Locals Players Selected In Day One Of XFL Draft
Oct 15, 2019, 2:54 PM | Updated: Feb 25, 2023, 5:57 pm
De'Ondre Wesley #79 of the Buffalo Bills blocks during a preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts at New Era Field on August 08, 2019 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Multiple players with ties to the state of Utah were selected during the first day of the XFL Draft.
The draft is taking place from October 15-16. During the draft, “each XFL team will populate a 71-man roster by selecting players from a set of positional groupings.”
According to ESPN, “Players will be paid base salaries of $2,080 every two weeks, according to information distributed this month to agents and confirmed by a source. There will be a $1,685 bonus for being on the active roster for a game, and a $2,222 bonus for every team win. So a player who is active for all 10 games and is on a team that goes 5-5 in the XFL’s schedule would earn $55,000 for the year.”
Offensive Lineman
De’Ondre Wesley (BYU), Marquez Tucker (Southern Utah), and Salesi Uhatafe (Utah) were drafted during the offensive line portion of the 2020 XFL Draft on Tuesday, October 15.
Wesley was picked by the DC Defenders with the eight pick in the third round.
With our third round pick in the Offensive Line Phase of the #XFLDraft…
…we've selected OT De'Ondre Wesley!#DefendersDraftš” pic.twitter.com/KBXrBwfNaQ
— D.C. Defenders (@XFLDefenders) October 15, 2019
Wesley spent time with the Baltimore Ravens after signing as an undrafted free agent out of BYU in 2015. He played seven games that season. He’s also spent time on the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts practice squads.
Tucker was selected with the seventh pick of the fifth round by the Houston Roughnecks.
The Arizona Native is coming to the Roughnecks!#XFLDraft #RoughnecksDraft pic.twitter.com/2SBeh4RgKC
— Houston Roughnecks (@XFLRoughnecks) October 15, 2019
Tucker signed with the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent following the 2019 NFL Draft.
Uhatafe was chosen by the Dallas Renegades with the fourth pick of the eighth round.
With the 4th pick of Round 8 (No. 60 overall) in the Offensive Line #XFLDraft, the #XFLRenegades select offensive guard Salesi Uhatafe!#RenegadesDraft // #RaisingHell pic.twitter.com/M6Ngp70MgN
— Arlington Renegades (@XFLRenegades) October 15, 2019
Uhatafe spent time with the NFL’s Washington Redskins following a stint with the Alliance of American Football’s Salt Lake Stallions.
Defensive Lineman
Sealver Siliga (Utah), Tenny Palepoi (Utah), Pasoni Tasini (Utah), Corbin Kaufusi (BYU) were drafted during the defensive line portion of the 2020 XFL Draft on Tuesday, October 15.
Siliga was selected by the Renegades with the first pick of the second round.
With the 1st pick of Round 2 (No. 9 overall) in the Defensive Front 7 #XFLDraft, the #XFLRenegades select defensive tackle @S_Siliga! #RenegadesDraft // #RaisingHell pic.twitter.com/V4bsoBQqd5
— Arlington Renegades (@XFLRenegades) October 15, 2019
Siliga joined the San Francisco 49ers after going undrafted out of the University of Utah in 2011. He’s spent time with multiple NFL squads including the Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Jacksonville Jaguars. He was also a member of the AAF’s Salt Lake Stallions.
Palepoi was drafted with the sixth pick of the fourth round by the Seattle Dragons.
With the 6th pick of Round 4 (No. 30 overall) in the Defensive Front 7 #XFLDraft, the #XFLDragons select Tenny Palepoi #DragonsDraft š„š² pic.twitter.com/iDOCBl9faG
— Seattle Sea Dragons (@XFLSeaDragons) October 15, 2019
Palepoi first signed with the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent following the 2014 NFL Draft. The former Ute also spent time with the Buffalo Bills and the AAF’s Salt Lake Stallions.
Tasini was picked by the Dragons with the third pick of the ninth round.
With the 3rd pick of Round 9 (No. 67 overall) in the Defensive Front 7 #XFLDraft, the #XFLDragons select Pasoni Tasini #DragonsDraft š„š² pic.twitter.com/4aooiGRqIj
— Seattle Sea Dragons (@XFLSeaDragons) October 15, 2019
Tasini spent time with the Arizona Cardinals from 2017-19. He originally joined the franchise as an undrafted free agent following the 2017 NFL Draft.
Kaufusi was selected by the St. Louis BattleHawks with the seventh pick of the tenth round.
Rounding out day 1ā£!
Welcome to St. Louis, @CorbinKaufusi!#ClearedToEngage | #BattleHawksDraft pic.twitter.com/F2pJ5RBLDp
— St. Louis Battlehawks (@XFLBattlehawks) October 15, 2019
The former Cougar spent time with the New Orleans Saints after going undrafted following the 2019 NFL Draft. He recently signed with the New York Jets as a member of their practice squad.
Yes, we now have both Kaufusi brothers in the building š pic.twitter.com/ez8o9gjbFd
— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 15, 2019
The new football league begins to play in February 2020.
