Tag: Patrick Vahe

What would an NFL offense look like comprised of only Texas Longhorns?

The Texas Longhorns have produced a plethora of offensive talent over the years. So what would an offense of only Longhorns look like?

The Texas Longhorns have provided plenty of NFL talent over the years, but a large portion of that talent came during the Mack Brown era. It wasn’t just Brown that produced NFL talent, as the first Longhorn ever drafted dates all the way back to 1938 when Hugh Wolfe was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round.  Other big names include Bobby Layne, Tom Landry, Tommy Nobis, Earl Campbell, Ricky Williams, Vince Young and many more.

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Given the amount of Longhorns that have made the jump to the NFL and AFL, we were curious what an offense of former Texas players would look like in the NFL today. We used players from the XFL as well to fill out the starters. So let’s get started with the quarterback.

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With XFL now cancelled, what’s next for former Longhorns?

Now that the XFL has followed suit and cancelled their season, what could be the next stop for three former Texas Longhorns?

The XFL was part of every major sports league that cancelled their season due to the outbreak. The XFL released a statement on the cancellation.

It was a great gesture by the league to pay their players the base salary plus benefits despite the league cancelling the remainder of their first season. With their season now in the books, what is in the future for the three former Texas Longhorns who were still on active rosters?

Cedric Reed and Patrick Vahe of the Los Angeles Wildcats and Kent Perkins of the St Louis Battlehawks will now have an opportunity to get another shot at the NFL if a team should look their way for training camp rosters in the 2020-21 NFL seasons.

Vahe was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Baltimore Ravens following the 2019 NFL Draft. He spent the entire offseason and training camp with the team prior to the beginning of the season. He was a roster cut casualty before being picked up the following October for the XFL Draft. He should garner some interest this offseason.

Perkins was a part of the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals as part of their practice squad, moving up to the active roster late in the 2017 and 2018 seasons. He, much like Vahe, was an undrafted free agent after not being selected in the draft. He was released after announcing retirement from the NFL. He resurfaced in the XFL, so could he apply for re-instatement into the NFL? That will be one situation to monitor.

Both Vahe and Perkins could provide interior depth for the upcoming seasons provided they are brought onto training camp rosters. Both should still be eligible to be on practice squads for the upcoming season.

The third member of the former Longhorns who could make the jump back to the NFL is Cedric Reed. He was an undrafted free agent from the 2015 NFL Draft class. Reed signed with the Buffalo Bills and spent the 2015 season as a member of their practice squad.

He was released the following July and picked up by the Miami Dolphins. He would be released prior to the 2016 season as part of roster cuts. Reed didn’t play football again until he was picked up in the XFL Draft. As a member of the Wildcats, Reed accumulated 13 tackles, three sacks, three tackles for loss and five quarterback hits in five games.

The hope for Reed, Vahe and Perkins is that they put enough quality tape together for NFL teams to become interested. The possibility for the former Longhorns is there, just a matter of monitoring the situation at this point.

 

Week Two: Longhorns in the XFL

The XFL was back on the field for week two. Former Longhorns Cedric Reed, Patrick Vahe, Jerrod Heard and Kent Perkins all in action.

The XFL was back for week two of the 2020 rebirth season. Cedric Reed and Patrick Vahe of the Los Angels Wildcats faced off against Jerrod Heard and the Dallas Renegades. Vahe didn’t have a tipped pass caught for a reception in this game.

Heard wouldn’t catch a pass in this game and didn’t return a punt in this game. It was all quiet for the former quarterback turned receiver in the second game of his XFL career. Cedric Reed on the other hand, had more of an impact.

Reed got to the quarterback a couple times in this game with a quarterback hit and sack. It was quite reminiscent of his Longhorn days, seeing Reed bring down a former Sooners quarterback in Landry. Reed finished with three combined tackles, one sack, one qb hit and one tackle for loss. The Wildcats fell to the Renegades 25-18.

Kent Perkins and the St Louis Battlehawks lost to the Houston Roughnecks 28-24.

Week One: Longhorns In The XFL

Week one of the XFL is now in the books. Here are how the former Texas Longhorns fared in their first game of the season.

