Players who announced they were invited to the XFL Combine were QB Henry Ogala (Western Illinois), RB Otto Zaccardo (Syracuse), WR Earnest Edwards IV (Maine), and WR Jalik Jaggwe (William Jewell).
With two Showcases taking place last weekend in St. Louis and DC, another batch of players have received XFL Combine invitations. Per XFL News Hub’s Pat Rifino, 16 players from the St. Louis Showcase have already been invited to the Combine in Arlington, to be held later this month. While the XFL has yet to announce the identities of those players, the players themselves continue to make public their invitations via social media. Here is a list of those who’ve done so in the last few days:
*QB Henry Ogala (Western Illinois): Ogala put up modest numbers as a senior in 2022, completing just 50% of his passes with four touchdowns and three interceptions in seven games. He played only 20 games in his college career, with his most action coming as a freshman at Lincoln University of Missouri in Division II. Ogala still managed to rank as the 48th best QB in the 2023 NFL Draft class according to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler. How did that happen? It could’ve been his arm strength that was on display at the FCS National Bowl in December – the XFL had scouts at the event. This summer, Ogala has played in the Indoor Football League with the Iowa Barnstormers.
*RB Otto Zaccardo (Syracuse): A walk-on with the Orange, Zaccardo earned a scholarship in his senior season with hard-nosed special teams play. Zaccardo was acknowledged on Bruce Feldman’s 2019 “Freaks” list for his strength in the bench press and squat. A part of the “lost” UDFA class of 2020 who were limited in their ability to try out for NFL teams by the COVID-19 pandemic, Zaccardo kept scratching and clawing at his football dream, attending a HUB tryout camp in 2021 as well as a USFL tryout earlier this year. Zaccardo picked up the XFL Combine invite after attending Sunday’s DC Showcase. He was the 83rd ranked RB in the ’20 draft class per Brugler.
*WR Earnest Edwards IV (Maine): Edwards was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Los Angeles Rams in the aftermath of the 2020 NFL Draft. He was Brugler’s 96th-ranked receiver in that year’s pool. Edwards is a multi-dimensional talent, used with the Black Bears as a kick returner and also on rushes – he ran the ball 32 times in four years. Edwards took back six kickoffs for touchdowns in his storied career, and he maximized his time as a senior, averaging nearly 23 yards per reception on 49 catches, nabbing double-digit touchdowns for the second year in a row. While he didn’t make the Rams, he did end up in the CFL in 2021 playing seven games for Edmonton.
*WR Jalik Jaggwe (William Jewell): As a senior in 2022, Jaggwe set the William Jewell single-season record for receptions with 68, yet his yards per catch average was down from 2019 and 2020 by nearly 10 yards. Still, he showed he can be a weapon both in the long and short game. And at 5’10” with a 4.54 40, he’ll project to the slot at the next level. Before arriving at William Jewell, Jaggwe played for Hutchinson Community College, a team frequently at the top of the NJCAA rankings. At the College Gridiron Showcase, the Division II competitor got to rub elbows with players from major colleges and he stood out enough to receive an invitation to rookie minicamp with the Minnesota Vikings.
*WR Hunter Kaufman (West Texas A&M): Kaufman is confirmed to have attended the St. Louis Showcase. He ranked #99 on Brugler’s list of wide receivers for the 2023 NFL Draft. Kaufman did have some major college experience at Kansas prior to his stint at West Texas A&M, though he was a role player and special teamer there. Kaufman’s best statistical season was in 2022 where he set career-highs in receptions (19) and yardage (218). He has also returned kicks. What likely caught XFL personnel’s attention was his speed – he ran a 4.42 40-yard dash at Kansas’s pro day in March.
*WR Lowell Patron (Wheeling): In case you were wondering, Wheeling University is located in West Virginia and they play football in the Division II Mountain East Conference. A transfer from Bluefield College, Patron played two years at Wheeling and put up big numbers in both as Wheeling’s leading receiver. He was twice voted as a Second Team All-MEC wide receiver. Following his final season in 2022, Patron was invited to several post-season all-star games including the FCS National Bowl and the Tropical Bowl.
*WR Jerminic Smith (SW Baptist University): An older prospect than many others who appear on this list, Smith attended the University of Iowa where he started nine games in 2016. A less-than-amicable split in the spring of 2017 led to him ending up at Southwest Baptist University for a successful fall campaign. Without any substantial bites from NFL teams, Smith headed north of the border to play for Ottawa in the CFL. He came back to the states in 2022, signing with the Frisco Fighters of the IFL where he garnered All-IFL First Team honors. Smith is currently the team’s leading receiver by a wide margin as the season nears its end.
