Houston Roughnecks Select Former Oklahoma State LB Xavier Benson in UFL College Draft
On Wednesday, the UFL held its college draft, where teams are able to select players who have finished their college careers.
The draft lasted 10 rounds, with all eight teams in the league making one selection per round.
With the second pick in the seventh round, the Houston Roughnecks selected former Oklahoma State linebacker Xavier Benson.
Let's get it 😮💨
— Houston Roughnecks (@XFLRoughnecks) July 17, 2024
Our seventh pick of the 2024 UFL College Draft is Xavier Benson 👏 pic.twitter.com/toattS7nvi
Benson spent two years under Mike Gundy in Stillwater, making 27 starts between the 2022 and 2023 seasons. As a redshirt senior, Benson tallied 65 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, one pass breakup and two forced fumbles.
The veteran linebacker was the Cowboys' team captain against Central Arkansas, West Virginia and UCF and earned Defensive MVP honors in wins over Oklahoma and the Mountaineers.
In what could be the final Bedlam matchup between the Sooners and Pokes, Benson made multiple big plays, including a tackle for loss on third down against Drake Stoops and the final stop of the contest, sealing the win for OSU.
Prior to his time in Stillwater, Benson spent a season at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, TX, where he racked up 120 tackles and was ranked the No. 4 linebacker at the junior college level by 247Sports.
Benson started his collegiate career at Texas Tech, where he spent the three seasons. In 2020, the Texarkana, TX, product opted out of the season before departing from Lubbock. Coming out of Pleasant Grove High School, Benson was a 3-star prospect who held offers from Arkansas, SMU and Tulane, among others.
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RANDALL SWEET