XFL rosters 2020: The former NFL, college names you'll recognize in new football league

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The XFL announced trimmed-down rosters for its 2020 reboot season, and among the names are plenty of players you'll recognize when the new football league kicks off in February.

In total there are 416 players in the XFL, 52 for each of the eight teams. Those are a lot of names to sort through, and there will be plenty you may not recognize. But there are some who had mild success in the NFL, or were stars for their college football teams. Fans of the AAF (Alliance of American Football) will recognize plenty of the names — a lot of players moved over from the now-defunct football league. 

XFL commissioner Oliver Luck has said in several interviews he wants quarterbacks to be the focus of the league. He felt having good quarterbacks would greatly impact whether or not the XFL becomes successful.

"If there’s one thing we learned from watching the Alliance it was that quarterback play is critical. In the game of football today — whether it’s pro, college or even high school arguably — your quarterback play is determinative," Luck told the Tampa Bay Times. "So we made an effort to sign guys, some of whom played in the AAF but the vast majority didn’t."

Since quarterbacks are so important to the XFL, let's look at the names that made final rosters.

MORE XFL: Rules | Schedule | Uniforms | Rosters

Quarterbacks in the XFL

Player XFL team
Cardale Jones D.C. Defenders
Tyree Jackson D.C. Defenders
Eric Dungey Dallas Renegades
Philip Nelson Dallas Renegades
Landry Jones Dallas Renegades
Luis Perez N.Y. Guardians
Marquise Williams N.Y. Guardians
Matt McGloin N.Y. Guardians
P.J. Walker Houston Roughnecks
Connor Cook Houston Roughnecks
Nick Fitzgerald St. Louis BattleHawks
Taylor Heinicke St. Louis BattleHawks
Brogan Roback St. Louis BattleHawks
Jordan Ta'Amu St. Louis BattleHawks
Cornelius Taylor Tampa Bay Vipers
Chase Litton Tampa Bay Vipers
Quinton Flowers Tampa Bay Vipers
Aaron Murray Tampa Bay Vipers
B.J. Daniels Seattle Dragons
Brandon Silvers Seattle Dragons
Josh Johnson L.A. Wildcats
Jalan McClendon L.A. Wildcats
Chad Kanoff L.A. Wildcats

A few recognizable names include Cardale Jones, the Ohio State QB who led the Buckeyes to a national championship after injuries to starting quarterbacks. Josh Johnson is a journeyman NFL quarterback who has signed with 13 teams. Matt McGloin, Connor Cook and Aaron Murray all played for high-profile college football teams and all saw success.

Quinton Flowers is an interesting player as he's listed as a QB/RB on the team's official roster. He played QB at South Florida before switching to RB while trying to make an NFL roster. Brogan Roback isn't too well-known for his play on the field, but he was a featured player on HBO's "Hard Knocks."

While the players above all made the 52-player rosters, it's still unclear which players will be starting for each team. The BattleHawks appear to have a four-way competition at quarterback as they carry the most players at the position of any team. Three of the eight teams (Defenders, Dragons, Roughnecks) are carrying just two quarterbacks.

Other notable XFL players

  • Antonio Callaway, WR
  • Cameron Artis-Payne, RB
  • Sammie Coates, WR
  • Lance Dunbar, RB
  • Kony Ealy, DE
  • Matt Jones, RB
  • Christine Michael, RB
  • Rahim Moore, DB
  • Donnel Pumphrey, RB
  • Keenan Reynolds, WR
  • Eli Rogers, WR
  • Rashad Ross, WR
  • Will Sutton, DT
  • Andre Williams, RB
  • Scooby Wright, LB
  • Derron Smith, S
  • Charles James, CB
  • Will Hill, S
  • Terrance Williams, WR
  • Kenneth Farrow, RB
  • Marquette King, P
  • Nick Novak, K
  • Garrett Hartley, K

Going through the rosters, the names above are ones that stuck out to me the most. You can go through the rosters yourself to see if there are any you recognize that I missed. But most should be able to recognize the majority of the names from the list.

Antonio Callaway was a fourth-round draft pick in 2018, but a variety of off-field issues led to his release from the Browns. Sammie Coates and Eli Rogers are both former Steelers receivers. Keenan Reynolds is the former Navy quarterback who once finished fifth in the Heisman voting.

Notable running backs include Christine Michael (second-round draft pick in 2012), Matt Jones (third-round draft pick in 2015) and Donnel Pumphrey (third-most rushing yards in a career in NCAA history) among others.

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Jordan Heck is a social media producer at Sporting News