Every Penn State player in the XFL in 2023
As the curtain closes on the NFL’s 2022 season with the crowning of a Super Bowl champion, the football calendar moves next to the start of the XFL regular season. The XFL is back under new leadership headlined by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and the latest attempt to inject new life into the XFL brand kicks things off on Saturday, February 18.
When the new XFL season begins, there will be some familiar names for Penn State fans to keep track of. When the league kicks off, there will be five former Nittany Lions scattered across the league’s eight teams.
Former wide receiver Saeed Blacknall will not be on one of those rosters despite previously being profiled by the league in an effort to showcase some players leading up to the start of the season. Blacknall was on the roster for the Vegas Vipers, but he did not appear on the team’s official roster shared by the league in an Instagram post a week and a half prior to the first games being played. But the Vipers do have a former Nittany Lion on the roster looking to make an impact this spring.
Here is a summary of where each former Penn State player is in the XFL and where they have been since their final days in a Penn State uniform.
Michael Menet, Offensive Tackle
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Team: Seattle Sea Dragons
A former four-star recruit of Penn State’s, [autotag]Michael Menet[/autotag] went on to become a seventh-round draft pick of the Arizona Cardinals in the 2021 NFL draft. Menet was waived and re-signed by the Cardinals and assigned to the team’s practice squad before the start of the 2021 season, but he was released by the franchise at the start of the season and was signed once more to the team’s practice squad briefly later in the season.
The Green Bay Packers added Menet to their practice squad in December 2021 and was waived by the team in August 2022. He made one more trip to the Packers’ practice squad in December 2022.
Menet was added to the Sea Dragons roster in the XFL draft in November 2022.
Shareef Miller, Safety
Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports
Team: Seattle Sea Dragons
[autotag]Shareef Miller[/autotag] may have been a standout on the defensive front at Penn State, but he will be playing defensive back for the XFL’s Seattle Sea Dragons. This is not new territory for Miller, who got some experience in the secondary during his brief run in the USFL.
The former fourth-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2019 NFL draft has made a number of stops among the professional ranks with stops with the Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals, and Atlanta Falcons in the NFL in addition to two stints with the Eagles.
Miller was drafted by the New Orleans Breakers of the USFL in March 2022. The XFL’s Sea Dragons selected Miller in the fourth round of the league’s supplemental draft in January of this year.
Steven Gonzalez, Offensive Line
Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports
Team: St. Louis Battlehawks
A former All-Big Ten second-team player for Penn State in 2019, [autotag]Steven Gonzalez[/autotag] started his professional career as an undrafted free agent of the Arizona Cardinals before signing on with the Buffalo Bills in 2021. Gonzalez was a third-round pick by the XFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks, another one of the franchises returning to the league from the last version of the startup spring football league.
The Battlehawks selected Gonzalez with their third-round draft pick in the XFL draft in November 2022.
John Lovett, Running Back
Oct 2, 2021; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Indiana Hoosiers defensive linesman Weston Kramer (99) attempts to tackle Penn State Nittany Lions running back John Lovett (10) as he runs the ball during the third quarter at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Team: Vegas Vipers
[autotag]John Lovett[/autotag] was not one of Penn State’s homegrown talents, but he was a key transfer addition for Penn State in 2021. Lovett transferred to Penn State from Baylor, where he rushed for 1,803 yards for the Big 12 program. At Penn State, Lovett rushed for 177 yards in a complimentary role in the offense. Lovett battled some injuries at times during his one season in State College.
Lovett was signed by the Carolina Panthers, under former head coach Matt Rhule (whom Lovett played for at Baylor), as an undrafted free agent in 2022. Lovett spent his rookie season going back and forth with the Panthers’ practice squad. Here’s hoping his run in the XFL will allow himself to put together some good film to catch a spot back in the NFL in due time.
Robert Windsor, Defensive Line
Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports
Team: Vegas Vipers
[autotag]Robert Windsor[/autotag] was a second-team All-Big Ten player for Penn State during his senior season in 2019, and he went on to participate in the Senior Bowl and NFL combine. He would go on to be a sixth-round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts in the 2020 NFL draft, and he spent two seasons with the franchise. He was placed on injured reserve by the Colts in the summer of 2021, however, and he officially retired from the NFL due to injury concerns in April 2022.
Despite that, Windsor was drafted by the XFL’s Vegas Vipers in the 2023 XFL draft as he attempted to give football one more chance.
