The St. Louis Battlehawks re-signed running back Mataeo Durant, wide receiver Jahcour Pearson, offensive lineman Juwann Bushell-Beatty, linebacker Callahan O’Reilly, and defensive backs Brandon Sebastian, Chris Payton-Jones, and Kameron Kelly on Monday according to the UFL Transactions page.
Mataeo Durant is five foot eleven and weighs 196 pounds. The 24-year-old from Plum Branch, South Carolina, has 22 carries for 134 yards, one touchdown, and five catches for 18 yards in three games before he was placed on injured reserve and missed the rest of the 2024 season.
Durant signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent on May 10, 2022. He played two preseason games with three carries for 11 yards, and two catches for six yards before Durant was released on August 23, 2022.
The St. Louis Battlehawks drafted Durant in the fourth round (31st pick) in Phase 1 of the 2023 XFL Draft. In 2023, Durant had 41 carries for 126 yards and 11 catches for 78 yards in nine games.
Collegiately, Durant played four seasons at Duke (2018-21) with 489 carries for 2,562 yards, 18 touchdowns, 55 catches for 480 yards, four touchdowns, 12 tackles (10 solo, 2 assists), and one forced fumble in 44 games for the Blue Devils. Durant became the ninth player to surpass the 2,000-rushing-yard mark during his career.
Jahcour Pearson is five foot seven and weighs 178 pounds. The 26-year-old from Broward County, Florida, was drafted by the St. Louis Battlehawks in the 2024 UFL Dispersal Draft. In 2024, Pearson made 26 catches for 217 yards, one touchdown, and 2 carries for 10 yards in 6 games. In the 2024 UFL playoffs, Pearson made 2 catches for 12 yards.
Pearson attended the New York Giants and New York Jets rookie minicamps in 2022. Then, the Seattle Sea Dragons drafted Pearson in the fourth round (27th pick) in Phase 1 of the 2023 XFL Draft. In 2023, he made 60 catches for 670 yards, four touchdowns, and three punt returns for 20 yards in ten games for the Seattle Sea Dragons (XFL) in 2023. He was named to the All-XFL Team in 2023 and led the league in receptions and receiving yards.
Collegiately, Pearson played three seasons at Western Kentucky (2017-19) with 96 catches for 976 yards, seven touchdowns, 11 carries for two yards, three kick returns for 44 yards, and one punt return for ten yards in 34 games for the Hilltoppers. He was named Second Team All-C-USA in 2019. Then, Pearson transferred to Ole Miss in 2021 with 26 catches for 392 yards, and four carries for 30 yards in 13 games for the Rebels.
Juwann Bushell-Beatty is six foot five and weighs 328 pounds. The 28-year-old from Paramus, New Jersey, started 9 games for the St. Louis Battlehawks in 2024. St. Louis’s offense ranked sixth in total offense yards (2,721), third in rushing yards (977), seventh in passing yards (1,744), sixth in yards per game (272.1), and second in touchdowns (30).
Juwann Bushell-Beatty signed with the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent on April 30, 2019. He was released on May 28, 2019. Next, Bushell-Beatty signed with the Dallas Cowboys on August 7, 2019, and was released on August 31, 2019.
The St. Louis Battlehawks drafted Bushell-Beatty in the ninth round (67th pick) in Phase 2 of the 2020 XFL Draft. However, the Battlehawks traded him to the Houston Roughnecks. He played three games before the season shutdown due to COVID-19.
After the XFL, Bushell-Beatty signed with the Carolina Panthers on May 1, 2020. He was released on July 31, 2020. Then, he signed with the Ottawa Redblacks on March 3, 2021. He played one game for the Redblacks. After Ottawa, Bushell-Beatty was drafted by the Tampa Bay Bandits (USFL) in the 7th round (58th pick) of the 2022 USFL Draft. He played 10 games and became a free agent after the season.
The St. Louis Battlehawks (XFL) drafted Bushell-Beatty in the first round (1st pick) of the 2023 XFL Supplemental Draft. He played 10 games for the Battlehawks in 2023. In 2023, St. Louis finished second in points (249), third in passing (2,262), fourth in total yards (3,097), and sixth in rushing (835).
