The UFL held its first-ever Showcase in Europe on October 5. Whereas most Showcases in America feature upwards of 300 players in total, the Showcase in Switzerland had just 57 players in attendance. Most of them came from the European League of Football, which has gained traction as it has attracted top coaches and players from America while also developing European talent.
Among those on hand from the UFL were David Dykeman, Director of Football Operations, and Doug Whaley, Senior Vice President of Player Personnel. They partnered with Baumgartner Sports to operate this event. A hat tip to the Spring Football News account on Twitter/X, that provided much of the basis of information found in this article and did a fantastic write-up of the Showcase itself.
QB Christian Arrambide, Kentucky Wesleyan: What first stands out when looking at Arrambide’s stats at Kentucky Wesleyan are the interceptions: 31 in three years. That was paired, however, with 41 touchdown passes and another 13 TDs rushing. He finished his college career with a completion percentage of 54%, yet showed enough to rank as Dane Brugler’s 47th best QB in the 2024 NFL Draft, as listed in The Athletic. Finding no pro opportunities in the States, Arrambide went overseas and excelled in the Finnish Maple League, becoming their Offensive Player of the Year. That led to a signing with the Northern Arizona Wranglers of the IFL in October. He played in one game in the 2025 season.
S Maceo Beard, Europe: The 2023 Defensive Player of the Year in the ELF, Beard has a nose for the football as he intercepted eight passes in his award-winning season. Beard has played in the German Football League and was a CFL Global Draft selection of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. As recently as this season, he took part in the NFL International Pathway Player’s Pro Day in Florida and was one of the standouts from that event.
TE Florian Bierbaumer, Europe: An early adopter of American football, Bierbaumer took up the sport at 15 years old. Since 2022, he’s played in the European League of Football for the Vienna Vikings. He was selected as a finalist for the NFL’s International Pathway Program but went unsigned by NFL teams. That certainly has been to Vienna’s benefit, as Bierbaumer has received accolades such as being a 2023 ELF First Team All-Star.
S Alexsander Borkovic, Europe: At about 6’0″ and 210 pounds, Borkovic has good size for the position regardless of the continent. Borkovic has played flag football in Serbia and has also played under the ELF banner as well as in the European Football Association. As far back as 2018, Borkovic participated in a Premier Players International Camp in Poland where he was voted the best player on defense.
S Devan Burrell, Western Missouri: The Las Vegas native Burrell made 162 tackles in three seasons from his defensive back position with the Griffons, along with 7.5 tackles for loss, 12 passes defensed and a lone interception. Undersized at just over 5’9″, Burrell found a home across the pond with Panthers Wroclaw of the ELF. They’re the third team he’s played on in the league since 2023. Burrell was the 153rd-ranked draft-eligible safety by Brugler in 2022.
RB Lennox Gautschi, Europe: Gautschi is one of the few that got to work out in his home country of Switzerland for this Showcase. Until recently, he played ball in Switzerland for the Zurich Renegades. This year, he moved up to the ELF as a member of the Helvetic Mercenaries, also based in Switzerland. Unfortunately, the team went 0-12, though Gautschi did earn valuable playing time, averaging 3.6 yards per carry on 47 rushes. Just 21 years old, Gautschi has a lot of football still ahead of him.
WR Bernardo Horevitch, Europe: American football hasn’t just taken Europe by storm; those all over the world have embraced the sport. Brazil is one example, which is where Horevitch is from. With German familial ties, Horevitch ended up traveling to that country to play for the Minden Wolves after excelling in Brazil, including being named the most outstanding receiver at the South American Combine.
WR Reece Horn, Indianapolis: One of the older prospects at this Showcase (32 years young), Horn is also one of the few with NFL – and American spring football – experience. He’s been in training camp with three NFL teams in his pro career and has also suited up for the Alliance of American Football, the Spring League, the CFL and XFL 2020 with the Tampa Bay Vipers. He’s found a home in Europe since 2022 with the Frankfurt Galaxy and Vienna Vikings. In the most recent season with Vienna he had his best pro numbers yet with 75 catches for over 1,000 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns.
DB Edris Jean-Alphonse, Laval: From one of the powerhouse Canadian football universities, Jean-Alphonse was a second-round pick of the Ottawa Redblacks in the 2022 CFL Global Draft. He played just four games with them before moving over to Europe to play there. Originally from France, Jean-Alphonse hooked up with his home country Paris Musketeers to continue his football career. He tested well at the CFL Combine before coming out in 2022, including topping all at his position in the 40-yard dash and short shuttle.
LB Arthur Kingdom, Europe: While most of the players attending the UFL Showcase in Switzerland had several years’ experience at the pro level, Kingdom is just finishing up his rookie season. The 22-year-old made a splash with the Prague Lions, named the ELF Defensive Rookie of the Year. His season included 85 tackles, five tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and two interceptions. Prior to entering the ELF, Kingdom, of British descent, spent two seasons in the German Football League.
