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Several former Mizzou Tigers selected in XFL Draft

By Thomas Huitt-Johnson

ATHENS, GA - OCTOBER 12: L'Damian Washington #2 of the Missouri Tigers reacts after his touchdown reception against the Georgia Bulldogs with Marcus Lucas #85 at Sanford Stadium on October 12, 2013 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATHENS, GA - OCTOBER 12: L'Damian Washington #2 of the Missouri Tigers reacts after his touchdown reception against the Georgia Bulldogs with Marcus Lucas #85 at Sanford Stadium on October 12, 2013 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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Over the past two days, the XFL Draft took place. Several former Mizzou Tigers players were listed as possible selections, and multiple players were drafted.

Seven Mizzou Tigers are a part of professional football again.

L’Damian Washington, Marcus Lucas, Jacquies Smith, Kony Ealy, Walter Palmore, Marcell Frazier and Josh Augusta all were drafted this week in the inaugural XFL Draft.

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The XFL Draft had a different procedure than the NFL Draft.

Each team had 10 selections in four different phases of the game. Those phases were skill players, offensive line, front seven and defensive backs. Then, in the final portion of the draft labeled Phase 5, the teams had 30 rounds to draft any player they wanted in the open draft.

Washington was the first Mizzou player chosen, going in the fourth round of Phase 1 to the St. Louis BattleHawks. Lucas was right behind him, going in the sixth round to the same Battlehawks team.

There isn’t a better spot for the Mizzou alums to go. That’s great having them in their backyard playing the sport again.

Washington bounced around seven teams in two years before going to the CFL. Lucas lasted five years in the NFL and played on nine different teams, most recently with the Dallas Cowboy this past training camp.

https://twitter.com/MizzouFootball/status/1184839658787594240

The pair did a lot of damage during their time at Mizzou, and helped the Tigers win the SEC East division for the first time in 2013, just two years into joining the conference. That year, the Tigers won the Cotton Bowl over Oklahoma State 41-31.

Smith went in the fifth round of the front seven draft to the Seattle Dragons. It took a few years before Smith broke into the NFL after going undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft. But when he did, he left his mark for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He had 13.5 sacks in two years while in Tampa.

But over the past three seasons, Smith played on four different teams and wasn’t in a training camp this past summer.

Ealy was taken in the first round of the open draft by the Houston Roughnecks. Ealy played five years in the NFL on five different teams, and had one of the best Super Bowls for a defensive linemen of all time. He really was just a win away from being the Super Bowl 50 MVP for the Carolina Panthers.

Palmore, Frazier and Augusta also went in the open draft. Palmore went to the Roughnecks on the same line as Ealy while Frazier went to the Dragons to team on the D-Line with Smith. Augusta went to the DC Defenders.

The XFL Draft had more than 1,000 players available, including 11 Mizzou Tigers. The seven players who were not drafted were running back Kendial Lawrence, defensive tackles Josh Augusta and Walter Palmore, defensive end Marcell Frazier, linebackers Eric Beisel and Brandon Lee, and cornerback Aarion Penton.

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A supplemental draft will take place next month. There, players from the NFL who were released could enter the XFL as well as college players or CFL players whose seasons have ended.

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