New iteration of the XFL has arrived and it will feature former Notre Dame players

SOUTH BEND, Ind.—The debut game of the second iteration of the XFL is scheduled for Saturday.

The first game of the season will air February 8 on ABC. It will feature the Seattle Dragons against the D.C. Defenders at 2 p.m.

Notre Dame will be represented throughout the league this season.

Linebacker Nyles Morgan, a 2017 graduate, will wear #56 for the Dragons. Moran, a former captain, finished his career with 246 tackles.

Greer Martini, also a captain and 2017 graduate, will wear #48 for the Dallas Renegades, the same number he wore for the Irish. Martini finished his career with 191 tackles.

Jarron Jones, a defensive tackle for Notre Dame in 2016, will wear #74 and will play offensive tackle for the New York Guardians. A native of Rochester, New York, Jones finished with 105 tackles while playing defense for the Irish.

Former Irish running back Tarean Folston will begin the season on the injured reserve for the Tampa Bay Vipers. Folston rushed for over 1,700 yards and had 11 touchdowns during his career at Notre Dame.

There are a few differences between the NFL and XFL

If you’re a die-hard NFL fan looking for some extra football, there are some rule differences that you need to know.

The first change, and one of the biggest differences, the league will allow more than one forward pass, just as long as those passes come from behind the line of scrimmage.

Plus, offensive linemen will not be allowed to advance downfield before a forward pass crosses the line of scrimmage.

Up next: no fair catches. Everything will be a live ball.

The kicking team has to give a returner at least five yards of space to catch the ball.

Third, there will be closer kickoffs. Teams will be separated by five yards on kickoffs, instead of the 10 yards in the NFL.

Potentially one of the most exciting rule differences, no extra points will be allowed after touchdowns but the teams can go for one, two or three points: one point from the second yard line, two points from the five yard line or teams can go for three points from the 10 yard line.

As for extra time, get ready for an overtime shootout!

Each team gets five plays from the five yard line and they get one point each time they reach the end zone.

A continuous game clock will run until the two minute mark, at which time the clock will stop after all scrimmage plays.

There will be a 25 second play clock, a bit of a difference from the 40 second clock used by the NFL.

Finally, there will be only a 30 second instant replay clock. No more long breaks for replay reviews.