For the Love of the Game

Vince McMahon, known as the industry leader in sports and entertainment, is the majority owner, chairman and CEO of WWE. He knows what sports fans want. Mr. McMahon has built an empire and filled arenas and stadiums all over the world with his megawatt wrestling company. Recently he took his second foray into the game of football.

This time around, he has let the game itself take center stage. He is hoping that fans will fill the stadiums for the love of the game. That has, in fact, become the tagline for the 2020 reincarnation of the XFL.

There is no doubt that there are enough players who play for the love of the game. Eight former Temple Owls are scattered around the eight-team league playing for many reasons. Some are looking to parlay solid film into a chance at the NFL. Others are just looking to play until their body can no longer take the pounding. But they all are playing for the love of the game.

Quarterback P.J. Walker has been the standout player in the league, and is the XFL's MVP through the first four weeks. Walker has thrown for a league-best 987 yards and 12 touchdowns while leading the Houston Roughnecks to a 4-0 record.

"I'll always, 100% root for P.J.," said Los Angeles Wildcats wide receiver Adonis Jennings, who once was a favorite target of Walker's at Temple. "Whatever the circumstances are, at the end of the day, we are family."

Jennings is joined in Los Angeles by offensive tackle Jaelin Robinson. The two last played together at Temple, with Walker, when the Owls won the 2016 American Athletic Conference Championship.

"100% I love that I get to play with Adonis," said Robinson. "I consider him a brother. We still have that same comradery, that same brotherhood that we had at TU. It's strong."

The feeling is mutual for Jennings, "I'm having a lot of fun playing the game I love. It helps having Jaelin over there with me. We continue to take care of each other."

Asked if he roots for his fellow Owls, Robinson added, "At the end of the day it's about the love of the game. During the game it's about competing but outside of the game, we go and we shake hands and appreciate our mutual love of the game."

The Seattle Dragons also have a pair of Owls in tight end Evan Rodriguez and defensive end Praise Martin-Oguike. The DC Defenders have offensive tackle Cole Boozer and the Tampa Bay Vipers have tight end Colin Thompson.

The most interesting addition to the league might be offensive lineman Derek Dennis, who played for the Owls from 2007-11. Following his career at Temple, he played eight seasons of professional football at every level. He spent time in the NFL with Miami, New England, Chicago and Carolina. He was in and out of the Arena Football League with the Arizona Rattlers. He was also a three-time all-star (2016, 2017-18) and offensive lineman of the year (2016) in the Canadian Football League with Calgary and Saskatchewan.

Dennis was granted free agency from the CFL on February 11 and signed with XFL Team 9 seven days later.

"I heard about the opportunity to play here in the XFL and I reached out to their scouts," said Dennis. "There is a rule in this league that teams can't pick up free agents off the street. So you have to join Team 9, a league-wide practice squad."

He was eventually assigned to the New York Guardians on February 25. He played his first game with the Guardians on February 29 – only on the field goal unit. That proved to be important in a 17-14 win over Los Angeles. New York converted on all three field goal attempts while Los Angeles had one blocked and missed another.

It helped the Guardians improve to 2-2. "Good timing, perfect timing," said Dennis. "I just got here three days ago so I think they wanted me to get acclimated. We will see how things go for next week."

Dennis obviously loves the game and he's hoping that his time in the XFL might help him with one more shot at the NFL. "I think it's a combination of both. I have a real love for the game. But I have a tremendous amount of passion for the game that I've played professionally for the last eight years. Any chance I have to showcase my talents, I'll take it. Hopefully, I'll be able to get another shot at the NFL."

He was part of the rebirth of Temple Football and is thrilled that the program has continued to grow. "I think my class, Al Golden's second recruiting class, we did a great job of setting the tone and building Temple football and that's carried over for a number of years. I remember [Athletic Director Bill Bradshaw] asking us about hiring Coach Rhule and we said 'Yes, hire Coach Rhule, because he will be able to continue the tradition that we started.' I think that they've done a great job of bringing in coaches who have that Temple TUFF mindset. It's a great pleasure as an alumni to see the younger generation keep it going."

Dennis was glowing when thinking back to his days at Temple. "We started with mottos like 'flip the switch' and 'put the ball down.' When guys come out of Temple they are smart, tough, they can learn, they can adapt to an environment. Let's be honest, if you go to school in North Philly, there are not many tougher places to go get an education."

There is something special that these Owls learned on 10^th and Diamond. They learned to love; to love the game of football, to love the university, to love each other.

"I'm loving it," summed up Robinson. "I love the guys, love the football. It's a great experience, it's a great opportunity."

Temple University Athletics

For the Love of the Game

Players Mentioned

Cole Boozer

Derek Dennis

Adonis Jennings

Praise Martin-Oguike

Jaelin Robinson

Evan Rodriguez

Colin Thompson

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