Former Commodores Have Successful Start to XFL Season
Three former Vanderbilt Commodores football standouts continued their professional football careers over the weekend with the beginning of the return season of the XFL.
Bruno Reagan, Charles Wright, and Ladarius Wiley all were part of the return of Vince McMahon's "other" league as it returns for the second time trying to provide a second professional football, offseason option.
While none of the former Commodores scored for their team, all three saw action and two of the three were part of wins in their first professional football games in the new league.
Wright and his New York Guardians- interesting name, not my favorite but certainly better than Defenders- dominated their opening game, taking down the Tampa Bay Vipers 23-3 for the win.
Reagan and his St. Louis Battlehawks- perhaps the most original and interesting name- won their opener by running the football right over Bob Stoops and the Dallas Renegades on their way to a 15-9 victory.
As part of the starting offensive line, Reagan helped lead the way for the Battlehawks offense that finished with 191 yards rushing. Running back Matt Jones racked up a team-high 85 yards on 21 carries, while Chris Jones added a 16-yard scoring run in the second quarter.
Former Commodore Bruno Reagan (61) leads the way for running back Matt Jones.
Feb 9, 2020; Arlington, Texas, USA; St. Louis Battlehawks quarterback Jordan Ta'amu (10) hands off to running back Matt Jones (24) during the first quarter against the Dallas Renegades in an XFL football game at Globe Life Park. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Reagan shared his thoughts on his return to football following the win.
"Playing the game is amazing. Obviously I retired shortly after the draft but you don’t realize how much you love something until you lose it. Now I play with a passion I haven’t seen in myself in a while, I love it," said Reagan. "There is no feeling in this world for me like competing with worthy competition and coming out on top, our team obviously is the outlier in the league because we are going to run the football and run it well. It’s a mindset. Looking forward to what else is to come this season and afterwords as well."
The only loss for the Commodores came from Wiley and is LA Wildcats as they dropped a lopsided 37-17 decision to the Houston Roughnecks.
Despite the loss, Wiley had an outstanding performance, collecting three solo tackles, one assist and an interception in the loss. His four total tackles were tied for the team-high in the game.
The three will be back in action this weekend as the Guardians visit the DC Defenders while the Wildcats host the Dallas Renegades and St. Louis travels to Houston to face the Roughnecks.
