XFAlpha Podcast Notes - Episode 10

Another new episode of the XFAlpha podcast where we focus on discussion on the defensive tackles in the league. Before we get into that, Jonah talks about new rule changes. Some are good, some are bad, some are great. Listen to our opinions and then follow us on social media.

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DEFENSIVE TACKLE



DC Defenders


Elijah Qualls - Solid career at Washington before becoming a sixth round pick by the Eagles in 2017 where he played in six games and won a Super Bowl. Has been on the fringes of rosters since, but still a young guy with some potential.


Tracy Sprinkle - Defensive tackle at Ohio State that was more of a rotational guy. Led all defensive tackles in sacks in the Alliance with 5. Co-owner of How She Gone Eat which sells merchandise with the phrase How She Gone Eat on it.


Daryle Banfield - Brown graduate so he’s a little hoity toity for what I usually like, but we both enjoy playing basketball, reading, and cooking, although he enjoys ice skating, and as we have covered on this podcast, I don’t do anything in temperatures below 50 degrees. Not a ton to go off of but one of the youngest players in the league as he just turned 22.


Siupeli Anau - Northern Arizona grad that the Cardinals bring to training camp every year but he never makes the team.


Josh Augusta - Big boy out of Missouri that stands 6’4” 335 pounds. He also believes that Moose carried the whole Step Up series on his back. No duh.


Duvonta Lampkin - Big defensive tackle out of Oklahoma. He left school early despite not being a starter for the Sooners. He’s still very young, and he was a top prospect coming out of high school, so this is definitely a guy to keep an eye on. He’s a low floor, high ceiling guy, but one that definitely piques my interest.


Kristjan Sokoli - Originally from Albania, he came to the United States when his father sought political asylum during the Albanian Rebellion of 1997. Somehow, his mother came two years after his father, and he and his brother didn’t arrive until another two years after that. He went from 220 to 300 pounds in three years while at the University of Buffalo. He credits a 7,000 calorie diet. I credit buffalo wings. He was good enough to get drafted by the Seahawks in the sixth round and played in one game his rookie year. He’s been close to active rosters since but tore his ACL last year, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to build up his resume for another shot in the NFL. Another interesting note is that he would like to see a National No Phone Holiday where we all do not use our phones. One of the better Twitter accounts I have seen, and according to LinkedIn, his guitar teacher is very proud of him.


Kenny Bigelow - Bigelow was the #9 ranked recruit in the nation coming out of high school before committing to USC. He then transferred to West Virginia after a couple years and he was solid in college but never had those eye popping numbers that were expected. He was not able to catch on with an NFL team after being undrafted.


Jay Bromley - Bromley has already overcome a lot in life as his mother was so addicted to crack that he was born with a crack addiction. His father was a pimp that murdered a prostitute and went to prison when Jay was nine months old, but he overcame all of that to get a late scholarship offer from Syracuse and play so well that he was a third round pick by the Giants in 2014. He’s played in every NFL season since then excluding this current season, so he’s a guy who is hoping he can show enough to get an opportunity at an NFL job again.


New York Guardians


Joey Mbu - AAC First-Team for Houston in 2014. He went undrafted after a very poor combine. He’s had some playing time in 2015 and 2017 in the NFL, but has failed to make an active roster since then.


TJ Barnes - Georgia Tech product that played in 21 NFL games from 2014-2016 but has just bounced around rosters since.


Cavon Walker - Defensive Tackle out of Maryland.


Garrison Smith - He managed six sacks for Georgia his senior year which is pretty impressive to me but not impressive enough to get him drafted. He did end up getting some playing time for the Seahawks in 2016 and 2017 but has just bounced around since. He tweets about the grind frequently, and unfortunately, it’s not in reference to the 1990s show on MTV.


Toby Johnson - Also played for Georgia and played a couple games for the Vikings in 2016. In 2019, he had seven sacks for the Massachusetts Pirates.


Bunmi Rotimi - Old Dominion who is kind of a hybrid defensive lineman who put up some pretty solid numbers for the Monarchs. Believes Netflix should have a random button.


