New pro football league includes players from Ohio State, local high schools

Ohio State's Jalin Marshall talks to reporters during Fiesta Bowl Media Day on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015, at the Camelback Inn in Scottsdale, Ariz. David Jablonski/Staff

Credit: David Jablonski/Staff

Credit: David Jablonski/Staff

Ohio State's Jalin Marshall talks to reporters during Fiesta Bowl Media Day on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015, at the Camelback Inn in Scottsdale, Ariz. David Jablonski/Staff

The Super Bowl is Sunday, but that does not mean professional football is going into hibernation.

A new league, the Alliance of American Football, is set to begin play Feb. 9 with eight teams playing a 10-game schedule.

»RELATED: How to watch Super Bowl LIII on WHIO-TV

The first AAF championship game is scheduled for April 27, which also happens to be the third and final day of the 2019 NFL draft.

With final rosters set this week, five Ohio State players are part of the new league.

Three of them — Chase Farris, Tracy Sprinkle and Doran Grant — are on the roster for the Atlanta Legends.

Marcus Baugh is set to play for the San Diego Fleet while Jalin Marshall will suit up for the Orlando Apollos.

>>RELATED: More than a dozen local players on NFL rosters to start new season 

A Middletown High School graduate, Marshall is among three AAF players Cox Media Group Ohio coverage area.

Chunky Clements, a defensive tackle from Trotwood-Madison who played collegiately at Illinois, is on the roster of the Arizona Hotshots.

Donteea Dye, a defensive back from Fairfield who went to Heidelberg, is a teammate of Marshall in Orlando, and Kayaune Ross, a Lakota West grad who played receiver at Kentucky, is on the roster for the Memphis Express.

There are also teams based in Salt Lake City, San Antonio and Birmingham, Ala., that do not have any Ohio State alumni or local high school grads, though there is at least one Ohio native on all eight rosters.

About the Author