Pro football dream takes former O’Fallon lineman to the XFL’s St. Louis BattleHawks
Dewayne Hendrix has come a long way from the days of terrorizing the quarterbacks of the Southwestern Conference as an all-state defensive end for the O’Fallon Panthers.
But the 6-4, 270-pound Hendrix also admits there’s still some work to be done if he’s to realize his dream of playing in the National Football League.
That work continues in the rebooted XFL as a member of the St. Louis BattleHawks, which begin their inaugural season against the Dallas Renegades at Globe Life Park Sunday.
“With the different rules the league has, I think it’s going to be exciting for fans and players,” Hendrix said before practice on Wednesday. “There is no doubt that a lot of these guys in this locker room have tremendous ability and desire. We all have a dream and for me, every time I get to put on a helmet and play this game, I’m living my dream.
“The goal for a lot us is to play in the NFL. I’m working hard every day to be successful and to help this team be successful. I’m using this as a step.”
Hendrix, 24, has some pro football experience. He was signed by Miami in July of 2019 as an undrafted free agent defensive end out of the University of Pittsburgh and spent this past season on the practice teams of the Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars and the Chicago Bears.
Hendrix then signed with the BattleHawks on Jan. 9.
A 2014 graduate of O’Fallon High School, Hendrix was a two-year starter for coach Brandon Joggerst’s team. As a senior, he was rated as one of the high school players in the nation at any position.
“Dewayne was ranked the No. 5 defensive end coming out of high school in the nation by Rivals.com and the No. 78 overall player in the nation,” Joggerst said. “He had over 30 scholarships offers from school over all the country. He was very hard worker and great player to coach.”
Hendrix too has fond memories of his days in an O’Fallon uniform.
“It was a great time. The coaches, my teammates. ... but the best part of it were the Friday nights. There was nothing like the feeling I got,” Hendrix said. “I love being closer to home now, but I’m spending most of my time in St. Louis to stay focused on taking care of my business with the BattleHawks.
“I still stay in contact with a lot of my teammates. I talk to guys like Todd (Porter) and Darius (Mosley) a lot. We’re still pretty tight.”
After graduating, Hendrix chose the University of Tennessee, where he spent one season before transferring to the Atlantic Coast Conference and the University of Pittsburgh.
In 30 games with at Pitt, Hendrix was credited with 50 tackles, 30 solos and 7 1/2 sacks.
But now, 48 hours away from the debut of the St. Louis BattleHawks, Hendrix will l live his dream again when he puts on the BattleHawks helmet.
“It’s a great opportunity for all of us,” Hendrix said. “We’re doing what we have a passion to do which is play football.”
Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. Sunday. The game will be shown on ESPN. Week 2 brings a second trip to Texas to take on the Houston Roughnecks on Feb. 16, then the BattleHawks make their home debut against the New York Guardians on Feb. 23.
Tickets for the St. Louis BattleHawks Kickoff Game Powered by Ameren, as well as single game, premium and season ticket packages, are available now at www.xflbattlehawks.com or by contacting tickets@xflbattlehawks.com. Tickets start at $24 for single game and $20 per game for season ticket packages.
This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 10:53 AM.
