Back in the metropolitan area, the New York Guardians revealed the first 52 names to don their uniform in a regular-season game on Monday.
The New York Guardians, along with the rest of their XFL brethren, unveiled their first 52-man roster as opening weekend nears. With training camp in Houston concluded, the Guardians have returned to the metropolitan area to continue practices at Superdome Sports in Waldwick, NJ. Their first game comes on February 9 at MetLife Stadium against the Tampa Bay Vipers (2:00 p.m. ET, FOX).
Quarterbacks
Matt McGloin (pictured)-McGloin departed Penn State as the all-time leader in touchdown passes (46) and spent four years as an NFL backup in Oakland, making seven starts.
Luis Perez-Perez won the Harlon Hill Trophy (Division II’s MVP award) at Texas A&M-Commerce and started seven games for the AAF’s Birmingham Iron last year.
Marquise Williams-Williams appeared in eight AAF games with the San Antonio Commanders after earning back-to-back All-ACC honors at North Carolina.
GOODNESS ?
(via @yungvitov | @xfl2020) pic.twitter.com/pDcfeatdfO
— ESPN Player (@espnplayer) January 24, 2020
Running Backs
Matt Colburn-Colburn departed Wake Forest ranked fifth in Winston-Salem rushing yards (2,550).
Tim Cook-A linebacker turned fullback, Cook sent the Arizona Hotshots out in style with two touchdowns in their AAF finale.
Justin Stockton-Stockton made a rushing name for himself at pass-happy Texas Tech, ranking in the Big 12’s top ten in most major offensive categories.
Darius Victor (pictured)-Victor is one of the most inspiring stories of the new XFL, becoming a record-breaking rusher at Towson after spending his childhood in an Ivory Coast refugee camp.
Not touched? Take it to the ? @XFLGuardians pic.twitter.com/ISA2dfCFfP
— XFL (@xfl2020) January 21, 2020
Receivers
Austin Duke-Duke was the first prolific receiver in Charlotte football history, earning 1,337 receiving yards and nine touchdowns (the latter remains a program record) in two seasons.
Joe Horn Jr.-The son of the four-time Pro Bowler, Horn was part of the first trade in Guardians history, as he was originally drafted by the Houston Roughnecks.
Justice Liggins-A former Lumberjack of Stephen F. Austin, Liggins scored a game-winning touchdown for Indianapolis in their 2017 preseason finale.
Mekale McKay-McKay knows what it’s like to have a big performance in New Jersey, as the ex-Cincinnati Bearcat caught three touchdowns for 124 yards in a November 2013 visit to Rutgers.
Colby Pearson (pictured)-Pearson made an instant name for himself in the twilight of training camp, hooking up with McGloin for a 76-yard touchdown in a scrimmage against Tampa Bay.
Teo Redding-Redding has previously spent time in Washington and Green Bay’s NFL camps after four years at Bowling Green.
Tight Ends
E.J. Bibbs (pictured)-Bibbs was a John Mackey Award finalist (for college football’s most outstanding tight end) at Iowa State before visiting the NFL camps in Jacksonville and Washington.
Keenen Brown-Brown was one of the bright spots of Texas State’s 2018 upgrade to FBS football, catching 51 passes for 577 yards and five touchdowns, all team-bests.
Jake Powell-Powell won’t have to move too far his first taste of professional football, having spent his college days at Monmouth.
Jake Sutherland-Over four decades after Phil Simms’ drafting, another Morehead State alum will take the field in East Rutherford.
Offensive Linemen
C Garrett Brumfield-The former LSU Tiger partook in three preseason games with the Pittsburgh Steelers this summer.
G Anthony Coyle-Another homegrown story, Coyle spent his college time as a Ram at Fordham.
T John Kling-The Buffalo product has partaken in eight NFL preseason games over the past four seasons.
T Jarron Jones-The Rochester native spent part of the 2017’s training camp proceedings with the Giants.
G Damien Mama (pictured)-The All-Pac-12 blocker briefly spent time in several NFL training camps before finally getting a starting opportunity with San Diego of the AAF.
C Ian Silberman-An All-ACC blocker at Boston College, Silberman was a sixth-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2015.
