XFL fans were surprised to hear that they are already scouting players for next season.
Former LA Wildcats kicker Nick Novak posted on social media Thursday that representatives from the NFL and XFL attended a workout he hosted. The virtual workout including kickers, punters, and long snappers looking to get into professional football.
Players included Tristan Vizcaino, Matt Mengel, Caden Novikoff, Drew Ferris, Ryan Navarro, Ryan DiSalvo, and Hayden Hunt. Representatives watched the workout through Zoom according to the tweet.
The tweet from Novak surprised many XFL fans since they technically don’t have any employees working for individual teams. There was a skeleton crew that is still employed by the XFL to continue some of the operations during the bankruptcy process.
XFL News Hub’s Jai Nokes spoke to a source that says the league did not have any current XFL employees at the workout. Sources told XFL reporter MJ Hurley that it was former XFL personnel that attended the workout and have no current association with the league.
Novak has a history of playing in multiple different pro football leagues. From 2005 until this year, Novak has played in the NFL, NFL Europe, UFL, AAF, and recently the XFL. Novak converted on two of his five field goals with the Wildcats last season with a long of 47 yards.
What Does This Mean for the XFL?
Fans are still waiting to hear about any hirings that the XFL is going to make to start building the foundation of the league. No news has been released since Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Gerry Cardinale of RedBird Capital purchased the XFL two weeks ago. With that being said, this could be something or it could be nothing.
XFL fans got excited to see the tweet as it showed a potential first sign that the league was working hard at getting ready for next season. Fans have been craving for news and this gave them a reason to celebrate and believe. While it shouldn’t be knocked on, fans do need to slow down a bit.
These former XFL personnel that attended could be there for their own benefit or for future reference. What we know is that the XFL had nothing to do with the workout. That could mean anything at this point.
The lack of news is frustrating for XFL fans, but patience has to be there. There is a lot of work the league has to do to build everything back up. If some former XFL employees scout, it would be good for the XFL to hire them back to have those insights.
No matter what happens, fans need to realize that news will come soon. When that time comes, XFL fans can rejoice and look forward to a good season.
Karen Robertson
September 5, 2020 at 10:07 am
I’m not sure why an “XFL source” would even bother to deny or confirm they watched some special team players work out. Either way, I do not see this as news worthy. Almost looks like someone was looking for something, anything, to write about.