The Swiss Army Knife of Birmingham’s Improving Defense

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - May 16, 2026

By Steve Irvine

Picking one spot for Tre Norwood to play in the defensive backfield is not necessary. Throwing him in a role that’s been described as a ‘Swiss Army Knife’ is more appropriate.

At his foundation, Norwood is probably a cornerback. But he’s shown that he’s much more versatile than simply lining up in one spot. He is in his second season as a starter at safety for the Birmingham Stallions. In the Stallions’ most recent game, a 21-17 overtime win over the Dallas Renegades, he lined up on 40 snaps at free safety, 19 snaps at strong safety, 17 snaps as a slot corner and three snaps on the line of scrimmage, according to Pro Football Focus. He’s as comfortable making plays at the line of scrimmage in the running game and he is defending the deep pass.

“I'd be lying to you if I didn't say I feel natural and comfortable at every position on the back end (of the defense),” Norwood said. “I've always been a guy to do whatever the defense needs, whatever the team needs from me, whether it's corner, safety, nickel, whatever it may be. I'm comfortable at not only doing that, but doing that at a high level. I think now, since I’ve been in (professional football), my corner days are pretty much done. I'm more so safety or nickel or dime. But I'm very confident that I can play any one of those spots on the back end.”

The 5-foot-11, 199-pound Norwood played on both sides of the football, including quarterback, in high school. But his defensive versatility really started to show when went to the University of Oklahoma.

“Honestly, it started when I was at OU,” said Norwood, who is from Fort Smith, Arkansas. “They had me kind of moving around, especially when they got the new defensive staff with (Alex) Grinch and those guys. It kind of just stuck from there. I was able to take advantage of the opportunities or whatnot and made the plays when they were there. It just kind of blossomed from there and continued over (to the NFL).”

He played in 39 games with 24 starts at Oklahoma over three seasons. He missed the 2019 season after suffering a knee injury in fall camp but returned to finish tied for third in the country with five interceptions. Overall, he had 111 tackles, six interceptions, 21 pass deflections, a sack and two tackles for loss in his career. He left with a year of eligibility remaining and was drafted in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Norwood spent his first two NFL seasons with the Steelers, contributing 61 tackles, an interception and four pass deflections. He also spent time in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers and Buffalo Bills.

“I'm forever grateful and blessed for them giving a kid from Fort Smith, Arkansas an opportunity to first of all hear my name called,” Norwood. “I didn’t care if it was first rounder or the last pick. Just to be able to hear my name called and be able to have an opportunity to go there and compete and show the type of player I am and I can actually contribute to the team means a lot.  When it comes to the NFL, comes to football as a whole, just being able to be a part of the Black and Gold, it means a lot.”

The NFL dream still burns in Norwood, which he’s been able to continue to chase because of the UFL. Norwood had 39 tackles, three pass breakups and a fumble recovery in his first season in the Stallions. This season, he has been one of the team’s top defensive players and part of the reason they are fighting their way toward securing a playoff berth. The Stallions are 3-4 overall with back-to-back wins heading into Sunday’s matchup with Columbus Aviators at Protective Stadium. A big part of the recent surge has been the play of the opportunistic defense.

“I think we’ve been progressing a lot,” Norwood said. “There is always room for improvement in anything. I think we just have to keep putting our hard hats on each and every day when we come into the building and on the practice field. We need to put in the work, especially in our preparation. I feel like we’re continuing to progress and grow as a team. We just need to make sure we keep taking it week by week and make sure we go 1-0 every week.”