Three more former UK stars drafted into the XFL. See every Kentuckian who got picked.
Farrington Huguenin, Jordan Jones and Austin MacGinnis on Wednesday joined two other former University of Kentucky stars as XFL draftees.
All three players were drafted in the fifth phase of the inaugural XFL Draft. That phase — an open phase consisting of all other position players who weren’t previously drafted as part of their initial groups — was the first in which specialists were eligible to be selected and was the last one in the two-day event.
MacGinnis was taken by the Dallas Renegades, for whom former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops — Mark’s brother — is the general manager and head coach. The DC Defenders drafted Jones while the St. Louis BattleHawks picked Huguenin.
As a Wildcat, MacGinnis connected on 143 of his 145 PAT attempts (98.6%) and was 72 of 91 on field-goal tries (79.1%). He is Kentucky’s all-time leading scorer with 359 career points. MacGinnis has tried out for several NFL teams — most recently the New England Patriots this week — but has never been on a roster.
Huguenin, a defensive end, played under Mark Stoops in his first three seasons at UK. He was undrafted in 2016 but joined the Miami Dolphins as a practice squad player and continued in that role with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers up until last month, when the Bucs released him.
Jones made 33 starts in 42 career games, totaling 251 tackles, 28.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks in his career. He participated in the 2019 NFL combine but was not drafted.
Former Wildcats Jeff Badet and Jon Toth were selected Tuesday on the first day of the inaugural draft. Badet, a wide receiver who played his final season at Oklahoma, was the fourth overall pick in the skill-players phase and the first draft pick ever by Dallas. Toth was the fourth center drafted as part of the offensive linemen phase Monday; he was taken by the DC Defenders.
Other Kentucky ties
D’Montre Wade, a former standout at Murray State University, an FCS program, was drafted Wednesday. Wade, a cornerback, finished his career as the Racers’ all-time leader in pass breakups and was an All-Ohio Valley Conference First Team selection. He was selected by the St. Louis BattleHawks with the 23rd overall pick in the fourth phase, which focused on defensive backs. Kamalie Matthews, a former offensive tackle for the Racers, was taken in the fifth phase by the Houston Roughnecks.
The New York Guardians selected Jake Sutherland, a tight end out of Morehead State, which plays in the Pioneer League, as part of the final phase.
Former Louisville stars Deiontrez Mount and Keith Towbridge, each of whom spent time in the NFL, were drafted Tuesday. Ex-Cardinal Jaylen Smith was taken Wednesday.
Mount was the sixth defensive end picked and the 16th overall pick in the third phase, comprised of defensive linemen and linebackers. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Vipers; Mike Archer, a former defensive coordinator at UK, is the Vipers’ linebackers coach.
Towbridge, a tight end, was the 51st pick in the second phase, from which teams could select quarterbacks, running backs, tight ends and wide receivers. He was taken by the Guardians. Smith, a wide receiver, was selected by the DC Defenders as part of the final phase.
Western Kentucky’s Andrew Jackson, a linebacker, was also drafted on Tuesday. Jackson was chosen by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft and played for the team that season before being waived in February 2015. He was selected by the Houston Roughnecks with the the 54th pick in the third phase.
Several other former Wildcats were draft-eligible but were not selected: Garrett Johnson (WR), Adrian Middleton (DT), Kayaune Ross (WR), Bunchy Stallings (OG), Patrick Towles (QB) and Boom Williams (RB).
Draft-eligible Louisville players announced who went unselected were: Drew Bailey (DT), Gerald Christian (TE), BJ Dubose (DT), Colin Holba (LS), Micky Crum III (TE), Keith Kelsey (LB), James Quick (WR), Brandon Radcliff (RB), Shaquille Wiggins (S) and Malik Williams (RB).
Drew Anderson (QB) and Jordan Gandy (WR) went undrafted from Murray State. Western Kentucky’s Omarius Bryant (DT) and Jimmie Sims (OT) also went undrafted.
This story was originally published October 16, 2019 at 8:14 PM.
