The Alliance of American Football caught a lot of attention over the weekend; here are the Wisconsin connections in the league

This was supposed to be the first weekend of the season without football, but the Alliance of American Football quickly caught people’s attention when the league debuted with its first batch of games Saturday and Sunday. 

The eight-team league, featuring squads based in San Diego, San Antonio, Atlanta, Orlando, Memphis, Birmingham, Salt Lake City and Tempe, reportedly outperformed a spotlighted NBA game on ABC in primetime Saturday.

There aren’t many connections to Wisconsin on the rosters, but there are a few. Here’s what you’ll find.

Arizona Hotshots

Jacob Ohnsesorge. The offensive lineman attended South Dakota State, but before that was a standout at Waunakee High School. Ohnesorge went undrafted in 2018 but signed with the Dallas Cowboys before being among the final round of cuts.

Carl Bradford. The linebacker out of Arizona State was a fourth-round pick by the Green Bay Packers in the 2014 draft, and he became part of the franchise’s practice squad in 2015. Since departing a year later, he spent time with four other NFL franchises and spent 2018 with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League.

Jhurell Pressley. The running back from New Mexico was with the Packers for two weeks in 2016. 

Salt Lake Stallions

Austin Traylor. The lone player on any AAF roster to hail from the University of Wisconsin, Traylor initially signed as an undrafted free agent with the Cowboys in 2016 and spent a couple weeks on the practice squad. The Ohio native bounced around to four other franchises before landing with the Stallions. He plays tight end.

Chris Odom. Odom spent just about a year with the Packers from the start of the 2017 season to the final cuts of 2018, first added when he was claimed off waivers from the Falcons. The linebacker from Arkansas State made six tackles in seven games in 2017, but he couldn't catch on elsewhere when he was waived before the start of 2018.

Greer Martini. The linebacker from Notre Dame had a strong preseason with the Packers after signing as an undrafted free agent, but he was placed on the practice squad and waived in October.

Joel Bouagnon. Two days after he was announced as general manager of the Packers, Brian Gutenkunst signed Bouagnon on Jan. 10, making him the first transaction of the new GM's tenure. The running back from Northern Illinois was waived before the season started and briefly a member of Green Bay's practice squad.

San Antonio Commanders

Jayrone Elliott. The linebacker signed in 2014 with the Packers as an undrafted free agent out of Toledo and saw action in 38 games from 2014-'16, with four career sacks, an interception and a forced fumble. He was traded to the Cowboys in 2017 and wound up with the Saints before getting released early in the 2018 season.

Josh Ogelsby (coach). The tight ends coach played for the University of Wisconsin after a heralded prep career at St. Francis High School. He served as offensive quality control coach at Texas-El Paso in 2018 and served the same role for three seasons at Oregon State. He was also a graduate assistant at Wisconsin from 2013-'15 after his playing career ended in 2011. He was twice named to the Outland Trophy watch list during his time with the Badgers and signed with the Redskins as an undrafted free agent before injuries forced him to retire.

Marquise Williams. The quarterback from North Carolina was with the Packers in camp in 2016 but ultimately couldn't earn a spot, then went to the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

Joey Mbu. The defensive tackle from Houston entered the NFL in 2015 and saw some time with the Falcons that year as well as the Colts in 2017. His time in Packers camp was brief, from June to September of 2018.

Memphis Express

Raijon Neal. The running back from Tennessee signed as an undrafted free agent with the Green Bay Packers in 2014 and spent a brief time on the practice squad and injured reserve. He also bounced around to four other NFL teams before a season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League in 2017.

Birmingham Iron

Tim Lewis (coach). The Birmingham head coach was the Packers first-round draft choice in 1983, taken 11th overall as a cornerback out of Pittsburgh. He played until 1986, when his career was cut short after he suffered a neck injury against the Bears on Monday Night Football. He immediately went into coaching and became an NFL defensive coordinator. In 2006, he was New York Giants defensive coordinator when he was among the candidates to become Packers head coach, a job that eventually went to Mike McCarthy.

RELATED:These are the guys Mike McCarthy beat out in the Green Bay Packers' 2006 coaching search

Orlando Apollos

LaDarius Gunter. The Miami (Florida) product signed with the Green Bay Packers after the 2015 NFL draft and made the team, eventually rising into a starter’s capacity (15 starts) for a playoff squad in 2016. In all, he played in 25 games with Green Bay and made 52 tackles, with 12 passes defended and two forced fumbles. The Packers released him in 2017, and he was with the Carolina Panthers for one year thereafter.

Charles Johnson. The Packers made Johnson, a wide receiver from Grand Valley State in Michigan, a seventh-round draft choice in 2013. He started the year on the Green Bay practice squad before the Browns signed him away, but he was able to get on the field finally in Minnesota. From 2014-'16, he had 60 career receptions.

Ben Turk. The punter from Notre Dame didn’t play in Wisconsin, but he is the nephew of longtime NFL punter Matt Turk, who made three Pro Bowls during his lengthy NFL career from 1993-2011. The older Turk attended Greenfield High School and played college football at UW-Whitewater.

Jordan McCray. You know McCray's twin brother, Justin, who was part of the offensive line rotation for the Packers the past two seasons and has made 13 starts. But Jordan, also a product of UCF, was actually signed first by Green Bay, in 2014. Jordan was waived before the regular season began that yea

Atlanta Legends

Donatello Brown. The cornerback from Valdosta State was signed as an undrafted free agent, made the practice squad and wound up promoted to the active roster in 2017. He appeared in four games but was waived at the end of training camp in 2018.

Montay Crockett. The wide receiver from Georgia Southern was signed as an undrafted free agent after the 2017 draft by the Packers but was waived before the season began.

San Diego Fleet

Philip Nelson. Nelson was born in Madison before moving to Minnesota and beginning his college career at Minnesota. The quarterback, who entered the Fleet's first game of the year in the fourth quarter, finished his career at East Carolina and briefly attended rookie camp with the Cleveland Browns. He trained with former Badgers quarterback Scott Tolzien, who was drafted by the Birmingham Iron but ultimately elected to retire.

Who else am I missing? Let me know at jradcliffe@gannett.com.