Cal Football: Chad Hansen, Jordan Veasy Set For Return of XFL This Weekend

The two wide receivers were teammates on Sonny Dykes' final Cal team in 2016.

Wide receivers Chad Hansen and Jordan Veasy, teammates on the 2016 Cal football team, will square off against each other Sunday as the XFL begins its reboot.

Hansen plays for the D.C. Defenders and Veasy for the Seattle Sea Dragons. The teams meet Sunday at 5 p.m. on ESPN.

CBS Sports has rated the Defenders as the XFL's top team in its preseason power rankings. The D.C. squad will use a college spread attack triggered by former USFL star quarterback Jordan Ta'amu.

Hansen, 28, had one of the Bears’ most prolific seasons in 2016, catching 92 passes for 1,249 yards and 11 touchdowns from quarterback Davis Webb on coach Sonny Dykes’ final team in Berkeley.

He was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection by the league’s coaches but earned first-team honors from AP, Athlon, ESPN and Phil Steele. Hansen had 10 or more catches in five games that season, despite missing two games due to injury.

His 9.2 receptions per game ranked third nationally and the 6-foot-2 wideout was taken in the fourth round by the New York Jets in the 2017 NFL draft.

A transfer from Idaho State, he saw his first action for the Bears in 2016, when he caught passes from Jared Goff. In his two seasons, Hansen had 111 catches for 1,498 yards and 12 TDs.

Hansen played portions of two seasons in the NFL, catching nine passes for 94 yards with the Jets in his rookie season, before making 17 receptions for 236 yards and a TD with Houston in 2020.

Veasy, 27, played for the Bears in 2016 and ’17, totaling 63 receptions for 797 yards and nine touchdowns.

He is joined at wide receiver on the Seattle roster by former NFL star Josh Gordon. The team's quarterback is Ben DiNucci, who has spent the past several seasons with the Dallas Cowboys.

Jordan Veasy / Photo by Neville E. Guard, USA Today

A big target at 6-3, 221 pounds, Veasy originally signed as an undrafted free agent with the Tennessee Titans in 2018. He has spent time on the practice squad as as a reserve/future player with Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Buffalo, Washington, Houston and Las Vegas but has appeared in just two NFL games (Houston in 2021) and had no receptions.

A native of Gadsden, Alabama, began his college career at NAIA Faulkner then played the 2016 season at Golden West College.

The XFL is making its return this spring 22 years after its debut. The original league lasted one season before folding. The XFL returned in 2020 but the season was was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The current XFL features eight teams who will play a 10-game regular season, followed by two semifinal games on April 29-30 and a league championship game on Saturday, May 13 that will be televised by ABC.

Cover photo of former Cal wide receiver Chad Hansen courtesy of Cal Athletics

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo