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Six Former Oklahoma Players Land in XFL

The rebooted league, in which Bob Stoops now coaches, announced its final 51-man rosters this week.
John E. Hoover|
Six Former Oklahoma Players Land in XFL
Six Former Oklahoma Players Land in XFL

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Oklahoma Sooners

Six former Oklahoma football players have earned a spot on final XFL preseason rosters.

The Arlington Renegades (coached by Bob Stoops) and the Vegas Vipers each have two Sooners.

Running back Keith Ford, a former 5-star recruit who began his college career at OU and transferred to Texas A&M, has joined Stoops in Arlington after brief stays with Buffalo, Indianapolis and Green Bay in the NFL. Among Stoops’ wide receivers is ex-Sooner Jordan Smallwood, a former Jenks Trojan who has spent time with the Chargers and Detroit.

Defensive lineman LaRon Stokes, a homeschooled prospect who began his career at NEO junior college and played four years at OU, left the program last spring to pursue a pro career. Wide receiver Jeff Badet, who began his career at Kentucky, played at OU in 2017 and has spent time with Washington, Atlanta and Las Vegas in the NFL, also has landed with the Vipers. 

Wide receiver Charleston Rambo, who played at OU from 2017-20 and transferred to Miami in 2021, now plays for the Orlando Guardians.

Linebacker Jordan Evans, who played at OU from 2013-16 and was with Cincinnati in the NFL from 2017-21, is with the Seattle Sea Dragons.

The league announced Thursday its teams’ 51-man rosters.

The XFL begins play on Feb. 18.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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