Jackson Bull – 2022 – Football (Valdosta State University Athletics)
The XFL has, surprisingly, acknowledged the players from the first two Showcases invited to the XFL Combine at the end of July. On Twitter, the league has featured brief video comments from each player to receive such an invitation. Last week, I profiled the six players from the HBCU Showcase invited to the Combine. The XFL has confirmed several of those names. At least four others have been invited from the Atlanta Showcase. They are:
*S Jackson Bull (Valdosta State): Listed as a LB on the school’s website, Bull mentions in the video that he’s a defensive back. He would have to be, as there aren’t many 183-pound linebackers in the professional ranks. Didn’t have a lot of starting experience as an underclassman and played just six games in 2022 for the Blazers. Bull is a winner: During his time at Valdosta State, the team won the Division II National Championship and won three Gulf South Conference Championships.
*S Caleb Ham (Fordham): The elder statesman of the group, Ham last played in college in 2017. Since then, he’s had a few stints in the CFL and was signed by the Pittsburgh Maulers of the USFL last September after attending the XFL’s Florida Showcase last summer. As a free safety at Fordham, Ham was an All-Patriot League First-Team selection as a junior. He followed that up by finishing second on the team in tackles as a senior. Ham showed a nose for the ball, picking off seven passes over four seasons.
*LB Joe Beckett (Wofford): Another XFL Florida Showcase participant last summer, Beckett had a tryout at New York Giants rookie minicamp last spring. He signed with Winnipeg of the CFL this past April but is obviously a free agent at this time. Beckett didn’t put up big sack numbers at the FCS level but was a tackling machine, leading the team as a senior with 80. His squad won the Southern Conference Championship and played in the FCS Playoffs three times.
*DE Austin Collier (UT-Chattanooga): Though predominantly a defensive player in college, Collier played some running back at Bethel University before transferring, and has also seen time at tight end. He had 18 tackles and four sacks his senior year. At 6’0″ and 245 pounds, if he stays on defense, he’ll likely have to play OLB. He ran a 4.68 40-yard dash at UTC’s pro day in March. Playing mostly in a reserve role in college, Collier’s skills are raw but there’s talent to mold.
