With the XFL Combine beginning tomorrow, the following is a list of defensive players not yet covered here on XFLBoard.com who are reported to have been invited, and a brief bio on each.
Offensive players, as well as links to other Combine player profiles, can be found here.
*DE Kaleb Brewer (Indiana State): Brewer was a pass-rush force in his time at Indiana State. In 2019, he paced the team with 10.5 tackles for loss and added 2.5 sacks. He matched those sack numbers in his final season in 2021. Brewer attended the Florida XFL showcase in 2022 and was part of last November’s draft pool.
*DE Blaine Hoover (Tarleton State): The 145th ranked edge rusher by Dane Brugler in this year’s edition of his draft rankings in The Athletic, Hoover played for a season at Tarleton State after transferring from Incarnate Word. He finished third on the team in sacks. Hoover began his college football career as a tight end at Tyler Junior College. He tried out at rookie mini-camp with the San Francisco 49ers.
*DE Sefo Mailangi (San Diego State): A role player for three years with the Aztecs, Mailangi had 4.5 sacks on just nine tackles in his senior year of 2021. Like Hoover, Mailangi has experience playing tight end and brings value as a special teamer.
*DE Lucky Oyovwi (Charleston): Oyovwi began his career at Troy before moving to South Alabama and finally ending up at the University of Charleston. He has shown pass-rush flashes throughout his career, racking up solid tackle for loss totals at each stop. He ran a 4.85 40-yard dash at Troy’s pro day in 2022. That earned him a spot as a tryout player with the Indianapolis Colts at mini-camp last spring and as part of the ’22 XFL draft pool.
*DT Chidi Ogbonnaya (Baylor): Though he ranks second all-time in Baylor’s games played list, Ogbonnaya started just three games in his career. Nevertheless, Ogbonnaya earned a rookie mini-camp tryout from the New Orleans Saints in May. He was the 115th ranked DT by Brugler this spring.
*DT Brayden Utley (Baylor): A three-time member of the Academic All-Big 12 First-Team, Utley was never a full-time starter along the defensive line for the Bears, but was a key contributor for several seasons. At Baylor’s pro day in March, Utley worked out as a defensive linemen, but also as a long snapper and fullback. He was the 58th ranked defensive tackle on Brugler’s list.
*LB Eric Assoua (Western Michigan): Showing incredible consistency in four years with Western Michigan, Assoua registered 18 total tackles in a season twice, and had 5.5 tackles for loss three times. He also showed a knack for finding the ball, forcing five fumbles in his career. In 2020, the DE/LB hybrid was with the BC Lions in the CFL. He played for the Alphas in The Spring League in 2021, then was a part of the Pittsburgh Maulers of the USFL in 2022.
*LB Kyle Harrell (UAB): Coming in at number 141 on Brugler’s list of linebackers for the 2023 NFL Draft, Harrell transitioned from running back to linebacker during his time at UAB. He was a part of the Blazers’ first recruiting class for their resuscitated football program in 2017. Harrell’s role grew into that of the jack linebacker, one that specialized in rushing the passer. He attended Houston Texans mini-camp as a tryout player.
*LB Chinedu Oparaku (Fairmont State): For a small-school player, Oparaku’s stats were nothing to write home about. However, he kept moving toward a job in professional football, playing in the National Bowl in 2017 and notching three sacks, then attending a tryout in Atlanta, where he caught the attention of CFL scouts. He spent the off-season with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2018 and 2019.
*LB Owen Rogers (Baylor): Another Bear on this list, Rogers played at Arizona State before transferring to Baylor. Rogers played limited snaps on defense, making his bones on special teams at both collegiate stops. At just 211 pounds, Rogers may better be suited for a move to safety.
*LB Drew Singleton (Rutgers): An injury in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in early 2022 cost Singleton a shot at being drafted into the NFL that April. He attempted to appeal to the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility, but was ultimately denied. He was a sixth-round pick of the St. Louis Battlehawks in the initial XFL Draft and attended training camp, but was released as the team pared down to its final 51 in February.
*LB Barrington Wade (Iowa): After signing with the Baltimore Ravens as a UDFA in 2021, Wade ended up playing four regular season NFL games with the Denver Broncos later that year. There are likely to be few players with that kind of NFL experience at this Combine. Wade had been on the roster of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL until early last month.
*CB Elijah Blades (Buffalo): Blades was a 2023 draft prospect ranked #98 at CB by Brugler’s draft guide. Buffalo was Blades’s fourth collegiate stop. He went from Arizona Western Community College, to Texas A&M, to Florida, to Buffalo. Though he started six games with the Aggies in 2019, Blades posted the highest tackle numbers of his career with the Bulls.
*CB Trey Morrison (Oklahoma): Morrison spent four seasons at North Carolina before moving on to the Sooners for his final season in 2022. In those four seasons as a Tar Heel, he started 41 games, but he only started one in his single season in Oklahoma. That experience will likely come in handy in his desire to advance to the next level of football. He was the 137th ranked CB by Brugler this spring. Morrison was invited to Atlanta Falcons rookie mini-camp in May.
*CB Devin Rockette (South Alabama): Logging five interceptions in his time at South Alabama, Rockette earned a UDFA deal with the New York Jets last year. Pro Football Network did a deep-dive scouting report on Rockette and the bottom line is there is talent, specifically in his explosiveness, to work with that an XFL team could exploit.
*CB Simeon Thomas (Louisiana): One of the few (only?) NFL draftees who will be attending the XFL Combine, Thomas was selected in the sixth round by the Cleveland Browns in 2018. He bounced around between the Browns, Seahawks and Washington over the course of three off-seasons. He spent a month in the CFL in 2021.
*S Chris Bacon (Bowling Green): A 13-game starter at Bowling Green after spending four years at Georgia State, Bacon led the team in tackles in his lone season there. At GSU, he racked up 105 total tackles. He was one of 10 players invited to try out at Detroit Lions minicamp this spring after being Brugler’s 123rd-ranked safety in the class.
*S Anthony Cioffi (Rutgers): One of the more veteran players expected at the Combine, Cioffi entered pro football as a UDFA of the Oakland Raiders in 2017. He also spent time with the New York Jets in 2020, though he never saw regular season action. He also played a few seasons in the CFL and with the Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL in 2022.
*S Eugene Ford (Hawaii): As a senior in 2021, Ford finished third on the team in tackles. He was voted team captain in 2020 mainly as a run defending strong safety at their “Spur” position. However, Ford showed he was also adept in pass defense, intercepting four passes and knocking down 12 during his career. A 4.93 40 hurt his pro prospects, though he did go to minicamp with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022 before moving on to the IFL.
*S Zaire Jones (Youngstown State): Jones began his college career at Vanderbilt before spending three seasons at Youngstown State. Most notably, in his final season, Jones was voted Second-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference in the abbreviated spring 2021 season.
*S Darius Williams (Carson-Newman): Williams played in the East-West Shrine Bowl in 2020 but his NFL opportunities dried up quickly. He went north of the border to the CFL where he has been on various teams since 2021 before being released in May.
