(Stats Perform) – More than four-dozen former FCS players, including All-Americans from recent national championship-winning programs North Dakota State and James Madison, were part of the eight XFL rosters that were finalized on Monday.
Former North Dakota State linebacker Nick DeLuca will play for the New York Guardians while James Madison has running back Khalid Abdullah on the DC Defenders and defensive end Andrew Ankrah with the St. Louis Battlehawks.
The XFL, which played a single season in 2001, is returning with a 10-game regular season and playoffs, beginning Feb. 8-9. Each franchise has a 52-player roster.
All 13 FCS conferences are represented on the rosters. CAA Football leads with nine players followed by the Missouri Valley Football Conference with seven and Big Sky Conference six, including Southern Utah as the only FCS program with three players.
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FORMER FCS PLAYERS ON 2020 XFL ROSTERS
DALLAS RENEGADES (head coach/general manager Bob Stoops)
Jazz Ferguson, WR, Northwestern State; Tenny Adewusi, S, Delaware; Josh Thornton, CB, Southern Utah; Christian Kuntz, LB, Duquesne; Donald Parham, TE, Stetson; Justin Evans, OT, South Carolina State; Pace Murphy, OT, Northwestern State; Winston Craig, DE, Richmond
DC DEFENDERS (head coach/general manger Pep Hamilton)
Carlos Merritt, S, Campbell; Elijah Campbell, CB, Northern Iowa; Khalid Abdullah, RB, James Madison; Jameer Thurman, ILB, Indiana State; Siupeli Anau, DT, Northern Arizona
HOUSTON ROUGHNECKS (head coach/general manager June Jones)
Ray Bolden, WR, Stony Brook; Charles James, CB, Charleston Southern; De’Angelo Henderson, RB, Coastal Carolina; Deji Olatoye, CB, North Carolina A&T; Vantrell McMillian, DL, Chattanooga; Demetrius Rhaney, OL, Tennessee State; Marquez Tucker, OL, Southern Utah
LOS ANGELES WILDCATS (head coach/general manager Winston Moss)
Chad Kanoff, QB, Princeton; Colton Schmidt, P, UC Davis; Josh Johnson, QB, San Diego; Tre McBride, WR, William & Mary; Jerome Couplin III, S, William & Mary; Harlan Miller, CB, Southeastern Louisiana; Martez Carter, RB, Grambling State; Roman Tatum, CB, Southern Illinois; Brandon Barnes, TE, Alabama State; Montori Hughes, DT, UT Martin
NEW YORK GUARDIANS (head coach/general manager Kevin Gilbride)
Justice Liggins, WR, Stephen F. Austin; Darius Victor, RB, Towson; Wesley Sutton, S, Northern Arizona; Nick DeLuca, LB, North Dakota State; Anthony Coyle, OG, Fordham; Jake Sutherland, TE, Morehead State; Jake Powell, TE, Monmouth
ST. LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS (head coach/general manager Jonathan Hayes)
Taylor Heinicke, QB, Old Dominion; Lenard Tillery, RB, Southern; David Rivers, CB, Youngstown State; D’Montre Wade, CB, Murray State; Andrew Ankrah, DE, James Madison; Kellen Soulek, DT, South Dakota State
SEATTLE DRAGONS (head coach/general manager Jim Zorn)
Brock Miller, P, Southern Utah; John Santiago, WR, North Dakota; Dontez Byrd, WR, Tennessee Tech; Tyson Graham, S, South Dakota
TAMPA BAY VIPERS (head coach/general manager Marc Trestman)
Marcelius Branch, S, Robert Morris; John Yarbrough, C, Richmond; Daniel Williams, WR, Jackson State
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