SALT LAKE CITY — This weekend, Colby Pearson and Micah Hannemann will be back on the field together for the first time since the 2016 Poinsettia Bowl, when they helped BYU beat Wyoming 24-21.
This time, though, the former Cougar teammates will be on opposite sidelines. Pearson will suit up for the New York Guardians while Hannemann will play for the Tampa Bay Vipers on Sunday (noon MST, TV: FOX) at MetLife Stadium during the XFL’s opening weekend.
Both Pearson, a wide receiver, and Hannemann, a safety who prepped at Lone Peak High, are listed atop their positions on their respective team’s depth charts heading into the contest.
The duo are part of 14 players with Utah ties who find themselves on XFL rosters heading into Week 1, which kicked off Saturday with a pair of games for the reboot of the football league. There are also three XFL assistant coaches who have ties to the Beehive State.
Pearson and Hannemann both have a bit of pro experience. Pearson signed with both the NFL’s Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons after his final season at BYU in 2016 and spent a short time on the Packers’ practice squad late in 2017. Hannemann has a more extensive pro resume, playing for the Salt Lake Stallions of the AAF last year and spending part of the 2018 offseason/training camp with both the NFL’s Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Chargers.
BYU is best represented in the XFL among local schools, with five former Cougars dotting the league’s eight rosters. Utah and Southern Utah each have three players on XFL teams, while two former Utah State players are in the league — including former NFL safety Marwin Evans, who’s on Team 9, the XFL’s version of a 40-man roster that practices together and consists of athletes able to fill open roster spots.
In addition to Hannemann representing Lone Peak, former Bingham High pass rusher Durrant Miles is also in the league.
Saturday’s locals roundup
DC Defenders 31, Seattle Dragons 19: Former SUU punter Brock Miller had three punts for a 44.3-yard average for Seattle, though a fourth punt was blocked and recovered by DC in the end zone for a touchdown in the second quarter at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. Former Utah defensive tackle Pasoni Tasini had an assisted tackle for the Dragons, while Miles played for Seattle. Former BYU lineman De’Ondre Wesley started at left tackle for the Defenders.
Houston Roughnecks 37, Los Angeles Wildcats 17: None of the locals recorded statistics in the Roughnecks’ win at TDECU Stadium in Houston. Houston has former Utah safety Corrion Ballard as well as two Utah ties on the offensive line — center Tejan Koroma (BYU) and right tackle Marquez Tucker (Southern Utah). For Los Angeles, the Wildcats have former Utah State receiver Jalen Greene, who was targeted three times but did not have a reception.
Sunday’s games
Tampa Bay Vipers at New York Guardians, noon MST (TV: FOX)
St. Louis BattleHawks at Dallas Renegades, 3 p.m. (TV: ESPN)
Utah ties in the XFL
Dallas Renegades
Tomasi Laulile, DT, BYU
Josh Thornton, CB, Southern Utah
Salesi Uhatafe, OG, Utah
DC Defenders
De’Ondre Wesley, OT, BYU
Kurt Gouveia, linebackers coach, BYU
Houston Roughnecks
Corrion Ballard, S, Utah
Tejan Koroma, OL, BYU
Marquez Tucker, OL, Southern Utah
Los Angeles Wildcats
Jalen Greene, WR, Utah State
Norm Chow, offensive coordinator, BYU and Utah
New York Guardians
Colby Pearson, WR, BYU
Charles “C.J.” Ah You, defensive line coach, BYU and Lone Peak High
St. Louis BattleHawks
No locals
Seattle Dragons
Durrant Miles, DE/OLB, Bingham High
Brock Miller, P, Southern Utah
Pasoni Tasini, DT, Utah
Tampa Bay Vipers
Micah Hannemann, S, BYU and Lone Peak High
Team 9
Marwin Evans, DB, Utah State