Matt Corral created a new standard of winning as a record-setting quarterback for Ole Miss football.
Unsurprisingly, then, Corral has led his Birmingham Stallions to the UFL Championship in his debut season.
This season Corral made his return to a football field for the first time in nearly three years.
He’s former third-round selection (No. 94 overall) of the Carolina Panthers in the 2022 NFL Draft. However, his career was derailed from the start after he suffered a season-ending Lisfranc injury in the preseason. The Panthers took Alabama’s Bryce Young No. 1 overall the following year. Corral was waived, and later traded, to the Patriots. He ultimately ended up cut and out of the league.
Corral signed with Birmingham in February as the assumed replacement of 2023 USFL MVP Alex McGough. The Stallions were one of four USFL teams to survive the league’s off-season merger with the XFL. The Stallions had won 21 of 24 games the previous two seasons, including a pair of USFL championships. Corral was named starter in March.
Adrian Martinez, though, broke out as the likely UFL MVP and dominated snaps. He finished the regular season with more than 2,200 total yards and 18 touchdowns. Martinez led the league in rushing (528) and the Stallions to a 9-1 record. Another former Rebel, defensive end/linebacker Breeland Speaks, was named UFL Defensive Player of the Year on Friday.
Corral surprisingly replaced Martinez in the third quarter on Saturday. Martinez had committed a couple of turnovers and only 10 of his 19 passes, but Corral hadn’t played since Week 4 — in a showdown with yet anther former Rebel, Jordan Ta’amu, and his D.C. Defenders on April 20.
Corral completed 9 of 11 passes for 120 yards, two touchdowns and an interception thrown on his second attempt.
He led a 75-yard scoring drive with the game tied at 18 apiece in the fourth quarter. Among the highlights were a 43-yard pitch-and-catch with Stallion wide receiver Gary Jennings and a touchdown strike to wide receiver Amari Rodgers. He sealed the win with a 12-yard scoring toss to Ricky Person, Jr.
Corral passed for 8,287 career yards at Ole Miss, to go along with 57 touchdowns. He had 1,338 yards and 18 additional scores on the ground.
Corral was a multi-time All-SEC selection, as well as an All-American as a junior, which was his final season in Oxford. That year Corral was the face of the first-ever 10-win team in program history. The Rebels won a record 11 in 2023-24.
Corral won the Conerly Trophy, awarded each year to Mississippi’s best college player, and was a finalist for the Maxwell and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Awards.
“We truly have a one-of-a-kind program at Ole Miss,” Corral said upon leaving Ole Miss. “I have so much appreciation for Rebel Nation. The love and support I’ve received from fans, faculty, administration and staff in my (Rebel career) has been remarkable.
“Oxford will always be a second home to me.”
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