Football is back after a long five day layoff following the Super Bowl last weekend. The XFL rebirth kicked off on Saturday with their first two games and followed that with the final two on Sunday. Four former Texas Longhorns players took part in the first XFL season since the league folded in 2001.

There were no Longhorns in the initial game of the XFL season between Seattle and DC. However, in the second game between the Los Angeles Wildcats and Houston Roughnecks featured two former Texas players.

  • Cedric Reed: One tackle
  • Patrick Vahe: One reception on a tipped passed that went for five yards.

In the first game on Sunday, neither team had a former Longhorn when the Tampa Bay Vipers traveled to New York to face the Guardians. The final game between the St Louis Battlehawks and the Dallas Renegades saw two former Texas players facing either other.

  • Kent Perkins: started at left guard for St Louis.
  • Jerrod Heard: One punt return for 16 yards

Where Are The Former Longhorns On XFL Depth Charts?

Where are the former Texas Longhorns listed on the first XFL depth charts ahead of their first games of the year?

The Super Bowl wraps up the 2019-2020 NFL season on Sunday evening but for a handful of former Texas Longhorns players, their season begins on February 8. Four Longhorns will be taking the field as part of the rebirth of the XFL season of 2020.

Recently the initial depth charts for each of the eight participating teams in the XFL were announced. Here is where each former Longhorn is currently projected on the teams depth chart.

  • Jerrod Heard, 4th wide receiver for the Dallas Renegades
  • Patrick Vahe, backup right guard for the Los Angeles Wildcats
  • Cedric Reed, starting left defensive end for the Los Angeles Wildcats
  • Kent Perkins, starting left guard for the St Louis Battlehawks

In the opening weekend, XFL has the Battlehawks traveling to Dallas to take on the Renegades. Jerrod Heard and Kent Perkins will both be on display in that game. Dallas will play their home games at Globe Life Park, the former home of the Texas Rangers who move into a new stadium in March.

The other game with two longhorns will be on Saturday night when the LA Wildcats travel to Houston. Cedric Reed and Patrick Vahe will represent Texas as they play their first XFL game in the state where they played a majority of their college football. This game will be played at TDECU Stadium, the home of the University of Houston.

 

Jerrod Heard Among Former Longhorns in XFL

Jerrod Heard will be one of four former Longhorns set to play in the revival season of the XFL.

The NFL season will be wrapping up next Sunday with two former Longhorns getting a shot at a Super Bowl ring. While neither Alex Okafor or Marquise Goodwin will get an opportunity to actually play in the big game, they were part of the team prior to injuries ending their season. Football isn’t over despite the championship game on the horizon.

The XFL will be playing their first season since they folded the organization after one season in 2001. After a failed experiment with the Alliance of American football earlier this year, the XFL provides another avenue for players to chase their dream of playing professional football. For a handful of Longhorns, it is another opportunity to play they game they love on a National level.

Jerrod Heard is one of five Longhorns who joined the league in their draft. Heard will be playing wide receiver in Dallas for the Renegades. Heard played quarterback for Texas before switching to receiver. Following the switch, he caught 58 passes at Texas for 540 yards and four touchdowns.

Following the 2015 NFL Draft, Cedric Reed signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent. Reed also was a member of the Miami Dolphins before being out of the league. He never played a game at the NFL level, now Reed will be a member of the Los Angeles Wildcats.

Reed will be joined by former offensive lineman Patrick Vahe. He started 45 games for the Longhorns from 2015-2018. Vahe was a member of the Baltimore Ravens in 2019 when he signed with the team prior to training camp but released before the season started as they trimmed down rosters.

Kent Perkins will be representing Texas with the St. Louis Battlehawks. Perkins played one game in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2018 after being promoted from the practice squad. He retired from football the next season before re-emerging with St Louis of the XFL. Perkins played in Austin from 2013-2016 starting 34 games at right guard and tackle.

Davante Davis was originally with Tampa Bay Vipers before being waived on January 5, 2020. Davis would’ve made it five Longhorns in the XFL. Hopefully the former cornerback who played in 48 games in Texas gets another opportunity to play football again.