TAMPA, Fla. — A former Bull can now call himself an XFL champion after helping the Arlington Renegades take down the DC Defenders 35-26 Saturday night at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
Defensive tackle Bruce Hector, who played with the University of South Florida from 2013-17 and is a Tampa native, led the Renegades' defense to complete their Cinderella story after finishing the regular season with a losing 4-6 record.
Arlington scored in each quarter of the inaugural XFL Championship game to claim their hand on the trophy that features a prominent gold "X."
During the regular season, Hector started all 10 games for the Renegades.
In previous years, the 28-year-old played four seasons in the NFL for three teams.
Hector played 43 career games for USF and was an all-conference selection after he helped the Bulls perform the program's best-winning record in 2016 (11-2) and 2017 (10-2). He is tied for fourth all-time with 18 career sacks at USF.
There was another former Bull and Tampa native that competed in the XFL Championship, as defensive back KJ Sails was not able to lead the Defenders to victory.
Most fans in the Tampa Bay area may remember Sails from when he spent time with Tampa Mayor Jane Castor while at USF and had the privilege to be named the city's honorary Mayor of the Day back in February of 2021.
Sails has previously said he has a goal of becoming the mayor of Tampa one day, according to USF Athletics.
Before his time in the XFL, Sails spent the 2021 NFL season with the Los Angeles Chargers.