Former Towson Tiger keeps trucking in the XFL
Running back Darius Victor ’17 is one of the league’s best stories in inaugural season
By Kyle Hobstetter on March 4, 2020

Standing at just 5-foot-6 and 226 pounds, Darius Victor doesn’t look like the prototypical running back. That hasn’t stopped him from following his dream of playing professional football.
Victor, who has spent time in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals, is starting to make a name for himself in the XFL, a new spring football league owned by World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Vince McMahon.
Playing for the New York Guardians, Victor has become one of the highlights in the first four weeks of the season. Through just four games, Victor is the team’s leading rusher and is ranked sixth in the league with 180 yards on just 30 carries.
His runs have also been highlights on social media, with the XFL Twitter Account describing him as “ENITRELY too strong,” and a “truck stick machine,” (which is a term used to describe when the ball carrier runs over a defender).
Don't let data worries keep you from Twitter.
— Twitter (@Twitter) August 13, 2018
https://t.co/vt2K81Cnf3
It’s not surprising for anyone who has followed Victor since his time at TU. While in the Tigers’ backfield, he helped lead the team to the 2013 NCAA FCS Championship Game and was named the Colonial Athletic Association’s (CAA) Offensive Rookie of the Year. He also had two 1,000-yard rushing seasons and was named to the CAA First-Team.
And if you know Victor’s story before his time at TU, it’s not surprising to see him finding a way to fulfill his dream of playing professional football.
Born in 1994, Victor spent his first five years in a refugee camp in Africa’s Ivory Coast. His older brother Kevin was murdered in 2011 and then a year later a fire destroyed his family home.
With so much heartache before reaching the age of 20, he always had football — the sport for which he and his brother shared a love.
“You've got to be tough. Control what you can control, because life is never as bad as you think," Victor told CBS Sports. "I've been cut before, but at least I got there. I know millions of guys who wish they would've got the opportunity. I've been blessed. I tell people all the time that. God blessed me with the talent. So, I do whatever I need to do on the football field.”
With overcoming so much at an early age, and his success on the field, Victor has become one of early media standouts of the XFL.
Along with CBS Sports, Victor’s story has been featured on numerous websites including The Score, NPR and the Baltimore Sun.
NPR: XFL Running Back Darius Victor Plays Tough to Honor His Brother
Baltimore Sun: From desk jobs to pro football
The Score: Darius Victor’s Extraordinary journey to the XFL
With Victor making a name for himself each week, and a new social media video of him running over a defender coming after each game, he has set a goal for himself. He wants to get back to the NFL.
“You never know when your last down is," Victor told The Score. "Of course, I want to get back to the NFL. I'm trying to use this as a (springboard) back to the NFL. But I'm just taking the blessing of being able to play the game I love. I love playing football right now."