Seattle Dragons


Will Sutton - A man I adored coming out of Arizona State. A two-time AP All-American, two-time Morris Trophy Award Winner, and two-time Pat Tillman Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. In 2012, he had 23.5 tackles for loss with 13 sacks as he absolutely blew up those West Coast defensive lines. It was enough to make him a third round pick by the Bears in 2014. He had great technique but after his ASU career, we found out that the athleticism wasn’t quite there, and it haunted him in his pursuit of an NFL career. He only became a rotational lineman and was never able to seize onto an opportunity in the pros. He has been unable to make an active roster since leaving the Bears after the 2016 season but had a solid showing in the Alliance this past year.


Taniela Tupou - Not the Rugby player. Former Washington Husky who hasn’t found a way to stick around in the NFL.


Pasoni Tasini - Pah-so-knee Tah-see-knee is a defensive tackle out of Utah that did make it into a game with the Cardinals last year.


Shane Bowman - Washington Husky that had one hell of an interception in college. He is fresh out of school but got limited playing time in college.


Jeremy Liggins - Played tight end and offensive tackle for Ole Miss, so why not try defensive line?


Jordan Thompson - He was a big time recruit for Northwestern as he also had offers from Alabama and Notre Dame but never managed to do antyhing too great for the Wildcats.


Anthony Moten - Played at The U. Second for defensive tackles in the Alliance with 4 sacks.


St. Louis Battlehawks


Casey Sayles - Ohio Bobcat who had five sacks his final season but hasn’t made an NFL roster since graduating.


Channing Ward - Ole Miss lineman that made the Bucs team as an undrafted free agent. He played in five games his rookie year and one more in 2017. Tore his patellar tendon and hasn’t played in the league since.


Khyri Thornton - Southern Miss defensive tackle who was drafted in the third round by the Packers in 2014 after a strong showing at the NFL combine. He was released the following year without ever playing a game for them. He did play for the Lions some from 2015-2017 and has not been with a team since then.


Marcus Hardison - Had 10 sacks for Arizona State his senior year which got him drafted in the fourth round by the Bengals, but he’s never played in an NFL game. He bounced around some practice squads, but was most recently in the Alliance.


Davonte Lambert - Auburn defensive tackle who don’t even trip no more. He just peeps and keeps it moving.


Jake Payne - Out of Shenandoah University, became an Arena Bowl Champion. They call him the PayneTrain. He fell in love with a woman who likes her chicken dry.


Kellen Soulek - SDSU Jack that believes if you’re going to be a man at night, be a man in the morning. I honestly have no idea what that means. Like, buy a lady breakfast if you have sex with her? If you want to clog up a lady’s parts, you better be ready to unclog her toilet?


Will Clarke - Was second-team All-Big 12 for the West Virginia Mountaineers which was enough to get him drafted in the third round by the Bengals. He’s been fairly active, playing in 53 games from 2014-2018, this being the first year that he has not made a team. He’s a borderline guy who should have the skills necessary to make an impact on the line for the Battlehawks.


Stevie Tu'ikolovatu - USC product that was drafted by the Bucs in the seventh round of the 2017 draft. He’s Mormon.


Los Angeles Wildcats


Anthony Johnson - LSU product that left school early for the draft, shat the bed at the combine and got signed with the Dolphins, and he’s bounced around rosters since, but getting playing time in the Alliance and CFL.


Latarius Brady - Played for Memphis and has tried out the Alliance and CFL.


Leon Orr - Florida Gator who managed eight games in the NFL after going undrafted but was released by the Dolphins after he was arrested with weed and a firearm. Such a strange combination. Just chill, man.


Reggie Howard - 15 tackles for loss his final year at Toledo which was fourth in the MAC. He just graduated last year but was unable to make a team. This is a guy who is a little undersized, but with that production at a mid-level school, I definitely think he is one to keep an eye on.


