The 2020 XFL season will kick-off once again this weekend as there is more football to watch a week after the biggest game of them all, the Super Bowl. It may have taken a 20-year hiatus, but the XFL is coming back with eight brand new franchisees ready to take over the football industry. One of those teams being the Houston Roughnecks who will be playing out of TDECU Stadium, home of the NCAA Houston Cougars. Let’s dive straight into the Houston Roughnecks XFL Season Preview. Looking for game predictions? Check out our XFL Predictions now!
For the Roughnecks, they will be led by June Jones who is no stranger to coaching in the spotlight. Jones has had previous coaching stints with the Atlanta Falcons and San Diego Chargers. However, his recent coaching experience comes from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League.
QB Phillip Walker: A bit of a shocker here as Roughnecks fans were hoping to see QB Connor Cook get the start for Houston. However, Walker proved he deserved the job. Walker was with the Colts from 2017-2019 but never took a snap with them.
WR Sammie Coates: One of the players drafted early belongs to Sammie Coates as he is ready for another boost of football in his life. Sammie is well-known in the football world as he was with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, and Houston Texans. Coates has a total of 528 receiving yards and two touchdowns from his games in the NFL
The Roughnecks could easily be the surprise of the XFL and take over the league, or quickly fall apart as they do not appear to have a strong running attack. The beginning of the season will start with Temple star Walker under center, and if he can get it done early, this might be a team to watch. They also do not have a TE on their roster so expect passing and lots of it. I’m a huge style of the way Jones runs the offense and can see Walker surprising people here. BET: Over 6.0 Wins
There is a strong reason these championship odds keep falling and falling. Remember the name Kony Ealy. He is going to lead this Roughnecks defense and has the experience from his stints with the New York Jets and New England Patriots. There are not a ton of solid offensive lines in this league as Kony is still in his prime and will easily get the job done. With the coaching experience and talent across the board, the Roughnecks could easily be the surprise everyone has been hoping for. BET: Roughnecks Championship +650
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | College |
| 1 | Lewis, Kahlil | WR | 5-10 | 190 | Cincinnati |
| 3 | Mobley, Sam | WR | 5-10 | 175 | Catawba |
| 5 | Rehkow, Austin | P | 6-3 | 214 | Idaho |
| 7 | Castillo, Sergio | K | 5-10 | 175 | West Texas AM |
| 10 | Coates, Sammie | WR | 6-1 | 210 | Auburn |
| 11 | Walker, P.J. | QB | 5-11 | 214 | Temple |
| 13 | Bolden, Ray | WR | 5-9 | 165 | Stony Brook |
| 14 | Phillips, Cam | WR | 6-0 | 201 | Virginia Tech |
| 15 | Malone, Ryheem | WR | 5-9 | 187 | Louisiana-Lafayette |
| 17 | Jackson, Blake | WR | 5-11 | 200 | Mary Hardin-Baylor |
| 18 | Cook, Connor | QB | 6-4 | 217 | Michigan State |
| 20 | Huff, Marqueston | S | 5-11 | 196 | Wyoming |
| 21 | James, Charles | CB | 5-9 | 185 | Charleston Southern |
| 22 | Ballard, Corrian | S | 6-3 | 195 | Utah |
| 23 | Elston, Trae | S | 5-11 | 193 | Mississippi |
| 25 | Brown, Cody | S | 6-0 | 208 | Arkansas State |
| 26 | Smith, Saivion | CB | 6-1 | 190 | Alabama |
| 27 | Harris, Ajene | CB | 5-10 | 190 | USC |
| 28 | Butler, James | RB | 5-10 | 205 | Nevada/Iowa |
| 29 | Henderson, De’Angelo | RB | 5-8 | 207 | Coastal Carolina |
| 30 | Olatoye, Deji | CB | 6-1 | 205 | North Carolina A&T |
| 32 | Nichols, Deatrick | CB | 5-9 | 185 | South Florida |
| 33 | Holley, Nick | RB | 5-10 | 194 | Kent State |
| 40 | Schwab, Ty | LB | 6-1 | 225 | Boston College |
| 41 | Johnson, Jeremiah | CB | 6-1 | 185 | Concord |
| 42 | Brown, Beniquez | LB | 6-0 | 229 | Mississippi State |
| 43 | Bradford, Carl | LB | 6-1 | 250 | Arizona State |
| 44 | Williams, Andre | RB | 6-0 | 220 | Boston College |
| 47 | Gates, DeMarquis | LB | 6-2 | 221 | Mississippi |
| 50 | Burnett, Kaelin | LB | 6-4 | 234 | Nevada |
| 51 | Robinson, Edmond | LB | 6-3 | 245 | Newberry |
| 53 | Lewis, Drew | LB | 6-2 | 229 | Colorado |
| 54 | Lewis, LaTroy | LB | 6-3 | 240 | Tennessee |
| 56 | Koroma, Tejan | OL | 6-1 | 300 | Brigham Young |
| 58 | Taylor, Colton | LS | 5-11 | 241 | Virginia Tech |
| 59 | McMillian, Vantrell | DL | 6-3 | 255 | Chattanooga |
| 60 | Weathersby, Toby | OL | 6-5 | 315 | LSU |
| 65 | Rhaney, Demetrius | OL | 6-2 | 305 | Tennessee State |
| 66 | Tucker, Marquez | OL | 6-3 | 300 | Southern Utah |
| 69 | Faciane, Isame | OL | 6-3 | 300 | Florida International |
| 73 | Tretola, Sebastian | OL | 6-3 | 325 | Arkansas |
| 74 | Gennesy, Avery | OL | 6-5 | 315 | Texas A&M |
| 76 | Bushell-Beatty, Juwann | OL | 6-5 | 333 | Michigan |
| 77 | Palmer, Kelvin | OL | 6-4 | 290 | Baylor |
| 79 | Poole, Terry | OL | 6-5 | 307 | San Diego State |
| 90 | Maxey, Johnny | DE | 6-4 | 293 | Mars Hill |
| 91 | Lyons, Caushaud | DL | 6-5 | 284 | Tusculum |
| 93 | Crawford, Corey | DE | 6-5 | 283 | Clemson |
| 94 | Ealy, Kony | DE | 6-4 | 273 | Missouri |
| 96 | Palmore, Walter | DL | 6-4 | 320 | Missouri |
| 97 | Wright, Gabe | DL | 6-3 | 285 | Auburn |
| 98 | James, Nick | DL | 6-4 | 314 | Mississippi State |
Mercenaries in the muck.
Brawlers in blackened dirt.
The scratching, grinding, never-bending few.
Going to work for you February 2020: The Houston Roughnecks. #XFLTeams pic.twitter.com/vDeSCA3SPs
— United Football League (@TheUFL) August 21, 2019
This is the @XFLRoughnecks’ hard-hat silver, blue-collar navy and resilient red H-town-tough uniform. #ThisIsTheXFL #XFL pic.twitter.com/azO1joB0oi
— United Football League (@TheUFL) December 4, 2019
