COLUMBUS, Ohio -- For the first time since the XFL both started and ended in 2001, there's a nationally-televised American football league to bridge the gap between the Super Bowl and the start of college football in August.

A new league, the Alliance of American Football, begins Saturday. Such alternatives to the NFL typically give former college players who barely missed out on making the shield a chance to get paid playing football.

This is the case for five former Ohio State players: offensive tackle Chase Farris, defensive tackle Tracy Sprinkle and corner Doran Grant with the Atlanta Legends, wide receiver Jalin Marshall with the Orlando Apollos, and tight end Marcus Baugh with the San Diego Fleet.

Of the five, Grant could present the biggest redemption narrative. The only player of the bunch selected in an NFL draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers used a fourth-round choice on Grant and expected him to contribute eventually. He played three games as a rookie, but failed to make any sort of impact before getting cut and bouncing around practice squads for a few years.

Marshall made the biggest impact for the shield, with 424 combined kick and punt return yards for the New York Jets as a rookie in 2016, limited by a torn labrum. Before 2017 Marshall tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, received a suspension and the Jets waived him soon after.

The AAF season features eight teams playing a ten-game schedule with no byes, followed by a semi-final game and championship.

The league kicks off Saturday at 8 p.m., when Baugh's Fleet take on the San Antonio Commanders, coached by someone Buckeye fans may recognize: Mike Riley.

Farris, Sprinkle and Grant join forces for the Legends to take on Marshall's Apollos, also scheduled for an 8 p.m. kick Saturday.