Former LSU players land on XFL rosters for 2023 season

With the NFL Super Bowl set for Sunday, February 12, the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will face off in the final game of the 2022-23 season.

For those still hungry for more professional football, the XFL is right around the corner.

The XFL’s 2023 season will run from February 18 through the XFL Championship Game on May 13.

With tryouts and training camps complete, teams across the league finalized rosters this week.

10 former LSU Tigers landed on rosters for the 2023 season, including a handful of recent departures from the program.

Former LSU players in the XFL

Houston Roughnecks: WR Jontre Kirklin, DL Glen Logan, CB Kary Vincent

Kirklin played five seasons at LSU, appearing in 57 games during his career with three starts – the most notable coming when he made the move from wide receiver to quarterback for LSU’s Texas Bowl matchup with Kansas State.

Vincent, who was selected in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft, played in 39 games at LSU, starting 19 times. He also was a sprinter on LSU’s track-and-field team.

Logan was a four-year starter on the defensive line for the Tigers, spending six total seasons in Baton Rouge. The former Destrehan High standout appeared in 51 games with 37 starts in purple-and-gold before going undrafted in 2022.

San Antonio Brahmas: P Brad Wing, TE Jamal Pettigrew, OL Chidi Okeke

Wing was a dominant punter at LSU who spent 2013-17 in the NFL. He was part of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) during the league’s single season in 2019, and now he will punt for San Antonio in the XFL.

Pettigrew played four seasons at LSU, winning a National Championship in 2019. He then transferred to McNeese State to finish his college career. Okeke played in 11 games during his two seasons at LSU in 2015 and 2016, then transferred to Tennessee State. He was later signed with Tampa Bay after landing an NFL tryout ahead of the 2021 season.

St. Louis Battlehawks: OL Vadal Alexander

Alexander spent four seasons at LSU, appearing in 50 games with 46 starts (25 at left guard, 21 at right tackle). He began his career as a true freshman starter, landing Freshman All-SEC honors in 2012. He then closed out his career with All-SEC honors in 2015. He was a seventh round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, spending two seasons in the league. He most recently played for Pittsburgh in the USFL one year ago.

D.C. Defenders: S Cameron Lewis

Lewis spent six seasons at LSU, appearing in 40 games with nine starts between 2016 and 2021. Lewis was not selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, but secured a spot on D.C.’s roster after workouts with the team ahead of the 2023 XFL season.

Arlington Renegades: CB Darren Evans, OL Maea Teuhema

Evans transferred from Nicholls to LSU ahead of the 2020 season, and he appeared in 22 games with six starts at cornerback.

After arriving at LSU in 2015, Teuhema appeared in 24 games with 21 starts between right tackle, right guard and left guard throughout his first two seasons. He then started the final six games of his junior year at right tackle before transferring to Southeastern to finish his college career. Teuhema will suit up for Arlington after spending the 2022 season in the USFL.

The rundown on the XFL’s 2023 season

The eight XFL teams are split into two divisions with the XFL North (D.C. Defenders, Seattle Sea Dragons, St. Louis Battlehawks, Vegas Vipers) and XFL South (Arlington Renegades, Houston Roughnecks, Orlando Guardians, San Antonio Brahmas).

Three former Tigers – Kirklin, Logan and Vincent – will suit up for Houston in the first XFL game of the season on Saturday, February 18 at 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN/FX and ESPN+.

The following day, opening weekend continues as Alexander faces off against Wing and Pettigrew in a matchup between St. Louis and San Antonio from The Alamodome at 2 p.m. CT on ABC and ESPN+. Lewis will then suit up for D.C. at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN and ESPN+ in a game against Seattle.

All 43 XFL games will be aired on ABC (7 games), ESPN and ESPN2 (22 games) and FX (15 games). Every XFL game will also be streamed on ESPN+.

ESPN and ESPN2 will air the 2023 XFL Playoffs on Saturday, April 29, and Sunday, April 30, with the XFL Championship (May 13) set to be televised on ABC.