Know Your BattleHawks: the Defense
February 8, 2020 - XFL (XFL)
St. Louis Battlehawks News Release
The St. Louis BattleHawks kick off against the Dallas Renegades on Sunday and if you need to familiarize yourself with the team before the game, now is your chance. We already took you through the offense, now it's time to meet the defense.
DEFENSIVE LINE (DE, DT)
Will Clarke, DE, West Virginia
Drafted in the 3rd Round of 2014 NFL Draft by Cincinnati, Clarke recorded seven sacks and 37 tackles over five combined seasons with the Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Dewayne Hendrix, DL, Pittsburgh
A hometown kid, Hendrix graduated from O'Fallon (IL) High School before playing at the University of Pittsburgh.
Channing Ward, DT, Ole Miss
Undrafted out of college, Ward played for the Tampa Bay and made four tackles in six appearances with the Bucs.
Shaq Jones, DE, Alabama-Birmingham
Jones recorded 57 tackles in 2017 for UAB to go with three sacks. He used to run on the 4x4 relay in track and his idol is Jesse Owens.
Davonte Lambert, DT, Auburn
Following college, Lambert signed as an UFA with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2016.
Jake Payne, DE, Shenandoah University
Payne played two seasons in the Arena League for the Washington Valor and most recently was with the Birmingham Iron of the AAF. He comes from a family of state champion wrestlers.
Gimel President, DE, Illinois
President began his college career at Auburn before transferring to Illinois. He signed as an unrestricted free agent with Houston after school, appearing in four games. President later played with the Tennessee Titans before returning for another stint with the Texans in 2019.
Casey Sayles, DT, Ohio University
Undrafted out of college, Sayles has played for the LA Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Kellen Soulek, DL, South Dakota State
After recording 144 tackles for the Jackrabbits, Soulek spent time in camp with both the Minnesota Vikings and Indianapolis Colts before signing with the Orlando Apollos in the AAF.
LINEBACKERS
Andrew Ankrah, LB, James Madison
Ankrah was selected as the FCS Athletics Directors Association Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. Undrafted, he has spent time with the Washington Redskins.
Steve Beauharnais, LB, Rutgers
Drafted by New England in the seventh round of 2013, Beauharnais spent his first season with the Patriots before moving on to Washington and San Francisco.
Terence Garvin, LB, West Virginia
Garvin began his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and has also played for Washington, Seattle, and San Francisco. Garvin kept promise to his mother and late father by graduating from West Virginia this past December, seven years after his last game.
Ro'Derrick Hoskins, LB, Florida State
Hoskins was part of FSU's National Championship team in 2014. Undrafted, he has played for the Chicago Bears.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Trey Caldwell, CB, Louisiana-Monroe
Drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of 2016, Caldwell made 143 tackles for the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks.
Will Hill III, S, Florida
Hill helped the Gators win the 2009 BCS National Championship. Undrafted, Hill had 107 tackles, 4 INTs, and 2 TDs in 50 games between the New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens.
Darius Hillary, CB, Wisconsin
Signed as UFA in the first of two stints with Cincinnati and also spent time on rosters at Cleveland, Oakland, Washington, and New Orleans.
Harold Jones-Quartey, CB, Findlay
HJQ signed with Arizona as UFA and has also played with Chicago, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, and Kansas City Chiefs. Jones-Quartey had 103 tackles, 2 INTs in 29 games with the Bears.
Dexter McCoil Sr., S, Tulsa
McCoil signed as a UFA with the Oakland Raiders and also played with San Diego, San Francisco 49ers and the LA Chargers. McCoil was also a member of the 2014 Los Angeles KISS in the Arena League.
Robert Nelson, CB, Arizona State
Nelson was signed by the Cleveland Browns as UFA in 2014. He also played with Arizona, Houston, New England, New York Jets, Baltimore, and New Orleans in the NFL. Nelson was drafted in the 2nd round of phase four of the XFL draft by HOU and traded to STL in January for Juwann Bushell-Beatty and Charles James.
Joe Powell III, S, Globe Tech
Powell signed as UFA with the New York Giants and also played with the Buffalo Bills.
David Rivers, CB, Youngstown State
Traded to St. Louis from New York along with Brian Wallace in exchange for Dejon Allen and Avery Young in January 2020, Rivers appeared in three games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has also spent time with Green Bay, New York Jets, and Miami.
Kenny Robinson, S, West Virginia
Selected by St. Louis with the 39th overall pick in the XFL Draft, Robinson is also NFL Draft eligible in 2020 after leaving West Virginia following his junior season. Robinson was an All-Big 12 selection in 2018 after recording 77 tackles and 4 interceptions.
D'Montre Wade, CB, Murray State
Wade signed as a UFA with Kansas City and appeared in four preseason games in 2019.
Ryan White, CB, Auburn
Undrafted out of college, White signed with the Green Bay Packers and also spent time on the Atlanta Falcons roster. Helped Auburn win the SEC championship and national championship in 2010.
SPECIALISTS (P, K, LS)
Marquette King, P, Fort Wayne State
King led the NFL in punting yards and total yards in 2014 with 4,930 yards on 109 punts, which also set the Oakland Raiders franchise record.
Taylor Russolino, K, Millsaps College
Was first-team All-Pro of the 2016 China Arena Football League. Russolino has trained the last few years with NFL greats John Carney and Michael Husted.
Tanner Carew, LS, Oregon
Signed with Seattle as an unrestricted free agent in 2018 and went on to spend time on the Chicago Bears roster. Was the only long-snapper invited to the 2018 NFL combine.
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