Ole Miss Football: Former Rebels playing in the XFL this weekend
The new look XFL kicks off this weekend with games beginning this Saturday, February 18. Here’s a list of every former Ole Miss Football alumni competing in the new XFL.
When the league shut down operations in 2020 due to the pandemic, after five weeks of play, the at-the-time new look XFL had quickly become the most popular football league to emerge outside of the NFL.
There hadn’t been another competitive league since the days of the old USFL, the only second-tier football league that has ever genuinely competed with the football monopoly.
There were post-game beer showers, cup snakes circling an entire portion of the stadium, and all-around fun and entertainment that came along with the reborn league.
While it would always play second fiddle, a minor league of sorts to the NFL, it felt like another professional football league had finally brought some entertainment value that previous attempts had lacked, and this one felt like it had some staying power.
Well enter March 2020, and the rest, well, is history. The XFL would seem to be history too after they shut down operations halfway through the season and Vince McMahon, the owner, and operator filed for bankruptcy on behalf of the league. And just as quick as it came, it went.
That was until Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson decided that he had seen some potential in the reborn league and wanted to keep it alive. Here we are now three years later and the XFL is set to kick off again for the third time this weekend with games being played on both Saturday and Sunday.
Below we will list every former Rebel that suited up for Ole Miss football and what XFL team they will be playing for this season.
Jordan Ta’amu, QB, DC Defenders
Ta’amu played quarterback at Ole Miss from 2017-2018. In his senior season, he passed for 3,918 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions. He also rushed for 342 yards and 6 touchdowns.
He finished the season ranked second in the SEC in passing yards, only behind Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa. Ta’amu also started for the St. Louis Battlehawks in the XFL back in the 2020 season and had them playing like the best team in the league before it shutdown.
Rod Taylor, OL, DC Defenders
As a senior at Ole Miss in 2017, Taylor started all 12 games at right tackle. He was a 2018 seventh-round draft choice by the Cincinnati Bengals. He missed his entire rookie campaign after tearing his ACL and was eventually cut after serving a suspension.
Fadol Brown, DL, DC Defenders
Brown played for the Rebels from 2013-2017 and was a multi-year starter on the defensive line. He went undrafted in the 2017 NFL draft but would end up playing for the Raiders, Packers, and Chicago Bears.
Tariq Tisdale, DL, DC Defenders
As a junior in 2019, Tisdale Appeared in all 12 games on the defensive line. He finished the season with 28 total tackles and two sacks. In 2020 he battled injuries but appeared in six games with four starts.
Josiah Coatney, DL, Arlington Renegades
Playing in Oxford from 2016-2019, Coatney started in 35 of the 36 career games he played in during his career with the Rebels. He finished his career with 174 total tackles and 15.5 tackles for loss.
He went undrafted in the 2020 NFL draft but spent some time with both the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers.
Lakia Henry, LB, Orlando Guardians
Henry was a two-year starter at linebacker for Ole Miss football. As a senior, he appeared in nine games with six starts at linebacker. He recorded 62 tackles and 5.0 tackles for loss with 2.5 sacks.
Jahcour Pearson, WR, Seattle Sea Dragons
After spending four years at Western Kentucky Pearson transferred to Ole Miss in 2021 and spent one season with the Rebels. In his lone season, he posted 26 catches for 392 yards.
You can check out the full slate of this weekend’s XFL games here.