It’s February. Football is officially over. Nothing to look forward to (other than our awesome basketball and baseball teams) until the dog days of August. The postpartum football depression sinks in. You have no excuse but to spend time with your significant other(s) and loved ones on the weekends for the next seven-ish months. You knew this would come, but you always held out hope that maybe, just maybe, this year would be different. But alas, football is no mor…
BAH GAWD. THAT’S VINCE MCMAHON’S MUSIC
That’s right. Our saving grace is the majority shareholder, chairman, and CEO of the WWE.
How so? If you’ve been asleep for the last 19 years you may have missed the news that the XFL will be resuming operations for it’s second season since 2001. The league will kick off round two this Saturday when the Seattle Dragons take on the DC Defenders.
The names and logos may be generic and hilariously awful, and God only knows if this is just another sad attempt at a spring football league or a semi-successful one that gets shutdown by some real-estate guy that goes on to be president of the United States, but football is football. And all football is good football (there are many exceptions to this rule, i.e. teams coached by Mark Dantonio, BVG, 2018 Kentucky State John L. Smith, etc.). So, I’m excited as hell, and you should be too.
To help bolster this excitement of another football league, let’s dive into the fine folks who will be wearing these awful jerseys.
Former Louisville Players
Currently there are two players who finished their college days at Louisville playing in the XFL. They are…
#4 Eli Rogers: DC Defenders WR
Eli Rogers played at UofL from 2011-2014 where he was one of Teddy Bridgewater’s most reliable targets. He finished his career as the 12th all-time school leader in reception yards. He signed a three-year contract worth $1.575 million as an undrafted free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2015. In 2016 he saw action in 13 games and eight starts, where he recorded, 48 receptions for 594 yards and three touchdowns. His 72.7% catch rate ranked tenth among all NFL wide receivers that year.
In 2017 he didn’t see as much action as the receiver’s room in Pittsburgh was quite crowded. He ultimately ended up tearing his ACL in the divisional round of the playoffs against the Jaguars, and was subsequentially released as a free agent. Rogers would re-sign with the Steelers the next year, but was suspended from the first game of the season for violation NFL policy involving substance abuse. He sat out for the majority of the 2018 season while his ACL heeled. He was reactivated on December 15th, 2018.
In March of 2019 he signed a 2-year extension with the Steelers, but was released from the team in August. He’ll be suiting up for the DC Defenders this Saturday under HC Pep Hamilton and OC Tanner Engstrand.
#53 Deiontrez Mount: Tampa Vipers DE
Deiontrez Mount played on the same team with Eli Rogers from 2011-2014, and was a member of the famed 2011 Charlie Strong signing class. In his sophomore year he showed signs of promise as he recorded 4 TFLs and 2.5 sacks, as well as two stops in the Sugar Bowl against Florida. Unfortunately, e was limited in 2013 due to injury, but he exploded his senior with 9.5 TFLs and 4 sacks.
He ultimately would be selected as the 177th pick in the 6th round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Titans. Sadly, his NFL career was riddled with injuries and he bounced around from practice roster to practice roster, only making an active roster on the 2017 Denver Broncos.
He was selected in the 22nd round of the XFL draft (round two of phase three) by the Tampa Vipers. He will suit up at DE under HC Mark Trestman and DC Jerry Glanville(!).
“I Remember That Guy!”
· Cardale Jones – DC Defenders QB: Won 2015 National Championship at Ohio State. Famously said, “we came here to play FOOTBALL, we ain't come to play SCHOOL.”
· Donnel Pumphrey – DC Defenders RB: Set NCAA single season rushing record at SDSU in 2016, and had 6,405 career rushing yards which is third in FBS history.
· Connor Cook – Houston Roughnecks QB: Played for Michigan State. I remember him. No idea why.
· Landry Jones – Dallas Renegades QB: Played for Oklahoma in early 2010s. Started for the Steelers a couple times. That’s about it.
· Vinny Testaverde Jr. – Tampa Bay Vipers QB: Not that Vinny Testaverde. This would be that guy’s son.
· Aaron Murray – Tampa Bay Vipers QB: Played at Georgia in early 2010s. All-time SEC leader in passing yards (13,166) and passing touchdowns (121). Seriously.
· Quinton Flowers – Tampa Bay Vipers RB: Started as QB at USF and was known for his scrambling ability. Looks like the Vipes (no one calls them that) will try to take advantage of his speed.
· Keenan Reynolds – Seattle Dragons WR: Started at QB at Navy for four years and rushed for 88 touchdowns. So they’re using him at receiver. Okay then.
· Elijah Hood – Los Angeles Wildcats RB: Dude was a stud at UNC and had a breakout year in 2015 as a sophomore with 1,463 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns.
· Nick Novak – Los Angeles Wildcats K: Has been playing pro ball across multiple leagues (NFL, NFL Europe, UFL, AAF) for the last 15 years. In 10 NFL seasons he connected on 182 of his 222 field-goal tries
Familiar Foes
· Austin MacGinnis – Dallas Renegades K: Pretty sure he’s the Kentucky guy that kicked the game winning field goal in the massive 2016 upset.
Yep, that's him. F*** that guy.
· Eric Dungey – Dallas Renegades QB for Syracuse the last few years who has no respect for human limits or mortality.
· Matthew Colburn – New York Guardians RB: This is the guy Bobby asked to grayshirt after pulling his scholarship 48 hours before signing day. Colburn would sign with Wake Forest and exact revenge against Bobby in a 56-35 beatdown in 2018. Colburn finished the game with 243 rushing yards and 3 TDs. Honestly, good for him. Oh, and that was his career high. His previous high before that? Also against Louisville in 2017 when he ran for 134 yards in a 42-32 win over the Cards. Again, good for him.
With plenty of familiar faces and exciting/weird rule changes, I think this league has the potential to not be terrible. Which is really all we can ask for.