Collegiately, Bushell-Beatty played five seasons at Michigan (2014-18) playing left tackle and right tackle in 33 games for the Wolverines. He was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention in 2018 and played in the East-West Shrine Game.
Callahan O’Reilly is six foot two and weighs 230 pounds. The 25-year-old from Bozeman, Montana, attended the Chicago Bears rookie minicamp in 2023 but was not offered a contract. Then, he signed with the St. Louis Battlehawks on November 28, 2023. In 2024, O’Reilly made 20 tackles (11 solo, 9 assists), two tackles for loss, and one sack in three games before he was placed on injured reserve and missed the rest of the 2024 season.
Collegiately, O’Reilly played five seasons at Montana State (2018-22) with 277 tackles (149 solo, 128 assists), 15.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, six interceptions for 121 yards, one touchdown, 11 pass breakups, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, two carries for 80 yards, and one touchdown in 54 games for the Bobcats. He was named First Team All-Big Sky Conference in 2022.
Brandon Sebastian is six foot and weighs 182 pounds. The 25-year-old from West Haven, Connecticut, signed with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent on May 13, 2022. In 2022, Sebastian made 12 tackles (8 solo, 4 assists) in three preseason games.
Then, Sebastian was drafted by the St. Louis Battlehawks in the fourth round (30th pick) in Phase 2 of the 2022 XFL Draft. Sebastian made 25 tackles (20 solo, 5 assists), three interceptions, and 10 pass breakups in 10 games for the Battlehawks in 2023.
In 2024, Sebastian made 14 tackles (10 solo, 4 assists), one tackle for loss, one interception, and five pass breakups in seven games before he was placed on injured reserve and missed the rest of the season.
Collegiately, Sebastian played four seasons at Boston College (2018-21) making 141 tackles (108 solo, 33 assists), four tackles for loss, one sack, eight interceptions for 39 yards, 37 pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery in 44 games for the Eagles.
Chris Payton-Jones is six foot and weighs 230 pounds. The 29-year-old from Jacksonville, Florida, was drafted by the St. Louis Battlehawks in the 2024 UFL Dispersal Draft. He made 37 tackles (31 solo, 6 assists), 2 tackles for loss, 5 pass breakups, and one forced fumble in 10 games for the St. Louis Battlehawks in 2024.
Chris Payton-Jones signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent on April 28, 2018. He also spent time with the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, and Tennessee Titans. He played 29 NFL games making 48 tackles (40 solo, 8 assists) and seven pass breakups.
Next, Payton-Jones signed with the Seattle Sea Dragons on November 17, 2022. In 2023, Payton-Jones made 20 tackles (16 solo, 4 assists) and 5 pass breakups in 10 games.
Collegiately, Payton-Jones played four seasons at Nebraska (2014-17) making 76 tackles (65 solo, 11 assists), 5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 5 interceptions or 60 yards, 1 touchdown, 16 pass breakups, and one fumble recovery in 54 games for the Cornhuskers.
Kameron Kelly is six foot two and weighs 205 pounds. The 28-year-old from Round Rock, Texas, signed with the St. Louis Battlehawks on January 22, 2024. He made 44 tackles (27 solo, 17 assists), one tackle for loss, 3 interceptions, 5 pass breakups, and one forced fumble in 10 games in 2024.
Kelly signed with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent on April 30, 2018. He was released on September 1, 2018. In 2019, Kelly played for the San Diego Fleet (AAF) making 19 tackles (15 solo, 4 assists), 4 interceptions for 22 yards, and one touchdown in 8 games. In the same year, he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He made 21 tackles (17 solo, 4 assists) and one pass breakup in 14 games.
Next, Kelly signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on February 17, 2021. He played two seasons in Hamilton making 86 tackles, one tackle on special teams, 3 sacks, and 6 interceptions in 31 games. After Hamilton, Kelly signed with the San Antonio Brahmas on February 15, 2023. In 2023, he made 16 tackles (11 solo, 5 assists) and three pass breakups in 9 games.
Collegiately, Kelly played four seasons at San Diego State (2014-17) making 165 tackles (110 solo, 55 assists), 8 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 27 pass breakups, 10 interceptions, and 6 kick returns for 133 yards in 46 games for the Aztecs. He was named First Team All-MWC in 2017.
