XFL supplemental draft includes 4 with Alabama roots
Four more players with Alabama football roots joined the XFL on Sunday in the league’s supplemental draft.
The eight XFL teams added 90 players to their rosters, selecting from prospects who were not eligible for the league’s draft in November or were not picked at that time, as the spring circuit prepares to open training camp in Arlington, Texas, next week.
The four supplemental picks join 32 players from Alabama high schools and colleges chosen in November.
The players with Alabama football roots picked on Sunday included:
· The Orlando Guardians chose defensive tackle Trevon Sanders at No. 11. Sanders played at Troy from 2015 through 2018. He went to training camp with the New York Jets in 2019 and was with the Los Angeles Wildcats during the XFL’s coronavirus-shortened 2020 season. He’s now an officer with the North Charleston Police Department.
· The Houston Roughnecks chose offensive tackle John Yarbrough at No. 25. The former Homewood High School standout played for the Houston Gamblers in the USFL’s Birmingham-based inaugural season in 2022. Between his college career at Richmond and the USFL, Yarbrough appeared on the rosters of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers, played for the XFL’s Tampa Bay Vipers, participated in the Spring League seasons in San Antonio and Indianapolis and played for the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
· The Seattle Sea Dragons chose wide receiver Jordan Veasy at No. 58. The former Gadsden City High School standout played collegiately at California and has been on seven NFL rosters over the past five years. Veasy played in two regular-season games with the Houston Texans in 2021 and was most recently with the Las Vegas Raiders, who released him on Aug. 10.
· The D.C. Defenders chose wide receiver Josh Lanier at No. 77. The former Tuscaloosa Academy standout made stops at North Alabama and Alabama before catching 31 passes for 318 yards and four touchdowns at Jackson State in the 2021 season.
The new XFL is a relaunch under new ownership of the 2020 football league that made it halfway through its schedule before failing in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. That league had used the same name and shared an owner with the XFL of 2001, an NFL alternative that lasted one season.
The latest XFL has its kickoff games scheduled for Feb. 18. ESPN is the broadcast partner for the league.
The XFL plans to have its teams train and practice in Arlington during the week, then travel for games in the home team’s host city.
The players from Alabama high schools and colleges who have joined XFL rosters through allocation and the drafts include:
Arlington Renegades
· Defensive lineman T.J. Barnes (Enterprise)
· Tight end Sal Cannella (Auburn)
· Offensive lineman Cam Carter (Minor)
· Defensive back T.J. Green (Sylacauga)
· Offensive lineman Mike Horton (Auburn)
· Defensive lineman Davonte Lambert (Auburn)
D.C. Defenders
· Linebacker Jamal Brooks (Bessemer City, South Alabama)
· Wide receiver Josh Lanier (Tuscaloosa Academy, North Alabama/Alabama)
Houston Roughnecks
· Defensive lineman Mike Boykin (North Alabama)
· Quarterback Brandon Silvers (Gulf Shores, Troy)
· Offensive tackle John Yarbrough (Homewood)
Orlando Guardians
· Wide receiver Dieuly Aristilde (Alabama State)
· Offensive lineman Ja’Chai Baker (South Alabama)
· Defensive lineman Nick Coe (Auburn)
· Defensive back Javaris Davis (Auburn)
· Offensive lineman Joshua Frazier (Alabama)
· Wide receiver Octayvius Miles (Alabama A&M)
· Offensive lineman Brandon Murphy (Carver-Montgomery)
· Defensive tackle Trevon Sanders (Tuscaloosa Academy)
· Defensive back Maurice Smitherman (Minor)
· Linebacker Erroll Thompson (Florence)
· Defensive back Dee Virgin (West Alabama)
San Antonio Brahmas
· Linebacker Ben Davis (Gordo, Alabama)
· Offensive lineman Darius James (Auburn)
Seattle Sea Dragons
· Long snapper Thomas Fletcher (Alabama)
· Offensive lineman Chris Owens (Alabama)
· Wide receiver Jordan Veasy (Gadsden City)
· Wide receiver Damion Willis (Troy)
St. Louis Battlehawks
· Quarterback AJ McCarron (St. Paul’s Episcopal, Alabama)
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Vegas Vipers
· Offensive lineman Quinterrius Eatmon (Vigor)
· Offensive lineman Antonio Garcia (Troy)
· Defensive lineman Rod Henderson (Carver-Montgomery, Alabama State)
· Linebacker Cassanova McKinzy (Woodlawn, Auburn)
· Defensive back Stephen Roberts (Opelika, Auburn)
· Defensive back Maurice Smith (Alabama)
· Offensive lineman Avery Young (Auburn)
Former Alabama State standout and coach Reggie Barlow is the head coach of the D.C. Defenders.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.