Was former Alabama prep star picked No. 1 in XFL draft?

A player with Alabama football roots might have been the No. 1 pick in the XFL Rookie Draft on Friday.

The Orlando Guardians made the first selection in all 10 rounds of the XFL draft, and three of their choices came from Alabama high schools.

But the XFL Rookie Draft was a closed event, and the league released the 80 selections alphabetically by team on Friday afternoon, so there’s no indication which player went No. 1 or in any specific draft spot.

The selections included seven players from Alabama high schools and colleges:

Arlington Renegades

· South Alabama offensive lineman James Jackson

D.C. Defenders

· UAB wide receiver Trea Shropshire

Orlando Guardians

· Ole Miss defensive tackle KD Hill (Eufaula)

· Duke wide receiver Darius Joiner (Handley, Jacksonville State)

· Kentucky linebacker Jacquez Jones (Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa)

San Antonio Brahmas

· Texas tight end Jahleel Billingsley (Alabama)

Seattle Sea Dragons

· Texas Tech wide receiver Chad Townsend (Tanner, Alabama)

To be eligible for the XFL Rookie Draft, a player had to have been eligible for April’s NFL Draft and not under contract to another team.

Four of Friday’s selections played at Alabama high schools, and three played at state colleges before transferring. Joiner played four seasons at Jacksonville State before transferring to Western Illinois in 2021 and Duke in 2022. Billingsley played three seasons at Alabama before four appearances for Texas in 2022. Townsend was with the Crimson Tide for three seasons before spending three injured-filled seasons at Texas Tech.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.