Yesterday, the USFL concluded its two-day draft with 276 players were drafted by the eight teams, and four of them played for local college football teams.
In the fifth round, the Houston Gamblers took offensive lineman Brandon Hitner (26-years-old) from Villanova. Hitner is from Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, and played 28 games in four seasons (2015-18) for the Wildcats.
In 2016, Hitner was named to the CAA Football All-Academic Team and was named a recipient of the CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award in 2017.
After college, Hitner tried out for the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Rams. He also had a brief stint with the Ottawa Redblacks of the CFL.
The Tampa Bay Bandits selected former Penn State cornerback Christian Campbell (26-years-old) from Phenix City, Alabama, in the tenth round.
Campbell played 44 games in four seasons (2014-17) for the Nitty Lions with 102 tackles, one sack, three interceptions, 24 pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.
After college, the Arizona Cardinals drafted Campbell in the sixth round (182nd pick) in the 2018 NFL Draft. He was cut during training camp. Campbell also had stints with the Saints, 49ers, and Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL.
In the seventeenth round, the Tampa Bay Bandits selected wide receiver Vinny Papale (25-years-old), the son of former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Vince Papale.
The Cherry Hill, New Jersey native, played 34 games in four seasons (2015-18) at Delaware with 55 catches for 866-yards, six touchdowns, and one carry for eight yards.
After college, Papale tried out for the Raiders, Eagles, and Redskins. He played for the Conquerors of the TSL for two seasons.
In the ninetieth round, the Tampa Bay Bandits took Anthony Cioffi (27-years-old) from Springfield, New Jersey.
Cioffi played 35 games in three seasons (2014-16) at Rutgers with 137 tackles, 1.5 sacks, eight interceptions, 17 pass breakups, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. After Rutgers, Cioffi tried out for the Oakland Raiders in 2017 but was released.
In 2018, he signed with the Ottawa Redblacks and played 33 games in two seasons with 110 tackles, four sacks, two pass breakups, one fumble recovery, two forced fumbles, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
Cioffi left the Redblacks and tried out for the New York Jets but was cut during training camp. He returned to the CFL in 2021, this time for the BC Lions, playing ten games with 26 tackles, one forced fumble, and one interception.
