Former Oklahoma State linebacker Xavier Benson will get a chance to play professional football.
The Houston Roughnecks selected Benson in the seventh round of the UFL College Draft on Wednesday. He was the second pick of the seventh round in the 10-round draft.
To be eligible for the draft, players must have been eligible for the most recent NFL Draft but not selected. Players who signed with NFL teams as undrafted free agents were still eligible for the UFL College Draft. Any player who signs a UFL contract, though, will have an “NFL Out” until Dec. 31 to join an NFL team if the opportunity arises.
Benson exhausted his eligibility at OSU after the 2023 season, during which he started every game as the heart of OSU’s defense. He recorded 65 total tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and recovered two fumbles as a sixth-year senior. His best game of the season came in his final Bedlam, notching seven tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack, quarterback hurry, forced fumble and a fumble recovery to earn Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Benson was in Stillwater for two years after transferring from Tyler Junior College, where he spent only one season in 2021. He started his career at Texas Tech, starting as a redshirt freshman in 2019 before opting out of the 2020 season. Benson is from Pleasant Grove High School in Texarkana, Texas.
Other notable selections in the draft included Kansas quarterback Jason Bean going No. 1 overall and Oklahoma receiver Drake Stoops being drafted in the 10th round by the Arlington Renegades, where his father, Bob, is the head coach. You can see the full results of the draft here.
The United Football League just finished its inaugural season after the XFL and USFL merged to create the league.
Read this original article at Pistols Firing Blog.