*TE Hunter Budke (Fort Hays State): On pace to shatter his 2021 season statistics, Budke managed just five games in 2022 due to injury. He still caught 14 passes for 228 yards and two TDs during those games. In 2021, was a Division II All-American First-Team selection from multiple panels, and paced tight ends in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. Budke worked out at Pittsburg State’s pro day in March and has the ability to play some fullback.
*TE/FB Tyler Roberts (Merrimack): The potential Roberts has was shown in his junior season, where he caught 52 passes for 535 yards and six touchdowns. Unfortunately, it was his only season with double-digit receptions, and his senior year was cut short due to a knee injury. Nevertheless, he was invited to the Tropical Bowl in February and after the NFL Draft, attended rookie minicamp with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he was listed as a fullback. Few XFL teams roster a true FB, however, making Roberts’s future in the league more likely as a pass-catching tight end. Roberts was Brugler’s 48th-ranked TE in the draft this year.
*OT LaColby Tucker (Missouri Southern State): Tucker’s standout attribute is his size: He’s listed on his college’s website as standing 6’9″ and weighing 313 pounds. He began his college football career at Garden City Community College – the same college that produced Vegas Vipers DB Keylon Kennedy – and excelled in football while also playing on the basketball team. From there, Tucker initially committed to Utah but never ended up playing there, eventually finding his way to Missouri Southern State where he was a starter at left tackle.
*LB Jordan Cole (SE Missouri State): Linebacker number 167 of draft-eligible prospects at the position in 2023 according to Brugler, Cole was invited to the XFL Combine following his performance at the St. Louis Showcase. He has bulked up about 10 pounds from his listed weight of 214 on the school’s website, though 224 pounds is still slight even for an outside linebacker. Cole played in 10 games in 2022 after sitting out the entire 2021 season due to injury. His best season was 2019 at Northern Illinois, where he started eight games and played well against Nebraska, collecting a safety and blocking a field goal.
*CB Joshua Flowers (Winston-Salem State): One of the first players reported to have been invited to the XFL draft pool in 2022, Flowers was not drafted and will get another shot to impress XFL brass at the upcoming Combine. It’s not clear if players are permitted to enter the draft pool in multiple years. If not, Flowers could always sign with a team as a free agent. In 2019, Flowers excelled at WSSU, coming down with four interceptions and defensing 10 passes. After exhausting his college eligibility, Flowers was invited to try out with the Jacksonville Jaguars at their rookie minicamp, but was not signed. He was signed to the off-season roster of the BC Lions of the CFL in December, but was released in early June.
*CB Greg Laday (Colorado State): Laday played three years at Northern Colorado before heading less than an hour west to Colorado State for the 2022 season. While there, Laday started four games at the corner position for the Rams. His speed was hard to ignore at the team’s pro day in March where he ran a 4.49 40. Laday’s most productive season came in his last year at Northern Colorado, where he made 38 tackles and knocked down three passes. He ranked 102nd among the CBs for this year’s draft according to Brugler.
*CB D’Jordan Strong (Coastal Carolina): One of the more highly-regarded players you’re likely to see at the XFL Combine, Strong was Brugler’s 83rd-ranked CB in the 2023 NFL Draft class. He attended Chicago Bears minicamp on a tryout basis in May. Strong participated in the Tropical Bowl post-season all-star game in front of NFL and XFL scouts. A JUCO transfer from Northeast Mississippi Community College, his top season as a Chanticleer was in 2020 as a junior when he picked off five passes, returning one for a touchdown. Performing at the summer Showcases is but one way to get invited to the XFL Combine; the league is also reaching out to players identified by scouts and team personnel as being worthy of getting a look at the event. That is how Strong was selected.
*DB Jaylen Floyd (Western Carolina): A 16-game starter over three years at Lehigh University, Floyd moved on to Western Carolina as a grad transfer in 2021. He has played both corner and safety in the secondary and at Lehigh, returned both kicks and punts. Floyd played just one game in 2021 with the Catamounts due to injury and in his final season in 2022, started just three of the seven games in which he played. At 5’9″, his size won’t be for everyone but the value he offers on special teams will help his cause.
The final two XFL Showcases scheduled this summer will take place Friday (Houston, Texas) and Sunday (Tempe, Arizona). Other XFL Combine invitees have been profiled here and here.