T Brant Weiss-Weiss played a single summer game with the Arizona Cardinals last year.
T Avery Young-Another XFL import, Young was brought over in a trade with the St. Louis BattleHawks.
Defensive Linemen
T.J. Barnes-Barnes’ drafting by the Guardians offers a homecoming to East Rutherford, as he played 12 games with the New York Jets during the 2014-15 seasons.
Toby Johnson-Johnson’s most recent professional experience came via nine games with the Massachusetts Pirates, earning seven sacks in the National Arena League.
Joey Mbu (pictured)-The Houston alum spent time on several NFL rosters (most recently with Miami this summer) before finding a temporary home with the AAF’s San Antonio squad.
Bunmi Rotini-Rotini is second in Old Dominion football history in sacks (19), behind only fellow MetLife Stadium resident and New York Giants draftee Oshane Ximines.
Jarrell Owens-Owens, who earned six sacks in his senior season at Oklahoma State, recently spent time in the Cleveland Browns’ system.
Cavon Walker-Walker spent last summer on the Kansas City Chiefs’ preseason squad, earning five tackles and a sack in their exhibition finale in Green Bay.
Charles Wright-Wright had issues staying healthy at Vanderbilt, but he finished fifth in the SEC in sacks during his junior year of 2017 (7.5).
Linebackers
Nick DeLuca-DeLuca was a major factor behind four straight FCS national championships at North Dakota State, earning consensus First Team All-American honors.
Garret Dooley-Dooley has partaken in NFL camps over the last two preseasons, including three games with the Detroit Lions more recently.
Frank Ginda-Ginda led all of NCAA football in tackles during the 2017 season and later led the San Diego Fleet in the same category during their brief existence.
Ben Heeney-Heeney was a fifth-round pick of the Oakland Raiders in 2015 and made five NFL starts over three seasons.
D’Juan Hines-Hines earned numerous accolades at Houston, including All-AAC first-team and Academic All-American honors.
Jawuan Johnson (pictured)-Johnson had a strong career over four years at Northern Illinois and TCU, tallying 214 tackles, seven interceptions, and five sacks.
Ryan Mueller-A native of Morristown, NJ, Mueller earned the Big 12’s Defensive Lineman of the Year Award at Kansas State in 2013.
“We lock that up!”
Another defensive stop courtesy of @Terrence_9 ? pic.twitter.com/65n15tnUpt
— New York Guardians (@XFLGuardians) January 22, 2020
Secondary
CB Terrence Alexander (pictured)-Alexander had trouble playing full seasons in college, but he did earn 80 tackles and 10 pass defenses over a career at Stanford and LSU.
S Dravon Askew-Henry-The defender earned 208 tackles over four seasons at West Virginia.
S Demetrious Cox-The former Michigan State Spartan is perhaps best known for a show-stopping interception in the 2015 Big Ten title game against Iowa.
S A.J. Hendy-Hendy spent time with the Dolphins, Chargers, and Texans after a four-year tenure at Maryland.
CB Bryce Jones-Jones had nine tackles in two preseason games in his last NFL action back in 2018.
CB DeJuan Neal-Neal hails from Division II Shepherd, taken in the open phase portion of the XFL Draft.
S Andrew Soroh-Soroh earned 145 tackles over four seasons at Florida Atlantic and spent the 2019 preseason with the Chiefs.
CB Jamar Summers-Summers made an impact in the short-lived AAF, as he forced a game-changing fumble that was returned for a touchdown to earn Special Teams Player of the Week honors for the Iron.
S Wesley Sutton-Sutton had six interceptions over his final three seasons as a Lumberjack at Northern Arizona.
CB Ranthony Texada-Texada ranks eighth in Big 12 history in pass defenses with 30 after his career at TCU.
Special Teams
LS Scott Daly-Daly partook in AAF action with San Antonio after four seasons with Notre Dame.
K Matthew McCrane (pictured)-McCrane ranks second in Big 12 history with a field goal success rate of 86.4 percent.
P Justin Vogel-Vogel played one full NFL season with Green Bay, averaging a net of 41.6 and landing 19 inside the opponents’ 20.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffMags5490.
