The Indoor Football League kicks off its 2026 season this weekend. With Yahoo Sports exclusively streaming more than 60 games, here’s one player you should know from each team to get you prepared.

Arizona Rattlers 

RB Ron Brown, Jr. 
The 2025 IFL Rookie of the Year, Brown returns to Arizona as a key member of the Rattlers offense. Brown was a Division II All-American at Shepherd University and spent time on NFL and CFL practice squads before breaking out with the Rattlers last season.

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Fishers Freight 

QB Felix Harper 
A former star at Alcorn State, Harper was the 2019 SWAC Offensive Player of the Year. He has been a mainstay in the IFL the past few years, playing two seasons for the Bay Area Panthers and then splitting last season between the then-Massachusetts Pirates and the Freight. After joining the Freight last season, Harper impressed with his dual-threat ability, scoring 14 total touchdowns (seven rushing, seven passing) in just four games.

Green Bay Blizzard 

K Andrew Mevis
If the name sounds familiar it’s because Mevis is the older brother of former Missouri and current Los Angeles Rams kicker Harrison Mevis. The older Mevis spent time with the Jacksonville Jaguars and in the UFL before joining the Blizzard in 2024. The elder Mevis was a third team All-American in 2021 while at Iowa State and led the IFL in extra point percentage (89.63) and field goal percentage (65.38) last season.

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Iowa Barnstormers

LB Cecil Cherry
A former elite high school recruit who originally signed with the University of Texas out of high school, Cherry has had a long, winding road to the IFL. He attended four different colleges, including Grambling and USF, before playing in the Spring League, the Fan Controlled Football League and the IFL. Cherry has deep family ties to the pro football world, including his godfather Ray Lewis, and his uncles Warren Sapp, Travis Henry and Alvin Harper.  Cherry will be a key cog for the Barnstormers defense this season.

Jacksonville Sharks

QB James Cahoon
Cahoon spent last season with the Iowa Barnstormers and was one of the league’s best rookie quarterbacks, throwing for 2,888 yards and 56 touchdowns. Cahoon, who also moonlights as a personal quarterback coach for several notable high school prospects and hosts a podcast, was a key acquisition for Jacksonville in the offseason.

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New Mexico Chupacabras 

QB Ja’Rome Johnson
The 2024 IFL MVP and a member of Vegas’ 2025 championship team, Johnson comes into the season with big expectations. A star in college at Division II Bowie State where he won the 2019 CIAA Offensive Player of the Year, Johnson is just as dangerous with his legs as he is with his arm as he showed by leading the league with 37 rushing touchdowns during his MVP season in 2024.

Northern Arizona Wranglers

DB Kieran Page
One of the best defensive backs in the league, Page was a star on the Wranglers defense in 2025, leading the team with 66 tackles and five interceptions in just 12 games. His knack for interceptions, as well as playmaking ability with the ball in his hands, makes him one of the league’s most dynamic defensive players.

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Orlando Pirates 

QB Taulia Tagovailoa
The younger brother of former first-round pick and Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Taulia Tagovailoa will be playing in his third pro league after going unselected in the 2024 NFL Draft. After setting basically every major passing record at the University of Maryland, including the Big 10 record for passing yards in a career, the younger Tagovailoa started his career in the CFL with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before playing in Europe for the Hamburg Sea Devils and then joining the IFL last season. The Pirates are loaded with several former college stars, including running back Pooka Williams (Kansas) and wide receiver Nyquan Murray (Florida State), so he should have plenty of weapons in Orlando.

Quad City Steamwheelers 

WR Quian Williams
Williams was far and away the best receiver in the IFL last season, capturing the IFL’s receiving triple crown with 93 receptions, 1,159 receiving yards and 27 touchdowns while playing for the Iowa Barnstormers. His move to Quad City was one of the biggest this offseason and he should provide an instant lift to the Steamwheelers offense.

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San Antonio Gunslingers

DB Matt Elam
A former first round pick of the Baltimore Ravens, Elam has some of the most extensive NFL experience of any player currently in the IFL. After spending four years in the NFL, Elam has played in the CFL and UFL and played in the IFL on several different teams, most recently with San Diego Strike Force in 2025. Elam will lead a Gunslingers defense that also features former Missouri DT Terry Beckner in 2026.

San Diego Strike Force 

DL Kurott Garland
One of the most notable former college players to suit up in the IFL this season, Garland is back with San Diego after being one of the team’s best defensive players in 2025. The 6-foot-3, 310-pound defensive lineman spent six years in college at the University of Tennessee, where he played in a then-school record 65 games. His experience in the SEC has only helped him in the IFL, where he’s a disruptive force in the middle of the Strike Force defense.

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Tucson Sugar Skulls

WR Tamorrion Terry
A star at Florida State who set the school record for receiving yards by a freshman in 2018, Terry has played for four different IFL teams, including finishing last season on Quad City. He figures to be a key part of the Sugar Skulls offense in 2026.

Tulsa Oilers

QB TJ Edwards III
A well-known name in the indoor football world, Edwards was the 2023 IFL MVP while playing for the Frisco Fighters. That season showed what Edwards is capable of under center as he threw for 39 touchdowns and ran for a league-high for quarterbacks with 839 yards. Edwards is back in Tulsa for a second straight season, where he will lead the Oilers offense.

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Vegas Knight Hawks 

QB Jayden de Laura
The former Pac-12 offensive freshman of the year at Washington State, de Laura already has an impressive IFL resume. In his first season with Vegas in 2025, he threw for 1,222 yards, 26 touchdowns and 2 interceptions while leading the team to a league championship and winning championship game MVP. De Laura and the Knight Hawks will be looking to repeat in 2026.