Owen Roberts - San Jose State product who is interested in broadcasting and says he likes the work of Michael Irvin and Warren Sapp. I kind of like that he sets a low bar, because it’s like an aspiring political writer saying they want to be as good as Bret Stephens. Be a hack, but get paid well for it. The American Dream.


Andrew Stelter - Minnesota Golden Gopher, and that’s all I got.


Andrew Williams - Defensive tackle out of Auburn.


Montori Hughes - Started off at Tennessee before transferring to Tennessee-Martin and was drafted in the fifth round by the Colts where he played in 25 games over four seasons but has not been on an active roster since 2016.


Houston Roughnecks


Trenton Thompson - Former #1 overall recruit in the nation coming out of high school. That makes him the Al Bundy of his high school class. He was supposed to be the next Ndamukong Suh. He went to Georgia and did not become the next Suh, although he did have a very good sophomore year with five sacks. He still left college early, but did not get drafted. He showed some decent athleticism at the combine and has bounced around smaller leagues since. He performed fairly well in the Alliance and is only 23 years old so there’s still enough potential for him to make an impact and get a shot at a long career in the NFL.


Olive Sagapolu - Wisconsin Badger who was actually helping coach the Badgers when he was drafted into the XFL, he was nothing more than a rotational lineman.


Caushaud Lyons - The pride of Tusculum who was a finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award for the best lineman, offense or defense in Division II, but that was five years ago.


Walter Palmore - Missouri Defensive Tackle.


Handsome Tanielu - Not that good looking, from BYU.


Gabe Wright - Despite being a fourth round pick by the Lions coming out of Auburn, he never really put it together at the NFL level, appearing in only 15 games over four seasons. He was just active last year, so he’s not far from the NFL, but there also isn’t a ton to get excited about at this point.


Tampa Vipers


Ricky Walker - Solid defensive tackle out of Virginia Tech who just graduated last year.


Josh Banks - Defensive Lineman out of Wake Forest who continually fails to make the Giants roster.


Giorgio Newberry - Florida State lineman that was impressive enough to get a combine invite, but that just showed how unathletic he was. He went undrafted and has not been close to a roster.


Trevon Sanders - Solid player for Troy. Private Twitter account.


Nikita Whitlock - 5’10” 250 pound nose guard out of Wake Forest, hell yeah. He’s like a modern-day Brian Pillman. He had 18 tackles for loss and 9 sacks his senior year in 2013, but the NFL immediately converted him to fullback because of his off-the-charts grit. In 2015, the Giants let him play fullback and defensive tackle where he even got a sack on the defensive side of the ball. The next year he got suspended 10 games for PEDs. He’s focused on the defensive side of the ball since, but it has been up in Canada. If they put him on the field, he’s going to dominate and represent for us undersized guys all over the world.


Dallas Renegades


Sealver Siliga - Utah product that has managed to play in 44 NFL games, but his last one was in 2017. He didn’t get signed this past year so it might be over for Siliga. He retweets Barstool Sports a lot.


Winston Craig - Richmond Spider that became a team captain. He had two sacks against Villanova.


Gelen Robinson - You could not create a more XFAlpha player in a lab. For me, he didn’t just wrestle in high school, he wrestled in college, in the Big 10, the best wrestling conference in the nation. Oh, and The Big Dog, Glenn Robinson is his father. Is he good at football? Who cares?


Izaah Lunsford - Bowling Green defensive tackle.


Tony Guerad - Solid player for UCF where he started his last two years there.


Nick James - Played as a rotation piece for Mississippi State and has bounced around Canada and the Alliance since then.


Ray Smith - Had more interceptions than sacks over his last two years with Boston College 1 to 0.5.


Tyrell Thompson - Tarleton State product, and considering their team name is the Texans, I am going to take a wild guess and say that school is located in Texas.


Curtis Cothran - Penn State grad who did not diddle children, in fact, with his criminology degree, he might just arrest them someday.


Deon Simon - I wish this was Simon Dean. Northwestern State player who got drafted in the seventh round by the Jets and played in all 16 games in 2016. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to make an active roster since.