SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio’s rebooted XFL franchise now has quarterbacks. They were announced during the league’s quarterback selection show that aired on Tuesday night.
Hines Ward, the head coach of the San Antonio Brahmas and a former Pittsburg Steelers wide receiver, selected Jawon Pass, formerly of Prairie View A&M and Anthony Russo, a quarterback out of Michigan State.
The pair were allocated from the league, with the rest of the roster to be filled out through an official draft that is to begin on Wednesday.
Pass in college transferred to Prairie View A&M from Louisville and, in his final season, threw for 2,626 yards and 16 touchdowns, along with 12 interceptions. He also rushed for 264 yards and four more TDs, leading his team to their conference championship game.
“Each one of our quarterbacks bring a special quality to the table,” Brahmas head coach Hines Ward said. “Jawon Pass is a quarterback with freakish athleticism. He’s a great student of the game that can pass and run. We’re looking forward to getting him the development and reps he needs to take him to that next level.”
Russo starred at Temple for two seasons before finally transferring to Michigan State for his final season. He threw for 44 touchdowns and 6,330 yards in his college career. He completed nearly 60% of his passes.
“Anthony Russo is a gunslinger with a big-time arm and he has some impressive mobility. He’s a great leader who loves the game. I’m excited to have him on my team and look forward to seeing both Jawon and Anthony compete and lead our team,” Ward said.
The rest of the league’s player draft will begin at 10:30 a.m. and San Antonio owns the third overall pick.
The first-day selections will be broken into four positional groupings, with 11 rounds of picks for each grouping, a press release said. Day two will feature specialists like kicker, punter and long snapper, followed by open rounds for all available positions.
The other players selected from the XFL Quarterback Selection Show were:
Former Boerne quarterback selected by Orlando Guardians
During the XFL’s quarterback selection show, a former San Antonio-area high school player was selected by the Orlando Guardians.
Quinten Dormady, a quarterback who played for Boerne, was a former 4-star prospect in 2015 who ultimately signed with the University of Tennessee. Dormady eventually transferred to Houston and then to Central Michigan, where he played his final collegiate season.
“Quinten is a big, physical quarterback who can sling the ball and has a lot of upside. His versatility and ability to dissect defenses is pretty special. We’re looking forward to watching them compete and continue to develop,” Orlando Guardians head coach Terrell Buckley, another former NFL player said.
In 2019, he appeared in 10 games for the Chippewas starting all of them, and completed 190 of 294 passes (64.6 percent) for 2,312 yards and 14 touchdowns against nine interceptions.