S Tom Kleinmann, Europe: Another in the GFL-to-ELF pipeline, American football runs in Kleinmann’s blood: His father, Ralf, was a kicker in the World League of American Football (later rechristened NFL Europe) for the Frankfurt Galaxy. Kleinmann’s stats have improved since his initial ELF foray with the Cologne Centurions before eventually moving on to his father’s old team, the Galaxy.
DT Jahn Jesus Lara Perez, Europe: Perez, of both German and Cuban heritage, is now on four years as an ELF veteran. Perez won a championship as part of the Rhein Fire in 2024. Heading into the 2025 season, Perez had accumulated 41 tackles, four tackles for loss and three sacks. Despite playing in the middle of the defense, he also has an interception returned for a touchdown to his name.
QB Keegan McCormack-Reamer, Virginia Lynchburg: Virginia Lynchburg was the third and final stop in McCormack-Reamer’s college career, after Mid-America Nazarene and Southwest Baptist University. Prior to week one of this year, McCormack-Reamer signed with Cologne in the ELF. His experience in Europe includes time in a German league, where he put up impressive numbers (70% completion, 2,967 yards). Something else impressive: His size, listed at 6’3″ and 221 pounds.
RB Jean-Charles Moukouri Europe: The French footballer Moukori made the opening day roster of the Paris Musketeers of the ELF in 2025. A track star who didn’t take to American football until 2018, Moukouri, who is 30 years old, has experience in America in the indoor football leagues. He is reported to run an estimated 40 time of somewhere in the low 4.5s.
LB Lucky Ogbevoen, Europe: Born in Austria, Ogbevoen played on Austria’s national team from a young age, eventually working his way up to the professional level. He’s been a featured player for the last three seasons in the ELF, aside from 2024 when he was selected by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL Global Draft and spent training camp with them. Ogbevoen had a career-high 6.5 sacks in 2025 with the Vienna Vikings.
RB Sandro Platzgummer, Europe: While Reece Horn has been in NFL training camps, Platzgummer has made it as far as NFL practice squads. An International Pathway Player with the New York Giants, Platzgummer was a member of the team’s practice squad in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Sandwiched around his work with the Giants was time spent playing in Europe: First in his home country of Austria, then later on in the ELF.
K Ryan Rimmler, Ball State: It wasn’t until he was a senior that Rimmler became the field goal kicker for Ball State. Prior to that, he was a kickoff specialist only. He made 68% of his field goals in 2019 in his final year for the Cardinals. After playing football in high school in Germany, Rimmler came to the U.S. for college. He moved back to Europe to play in the ELF, where in 2024, he set a league record for longest field goal made at 60 yards.
P Bastian Roppelt, Europe: One of only a few specialists at this European Showcase, Roppelt was selected to represent Germany in the NFL’s IPP. A fellow German specialist, K Lenny Krieg, followed the same path as Roppelt and is currently on the practice squad of the Atlanta Falcons. In 2025, Roppelt landed almost half of his punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, an important stat for that position. A member of the Frankfurt Galaxy, Roppelt is still waiting on a call to the NFL – a call from a UFL team could come sooner.
TE Markus Schaberl, Europe: Spending most of his ELF time with Raiders Tirol, Schaberl will be 29 years old when the UFL season starts next spring. A former volleyball player, Schaberl began playing American football in Austria in 2018. At 6’6″ and 250 pounds, Schaberl probably isn’t going to run by a lot of people or be a big factor in the passing game – in fact, his stats back up this assertion. But there’s always a need for blockers and big bodies to help spring running backs into daylight, and Schaberl has the body type to do just that.
LB Yangshuo Schnieper, Europe: A true renaissance man who can speak English, German and Chinese, the 21-year-old Scnieper can play both inside and outside linebacker and did for the Helvetic Mercenaries in the ELF in 2025. He played in nine games, making just two total tackles. Some of his work in drills can be viewed on the Preps Recruiting YouTube page.
RB Armand Soulerot Europe: Added to the roster of the ELF’s Nordic Storm midway through the 2025 season, Soulerot received the promotion after playing in Germany for GFL2. He played in five games for the Storm, totaling 39 carries for 157 yards (4.0 yards per carry) and a touchdown. He even played in two playoff games. In 2024, at 21 years old, Soulerot was the youngest player on the French national team.
LB Tim Steins, Minot State: It’s a long way from Germany to North Dakota, but that’s where Steins’ football travels took him. Growing up in Europe and coming to the States to play Division II college football, Steins had a relatively uneventful collegiate career. He headed back across the pond to play with the Rhein Fire in 2024, then the Frankfurt Galaxy in 2025. Steins won an ELF Championship with the Fire in 2024.
LB A.J. Wentland, McKendree University: A star in college, Wentland was the 20216 Great Valley Lakes Conference Defensive Player of the Year and set a school record for tackles with 421. Wentland worked out for scouts at Northwestern’s pro day in 2017. He was inducted into the McKendree University Hall of Fame earlier this year. His tackling prowess continued on another continent, as he set a single-season ELF record for tackles in 2024, compiling more than 100 tackles per season over his four-year career in Europe heading into 2025.
