The third iteration of the XFL kicks off this weekend with games airing on the ESPN and Fox family networks. Brand loyalty is fleeting at best for the eight teams, but several notable names from past collegiate and NFL seasons are set to compete this spring. Among them: quarterback Paxton Lynch, receiver Josh Gordon and pass rusher Vic Beasley.
Quarterbacks in particular are falling victim to the NFL car wash, and there is no longer a developmental league that can handle the overflow like NFL Europe once did. From 1999 to 2003, three quarterbacks who started for NFC representatives in the Super Bowl (twice Kurt Warner, Brad Johnson, Jake Delhomme) had honed their skills in Europe. Perhaps the XFL can become a training ground for future NFL quarterbacks while also developing offensive linemen and other needed positions.
Right now, every XFL roster contains a mix of former NFL players looking for another opportunity and prospects looking for their first shot. Here are a dozen players I’ve been watching in the XFL this season.
Hundley was picked in the fifth round by the Green Bay Packers in 2015 and immediately shouldered the tag of a potential Aaron Rodgers replacement. In 2017, Hundley started nine games for the injured Rodgers, finishing 6-3 with nine touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. He’s only seen three action games since then, ending up on the Baltimore Ravens practice team in 2022. Like so many other quarterback prospects, Hundley was seen as a failure instead of learning and growing from his inconsistency.
Drew Plitt, QB, Arlington Renegades
Plitt is the classic tale of a quarterback slipping through the cracks at the pro level. He played at Ball State and was named 2020 MAC Championship Game and Arizona Bowl MVP. He returned to Ball State the next year for a sixth season, finishing his career with 9,051 passing yards and 68 touchdown passes. If he succeeds, Plitt could turn his XFL experience into a real NFL shot. He spent a brief stint at Cincinnati Bengals training camp last summer.
Pooka Williams, RB, DC Defender
Williams, a two-time All-Big 12 running back, was often the lone bright spot on the field for his Kansas teams, rushing for more than 1,000 yards as a freshman and student. He retired midway through his junior season and became a seventh-round draft pick in 2021. Blessed with blazing speed, Williams was able to jump on the NFL radar as a returnee and change of pace.
Travell Harris, WR, Houston Roughnecks
One of the most prolific receivers in Washington State history, Harris caught 179 passes for 1,999 yards and 17 touchdowns in four seasons from 2018-21. He ranks third in the program’s all-purpose yards ranking with 4,286, and pitched career records in Washington State with 86 kick returns and 2,063 kick return yards.
Brian Folkerts, OL, Arlington Renegades
When Folkerts eventually lands on an NFL team, his story will have Disney appeal. Folkerts (6-4, 300) competed in Division II Washburn through 2011 and played 28 games at center for Carolina and St. Louis from 2013-’15. He came to his alma mater as an offensive line coach, and now the 32-year-old is trying his hand at professional football again.
Paul Grattan, OL, Seattle Sea Dragons
Grattan (6-4, 300), a distinguished collegiate lineman at both UCLA and Villanova, received the Iron Bruin Award for his weight room skills as a senior. Grattan attended rookie camp with the Seattle Seahawks last year but was not included on the training camp roster.
Malik Fisher, DL, DC defender
At Villanova, Fisher was incredibly productive with 22 sacks, 33.5 tackles for loss, nine forced fumbles and eight passes defended. Fisher didn’t get his NFL shot in 2022, but the 24-year-old has a lot to prove this spring.
Vic Beasley, Edge, Vegas Vipers
A former first-round pick and NFL All-Pro, Beasley is looking to rekindle his career in the XFL. In 2016, Beasley led the NFL with 15.5 sacks and six forced fumbles as the Atlanta Falcons advanced to the Super Bowl. Beasley had eight sacks in 2019, then switched between teams in 2020 and has not reappeared in the last two seasons. If he shows he’s got anything left, Beasley could end up at an NFL camp this summer.
Mike Rose, LB, St.Louis Battlehawks
Along with Brock Purdy and Breece Hall, Rose was instrumental in making Iowa State a Big 12 championship game in 2020. Rose, a first-team All-American, started 49 career games, registered 321 tackles (including 41 for losses), 9.5 sacks and six interceptions. A physical hitter with good coverage skills, Rose struggled with a shoulder injury in 2021 and signed as an undrafted free agent with Kansas City before being released.
Shakur Brown, CB, Arlington Renegades
Brown had five interceptions in seven games for Michigan State during the COVID-altered 2020 season. He declared for the draft this winter and hopped around in several practice groups, but has a chance to earn another NFL opportunity.
William Likely, CB, Houston Roughnecks
In Maryland, Likely (5-7, 180) was an exceptional ball hawk and returnee. In a 2015 game, he broke a 76-year-old Big Ten record with 233 punt return yards. Likely was a first-team All-Big Ten defender, started at receiver, and was a first-team All-American returner with seven total returns. His senior year was sunk by a cruciate ligament rupture. Now 29, probably looking for one last shot.
Jack Koerner, S., San Antonio Brahmas
A former Iowa walk-on, Koerner became a three-year starter and a second-team All-Big Ten selection. In 2021, he recorded 62 solo tackles, the most by an Iowa defenseman since Bob Sanders in 2002. Koerner set Iowa position records in the squat (515 pounds) and bench press (390) and caught six passes in three years from regular action.
Jose Borregales, K, Orlando Guardians
With NFL teams always looking for kickers, Borregales has another chance to make a great impression. He was a first-team All-American kicker in Miami (Fla.) in 2020 after banging on 18 of 20 field goal attempts and nailing all 35 extra points. Borregales was twice named a Lou Groza Award finalist and was a 2021 practice team player at Tampa Bay.
(Photo by Brett Hundley: Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)