also includes Wendell Bryant, whom FanHouse dubbed the worst draft pick in Arizona Cardinals history earlier this year, as well as former Lions wide receiver David Kircus.

New York's squad doesn't have the "star" power that Las Vegas' does, but the New Yorkers did select a pair of quarterbacks fresh out of college -- Northwestern's C.J. Bacher, and Utah's Brian Johnson.

Another QB headlines the act in Orlando: Brooks Bollinger, recently an emergency fill-in for Tony Romo with the Cowboys, found a new home in the Sunshine State. He will be joined there by fellow Big Ten alum Chris Perry, whom the Bengals cut recently.

Finally, San Francisco wound up with the biggest "Who the crap are these guys?" list after the league's initial draft. Among that team's biggest names are Shane Boyd (Kentucky), Joe West (UTEP) and Branden Ledbetter (Western Michigan). Congrats to anyone who doesn't live near those schools and recognized the names minus the help of a Google search.

The complete list of 2009 UFL draftees can be found here on the league's official website. The 20 allotted players should be released in the near future, while guys like Losman are free to sign whenever.