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Minster High School graduate Ethan Wolf will play with the D.C. Defenders in the XFL Championship Game in San Antonio on Saturday. Photo via XFL DC Defenders
When Ethan Wolf was waived by the New Orlean Saints last May, the Minster High School graduate had a feeling his professional football career was winding down.
On Saturday, one year to the day of his release by the Saints, Wolf, 27, will be playing for the D.C. Defenders in the XFL Championship Game in San Antonio against the Arlington Renegades.
"It's been a blast," said Wolf in a phone call last week during bye week after the Defenders defeated Seattle in the North Division championship game at Audi Field in Washington. "It's not been the time of year that I'm used to playing ball. No one knew how this was going to turn out. We came into training camp fired up and ready to play."
After a successful four-year college football career at the University of Tennessee, Wolf bounced around the National Football League as an undrafted free agent. Wolf had signed deals with seven NFL teams, most of which ended with him being cut during training camps.
Wolf made practice squads with the Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts and the Saints, and in New Orleans he finally got the chance to suit up for two regular-season games in 2021, making two catches for eight yards as a tight end.
Then came the release in early 2022, with no teams signing him during the offseason.
"With the coaching move (Dennis Allen replacing Sean Payton as head coach), they were trying to make some moves. I didn't really see that coming," Wolf said. "That was four years in the league and I got some time. I was getting worn out with the bouncing around (from team to team). I was questioning whether or not I wanted to keep going or move on to something else. I've been playing ball for a long time."
Then the XFL came into view. The league originally started by World Wrestling Entertainment Chairman Vince McMahon in the early 2000s and was revived for half a season in 2020 before the pandemic halted play.
It was brought back again by a group featuring former wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, setting up for a return to play in 2023 with a spring schedule rather than the fall/winter setup of the NFL and NCAA.
Wolf has caught two touchdown passes this season in the XFL. Photo via XFL DC Defenders
The Defenders selected Wolf in the eighth-round of the specialized draft that focused on offensive skill players.
"They contacted me. Didn't even go through my agent," Wolf said. "They called directly, and I didn't really know what to expect. All I knew is I wanted to have fun and play the game I grew up loving and playing back in Minster."
With former NFL player Reggie Barlow as head coach and veteran NFL coach Gregg Williams as defensive coordinator, the Defenders have dominated, going 9-1 in the 10-game regular season.
The coaches worked hard to have the Defenders ready to play.
"We've got a group of dogs, man," Wolf said. "We were going at it from day one. Competing, competing, competing. It's really paid off through the season. We try to show when we go out there that we have the best team in this league, from head to toe. The coaches do a great job getting into scenarios to win. We've got some dudes that make some plays."
Playing in an offense that employs the tight end in a number of different ways, Wolf has been used as a blocker, a pass catcher and even on some short runs in the offense.
Wolf caught his first professional touchdown on March 5 in the Defenders' win over St. Louis. His second came April 30 in the North Division final against Seattle, where his 26-yard scoring grab helped the Defenders defeat the Sea Dragons 37-21 to advance to face the Renegades this Saturday.
"There's no other option for us," Wolf said about expectations for Saturday's title game. "That's the mindset of the entire team. I've never been on a team like this where everybody is close with the camaraderie of the offense and defense. We still meet separately, but we stay at the same hotel and ride the buses together. We're always together."
D.C. Defenders tight end Ethan Wolf. Photo via XFL Defenders
With a roster of 45 active players per game and a total of 51 players, Wolf is also part of the special teams, serving as a blocker on kickoffs.
"Even with having 51 guys, there's not a scout team (running the opposing teams' plays)," Wolf said. "It's best-on-best every play in practice. They work us hard and get us involved in interesting ways at the tight end position."
That also meant playing through pain. Wolf missed three games during the regular season with an ankle injury that still affects him.
"I hobbled my way (to the end zone) on that touchdown after turning my ankle in the second quarter," Wolf said of his scoring catch against Seattle. "It's been nagging all year. It made me sick to my stomach to watch my boys out there playing without me, so you just bite the bullet and fight through the pain."
Life on the road in the XFL isn't quite like his days on the NFL practice squads. The teams stay in hotels during the season and the base salary is roughly $60,000 per season.
"There's some things they have to iron out with off-the-field stuff through the league," said Wolf. "But it's a startup league and you have to expect that. They're trying to make money. We're taken care of but it's tight quarters and logistically, it's a bit of a nightmare. But at the end of the day when you roll the ball onto the field, we're having fun. The Defenders show that more than any team in the league."
For now, thinking about getting back into the NFL based on his performance with the Defenders is not really on Wolf's mind.
"Definitely you want NFL teams calling you and telling you they want you to be on their club. I tried not to worry about that. If it happens, it happens," he said. "I can at least lay my head down at night and say I made it there, played in a game and caught a pass on Monday Night Football. At the end of the day I've got that to hang my hat on. It helps focus me for the task at hand. The only way I get that call back is the way I perform. I'm grinding through it because it has been a grind."
At Minster High School, Wolf was second team All-Ohio in 2012 and 2013.
Minster grad Ethan Wolf playing for the University of Tennessee.
