Ahead of the 2024 UFL regular season, the D.C. Defenders finalized their roster last Thursday, reducing it to 50 players. Below is a breakdown of the offensive players on the Defenders roster. Please note that this roster is always subject to change and that any starters listed are not definitive.
Quarterbacks
Deondre Francois
Jalan McClendon
Jordan Ta’amu
Jordan Ta’amu will once again be the primary signal-caller for the Defenders to start the 2024 season. Ta’amu, the 2023 XFL Offensive Player of the Year, finished the regular season third in passing yardage and touchdowns, with 1,894 yards and 20 touchdown passes, respectively, on the way to a 9-1 record and a No. 1 seed in the XFL North for his Defenders. He added 298 yards and three touchdowns on the ground – ranking second among quarterbacks. It goes without saying he was a threat both with his arm and his legs for D.C. last season.
During the XFL North Championship, Ta’amu completed 19 of his 27 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns to send the Defenders to the XFL Championship Game. However, the Arlington Renegades upset them in a game where Ta’amu struggled, throwing three interceptions—the most he threw in a game all season.
Entering training camp, there was some uncertainty regarding Ta’amu’s status for the 2024 season, but that has since been resolved. Now, we will see whether or not the Defenders can make another run at a championship with Ta’amu back at the helm.
Deondre Francois will be Ta’amu’s backup to start the season. Francois will likely be part of specific packages that utilize his scrambling ability – just like how the Defenders used D’Eriq King last year.
Francois, the former Florida State Seminoles standout, struggled in five games with the Guardians last season. Perhaps he will find more success in his platoon role with the Defenders.
Meanwhile, Jalan McClendon showed flashes in the four games he started with the Vegas Vipers last season. While he’s another talented dual-threat in the Defenders’ quarterback room, it’s unlikely that we see much from him unless injuries or poor performance from the other quarterbacks move him up in the depth chart.
Running Backs
Darius Hagans
Cam’Ron Harris
Pooka Williams
Entering training camp, tailback Abram Smith was expected to pick up where he left off last season as the Defenders’ workhorse back, but that notion has since changed. Smith, last year’s XFL leading rusher, suffered a torn ACL earlier during training camp and will now miss the 2024 season. With that, it has been reported that former Miami Hurricanes tailback Cam’Ron Harris will be stepping into the lead-back role for D.C. this season.
Harris spent four seasons with the Canes and was a two-year starter. He totaled 339 carries for 1,794 yards and 22 touchdowns in 38 games.
As an undrafted free agent in 2022, Harris struggled to get looks from professional teams until he landed with the Seattle Sea Dragons last year. But he was not able to make it past training camp. Later in the season, the Defenders claimed him, and he served in a backup role through the team’s playoff run.
Defenders Head Coach Reggie Barlow has had nothing but good things to say about Harris’ abilities. If Harris can even come close to matching All-XFL Abram Smith’s production from last year, D.C. will be in a good spot from a rushing perspective.
Both Darius Hagans and Pooka Williams will serve in relief of Harris. Hagans played under Coach Barlow at Virginia State, where he rushed for 2,069 yards and 17 touchdowns on 420 career carries. Meanwhile, this will be Williams’ second season with the Defenders. Expect Williams to be utilized mainly on special teams as a return specialist – just as he was last year.
Wide Receivers
Keke Coutee
Kelvin Harmon
Ty Scott
Brandon Smith
Vyncint Smith
Chris Rowland
D.C.’s wide receiver group is going to be one of the team’s biggest wildcard positions with all the turnaround it has seen over the offseason. The Defenders’ top three receivers last season in receiving yardage—Chris Blair (584 yards), Lucky Jackson (572 yards), and Josh Hammond (331 yards)—are all gone, and with that comes an almost entirely new set of pass-catchers.
Keke Coutee and Brandon Smith highlight the Defenders receiving corps for the 2024 season. Expect both to provide tons of production in Offensive Coordinator Fred Kaiss’ spread system.
Coutee is a speedy slot receiver who played three seasons with the Houston Texans out of Texas Tech. The Texans had selected him in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He has recorded 1,076 catches and four touchdowns on 96 career receptions in the NFL. He stands out as the most professionally experienced member of the Defenders receiving corps.
On the other hand, Smith is the only returning Defenders receiver from last season. Coming off the bench, Smith recorded eight receptions for 118 yards and one touchdown in six games. The former Iowa Hawkeye signed with the Arizona Cardinals over the summer but was released after training camp.
Chris Rowland and Kelvin Harmon are other names to watch, as they will likely also have prominent roles in the Defenders offense.
Rowland is another slot receiver on the Defenders roster. He recorded 22 receptions for 258 yards and one touchdown in 10 games with the Philadelphia Stars during the 2022 USFL season. His role for the Stars looked like it would only grow in 2023, but he suffered a season-ending injury in the season opener.
Meanwhile, out of North Carolina State, Harmon started his NFL career with promise in 2019—recording 30 catches for 365 yards in 16 games with the Washington Commanders during his rookie campaign. Unfortunately, he never saw professional action again after tearing his ACL over the offseason and missing the entirety of the 2020 season. The Commanders released him during the summer of 2021. He is a physical receiver with tremendous upside for the Defenders.
Vyncint Smith and Ty Scott round out the Defenders’ receiving corps. Smith has spent time with five different NFL organizations since going undrafted out of Limestone in 2018, while the Defenders took Scott out of Missouri State in the XFL Rookie Draft.
Tight Ends
Alex Ellis
Briley Moore
Kaden Smith
The Defenders feature a trio of hybrid tight ends who can be effective in both receiving and blocking. Alex Ellis and Briley Moore enter their second season with D.C., while Kaden Smith has replaced Ethan Wolf, who retired over the offseason.
Last year, we often saw Defenders Offensive Coordinator Fred Kaiss often split his tight ends wide out of 11 and 01 personnel. Expect to continue to see this from Kaiss and for him to rotate each of his tight ends equally into games.
During the 2023 season, Moore totaled 11 receptions for 80 yards and one touchdown, while Ellis finished with eight receptions for 59 yards and four touchdowns.
Newcomer Kaden Smith recorded 52 receptions for 413 yards and three touchdowns over three seasons (2019-21) with the New York Giants. Smith was a sixth-round NFL draft pick out of Stanford in 2019.
Offensive Line
Tommy Champion
Jean Delance
Yasir Durant
Liam Fornadel
Lamont Gaillard
D’Marcus Hayes
Jahmir Johnson
Mike Maietti
The Defenders offensive line, which created holes for the XFL’s best-rushing attack and allowed a league-least 10 sacks last season, includes returning starters All-XFL guard Liam Fornadel, All-SEC center Mike Maietti, and former Georgia Bulldogs tackle D’Marcus Hayes.However, some open spots remain with starting tackle Kyle Murphy and guard Liam Ryan not returning from last season.
Jahmir Johnson, who was traded from the Stallions earlier during training camp, is someone who can fill that open tackle position. He started five games with the Birmingham Stallions in 2023. Jean Delance was a three-year starter at right tackle for the Florida Gators and is another name who can possibly fill that open starting spot on the outside.
Lamont Gaillard, although listed as a center, has experience at guard from his college days at Georgia and is a candidate to fill the open guard position.
Meanwhile, tackles Yasir Durant and Tommy Champion are more likely to provide depth. Both have staggering frames, with Durant at 6-7 330 lbs and Champion at 6-5 320 lbs.
