MM 10.9: Three Maryland alumni make XFL Draft Pool

The inaugural player draft for the XFL, America’s newest football league, will take place on October 15-16, 2019. As of now, three former Maryland football players are in the draft pool of eligible players.

Wide receiver Taivon Jacobs (‘18), tight end Derrick Hayward (‘17) and kicker Nick Novak (‘04) are all currently on the league’s official site. Jacobs was in Group No. 1, while the other two were added Tuesday in Group No. 2.

Jacobs finished up his time with the Terps last fall, closing his collegiate career with 91 catches for 1,115 yards and nine touchdowns. He wasn’t selected in the 2019 NFL Draft and the XFL will give him an opportunity to break into professional football.

Hayward played in all 49 games during his time at Maryland, but with the Terps failing to utilize tight ends often in his tenure, he finished with just eight career catches for 52 yards and a touchdown. Like Jacobs, Hayward never made it to an NFL training camp.

Novak is the most experienced of the bunch, as the 38-year-old has been all around the country since he left College Park. He wasn’t picked in the 2005 NFL Draft, but he ended up playing for eight different NFL franchises and participating in three other football leagues — NFL Europe, the United Football League and the Alliance of American Football.

Each day this week, the list of draft-eligible players will grow as more and more names are added. In total, there are expected to be over 1,000 players eligible for the league’s first player draft, which will commence next Tuesday.

In other news

Maryland basketball — both the men’s and women’s teams — announced the plans for a new performance center, which will be added as an attachment to the Xfinity Center.

Maryland football fan confidence rose with the team’s 48-7 win over Rutgers a week ago, despite the Terps losing starting quarterback Josh Jackson for an indeterminate amount of time.

In the NFL, a number of Terps — led by Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue — made an impact in their teams’ respective games in Week 5.

Maryland men’s lacrosse’s Anthony DeMaio is getting a big boost for the upcoming season — his family is moving closer to College Park.

Maryland football has broken a program record for the most points scored in five games in team history.

That record was achieved following the 48-7 blowout victory over the Scarlet Knights. Check out some of the highlights from the action.

Maryland volleyball head coach sat down for “Coffee with Coach Hughes” on Tuesday.

Today was Serrel Smith Jr. day for Maryland men’s basketball. Check out some Twitter content of the sophomore point guard.

Go inside a Maryland women’s basketball practice.

Five former Terps are playing in the WNBA Finals. Last night, the Connecticut Sun forced a Game 5 after a 90-86 win over the Washington Mystics. Winner takes all on Thursday in Washington.

Maryland wrestling is gearing up for its season, which starts in less than a month, in an... interesting way.

With the Premiere Lacrosse League and Major League Lacrosse, 24 former Terps won a championship this season.