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XFL St. Louis Battlehawks

St. Louis Battlehawks Select 10 Players in XFL Rookie Draft

June 16, 2023 - XFL (XFL)
St. Louis Battlehawks News Release


ARLINGTON, TEXAS - The XFL Rookie Draft was held earlier today with each of the eight teams selecting the rights to ten players. The St. Louis Battlehawks picked fourth in each round, using five of their picks on both the defensive and offensive side of the ball.

The following is an alphabetical list of the St. Louis 2023 Rookie Draft selections:

PLAYER POSITION LAST SCHOOL

Nico Bolden DB Kent State

James Bostic TE Ohio

Johnny Buchanan LB Delaware

Darion Chafin WR Incarnate Word

Jacob Gall C Baylor

Kemore Gamble TE Central Florida

Matthew Jester DL Princeton

Kevon Latulas RB Missouri State

Jadrian Taylor DL UTEP

Anthony Witherstone DB Merrimack

DB, Nico Bolden, Kent State: Most recently with the Carolina Panthers after signing as a free agent in May, Bolden played his last two seasons at Kent State where he led the Golden Flashes with 64 solo tackles in 2022 (2nd-most in the MAC).

TE, James Bostic, Ohio: Participated in rookie mini-camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this spring after grabbing 21 catches for 434 yards and a touchdown at Ohio in 2022. A 2x Academic All-MAC while working on his Masters in Management, Bostic was a senior Co-Captain at Vanderbilt before transferring to Ohio.

LB, Johnny Buchanan, Delaware: Led the FCS with 150 tackles in 2022 and was named All-CAA First Team and a Buck Buchanan Award finalist. Buchanan played in all 13 games this past season at Delaware and tied a school record with his 23 tackles at Navy.

WR, Darion Chafin, Incarnate Word: Named to the 2022 All-American Third Team, 2022 Southland All-Conference First Team and the 2022 Phil Steele All-America Team after leading the Cardinals with 18 receiving touchdowns and averaging 88.86 yards per game. Set a UIW record with 262 receiving yards in one game.

C, Jacob Gall, Baylor: Finished the 2022 season as the 12th-highest rated center in the country according to grades from Pro Football Focus. Gall was also named the Offensive Lineman of the year in Texas by Dave Campbell's Texas Football and earned all-conference honors from Pro Football Network, the Big 12 coaches and Phil Steele.

TE, Kemore Gamble, Central Florida: Played in the Hula Bowl Classic after appearing in 11 games for UCF. Gamble had seven catches for 118 yards and a touchdown and was on the 2022 Mackey Award watch list.

DL, Matthew Jester, Princeton: An All-Ivy League selection in 2022, Jester played in every game over his final three seasons at Princeton. He recorded 78 total tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, and 10.5 sacks for the Tigers.

RB, Kevon Latulas, Missouri State: Finished his career with the Bears having carried the ball 144 times for 1,029 yards and six touchdowns. Latulas also caught 39 passes for 458 yards and four touchdowns and was on the All-MVFC Honor Roll.

DL, Jadrian Taylor, University of Texas-El Paso: Most recently with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL, "Kamo" led Conference USA with 9.5 sacks in 2022 and finished with 81 tackles and 16 sacks in two seasons at UTEP. Taylor also had a 100-yard touchdown fumble return.

DB, Anthony Witherstone, Merrimack: Received an invitation to the Kansas City Chiefs rookie mini-camp this spring after making 74 tackles with 19 passes defensed in 35 games at Merrimack. He also had four interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns.

Players who were drafted in the XFL Rookie Draft will be placed on XFL rosters with players who finished the 2023 season on active and reserve lists. XFL teams will hold exclusive rights with the players they select in the draft.

For undrafted players, the XFL will host a series of player showcases across the United States in June and July. These showcases will give prospective football players a chance to exhibit their skills in front of XFL coaches and personnel directors. Players will be evaluated based on performance for inclusion in the XFL Draft player pool for the upcoming 2024 season. The top performers will be invited to the XFL Combine, which will be held July 25-27 in Arlington, Texas.

Additional showcases will be held throughout the summer in Atlanta (June 18), St. Louis (July 7), Washington DC (July 9), Houston (July 14) and Arizona (July 16). Additional information on each of the showcases can be found below.

The XFL Combine, which will be held July 25-27 in Arlington, Texas, will be an invite only. Invitations will be sent to the top performers from the showcases earlier in the summer.

Registration is now open for the XFL showcases. If you are interested in attending, please register here .

The XFL has partnered with Nick Novak, founder of Novak Kicking & Consulting and former professional football placekicker, to run a specialist showcase in San Diego, Calif. on October 22, 2023. This event will focus specifically on kickers, punters, and long snappers, providing a dedicated forum for specialists to exhibit their skill set exclusively for the XFL's player personnel departments.

All specialists must register at www.nicknovak.com to be considered for the event. If accepted, you will receive a formal invitation.

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