XFL Season Launch Includes East Texas Players
No secret, no surprise that this area of the state is crawling with spectacular athletes. Dating back to the Y.A Tittle, Don Meredith, Joe Wylie, and Earl Campbell days, East Texas high school football has been well represented at the college and professional level. The much anticipated arrival of the XFL, the "spring addition" of professional football will kick off February 8th for what is hoped to be a solid collection of sustainable talent. After the inaugural draft back on October 15th, there were plenty of familiar names that were included on rosters around the league representing many East Texas cities.
Former John Tyler Lion WR Fred Ross was drafted in the third round by the Seattle Dragons. Ross played his college football at Mississippi State before getting some time with the Carolina Panthers.
Former Longview standout Colin Jeter was also taken by the Dragons. Jeter, a TE played at Kilgore College and LSU.
Former JT receiver Justice Liggins played at Stephen F. Austin then with the LA Chargers. He was taken in Phase 5 by the New York Guardians.
2 other receivers, Former Mt. Pleasant standout KD Cannon (Baylor) and former Daingerfield standout Keyarris Garrett (Tulsa) were both selected by the Los Angeles Wildcats. Cannon went in the sixth round of Phase 1, while Garrett was taken in the eighth round of Phase 1.
Former Pleasant Grove standout Lucas Wacha , a linebacker at Wyoming — was taken in the seventh round of Phase 3 by the Tampa Bay Vipers. Wacha is currently the linebackers coach at Pleasant Grove, and he’s the younger brother of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha.
Accoding to https://www.xfl.com/ players will be signed as "full-time employees" on December 4th with an average annual salary of $55,000. The league is made up of 8 teams in 2 different conferences with all teams listed below.
| Club | City/State | Stadium | Surface | Capacity | Head coach |
| Western Conference | |||||
| Dallas Renegades | Arlington, Texas | Globe Life Park in Arlington | Grass | 25,000 | Bob Stoops |
| Houston Roughnecks | Houston, Texas | TDECU Stadium | Turf | 40,000 | June Jones |
| Los Angeles Wildcats | Carson, California | Dignity Health Sports Park | Grass | 27,000 | Winston Moss |
| Seattle Dragons | Seattle, Washington | CenturyLink Field | Turf | 69,000 | Jim Zorn |
| Eastern Conference[59][58] | |||||
| DC Defenders | Washington, D.C. | Audi Field | Grass | 20,000 | Pep Hamilton |
| New York Guardians | East Rutherford, New Jersey | MetLife Stadium | Turf | 82,500 | Kevin Gilbride |
| St. Louis BattleHawks | St. Louis, Missouri | The Dome at America's Center | Turf | 66,965 | Jonathan Hayes |
| Tampa Bay Vipers | Tampa, Florida | Raymond James Stadium | Grass | 65,618 | Marc Trestman |
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