Mexico: Liga de Futbol Americano Draft a rousing success
By Roberto Arturo
After the dust had settled, 72 players coming from Mexico’s different college teams that form the Organizacion Nacional Estudiantil de Futbol Americano (ONEFA) were selected to be a part of one of the ten Liga de Futbol Americano (LFA) teams.
The event was held at an auditorium located in Mexico City. Earlier that week, the league published the draft format: six rounds were held in person, with attendance of several of the top prospects, while supplementary rounds were held for teams that wanted to choose any of the remaining college players.
The draft itself was characterized by a run of offensive linemen in the first round, with four of the first five selections from this position group. That included first overall selection Ernesto Landa, who played with the Aguilas Blancas IPN in college, but will now play with Raptors in the nearby Mexico State.
With the second selection, Dios de Saltillo traded up to get running back Julio Covarrubias. He played his college football in nearby Monterrey and became two-time National Champion with the Borregos Salvajes Monterrey (the last one being this past November). Covarrubias will now start his professional career in his hometown.
Pumas CU and Aguilas Blancas IPN finished as the schools who had the most players selected, with each having a total of 12 players selected in the draft. Of the LFA teams, Reyes de Jalisco and Galgos de Tijuana made the most selections, with 15 and 14 players, respectively, On the other side, the Dinos continued their tradition of preferring a team full of veterans, with their only selection this draft being Covarrubias.
The full list of selected players is as follows:
| Round | Selection | LFA Team | Name | Position | College Team |
| 1 | 1 | Raptors | Aminael Ernesto Landa Tinajero | OL | Águilas Blancas |
| 1 | 2 | Dinos | Julio César Covarrubias Elizondo | RB | Borregos MTY |
| 1 | 3 | Reyes | Johan Aldair Vázquez Torres | OL | Auténticos Tigres |
| 1 | 4 | Mexicas | Cristobal Gabriel Luna Castro | OL | Pumas CU |
| 1 | 5 | Fundidores | Issac Ricardo Cuevas Cervantes | OL | Borregos MTY |
| 1 | 6 | Galgos | José Pablo Sánchez Martínez | DB | Águilas Blancas |
| 1 | 7 | Gallos | Jacobo Sánchez Arista | DL | Borregos CEM |
| 1 | 8 | Raptors | Héctor Alexis Rodríguez Ruiz | WR | Linces UVM |
| 1 | 9 | Jefes | Omar Iván Escarcega Lozano | DL | Águilas UACH |
| 1 | 10 | Caudillos | Iván Hernández Gleason | DL | Pumas Acatlán |
| 2 | 11 | Raptors | César Mandujano Burgos | DB | Burros Blancos |
| 2 | 12 | Raptors | Saúl Enriue Zanatta Torres | OL | Pumas Acatlán |
| 2 | 13 | Reyes | Raúl Espinoza Recinos | OL | Borregos Puebla |
| 2 | 14 | Mexicas | Fabrizzio Giombini Galicia | DB | Pumas Acatlán |
| 2 | 15 | Galgos | Manuel Espriu Pérez | WR | Borregos Qro |
| 2 | 16 | Galgos | José Antonio Gutiérrez Martínez | DB | Águilas Blancas |
| 2 | 17 | Reyes | Miguel Ángel Aguilar Pastrana | LB | Pumas CU |
| 2 | 18 | Fundidores | Claudio Montalvo Garza | TE | Auténticos Tigres |
| 2 | 19 | Reyes | Alfonso Josué Mendoza Baca | LB | Linces UVM |
| 2 | 20 | Reds | Brandon Omar Pérez Cerna | DL | Pumas CU |
| 3 | 21 | Gallos | Aarón Jesrrel Pacheco García | WR | Pumas CU |
| 3 | 22 | Galgos | Armando Macías Barajas | OL | Águilas Blancas |
| 3 | 23 | Reyes | Alejandro Coronado Pulgarín | WR | Lobos UAC |
| 3 | 24 | Galgos | Álvaro Vinageras Fuentes | LB | Pumas CU |
| 3 | 25 | Raptors | Julió Bernardo García Cabrera | OL | Pumas CU |
| 3 | 26 | Galgos | César Gerardo González De Luna | WR | Auténticos Tigres |
| 3 | 27 | Gallos | Benjamín Ezra Dimas Aguilera | OL | Leones AQ |
| 3 | 28 | Fundidores | Carlos Emiliano Valdez Martínez | RB | Auténticos Tigres |
| 3 | 29 | Jefes | Humberto Beltrán Saenz | DB | Indios UACJ |
| 3 | 30 | Caudillos | Axel Eduardo Aguirre Serna | Ol | Águilas UACH |
| 4 | 31 | Reyes | Acssel Alejandro Rodríguez Aguirre | DL | Borregos GDL |
| 4 | 32 | Galgos | Ricardo Zamora Espinoza | DB | Cimarrones UABC |
| 4 | 33 | Reyes | César Antonio García García | LB | Burros Blancos |
| 4 | 34 | Mexicas | Fernnado Daniel Socorro Mohedano | LB | Pumas CU |
| 4 | 35 | Raptors | Andoni Ruíz Mancilla | LB | Pumas Acatlán |
| 4 | 36 | Reyes | Christopher Real López | DL | Tecos UAG |
| 4 | 37 | Fundidores | Oscar Ulises Patricio Muñoz | DB | Pumas CU |
| 4 | 38 | Raptors | Raúl Reyes Nuncio | QB | Pumas CU |
| 4 | 39 | Caudillos | Alejandro Baliño Damián | LB | Águilas Blancas |
| 4 | 40 | Reds | Bradon Vera Garita | DL | Burros Blancos |
| 5 | 41 | Galgos | Emmnauel Mariscal González | OL | Águilas Blancas |
| 5 | 42 | Reyes | Eirvng Jair Rivero Padilla | DL | Tecos UAG |
| 5 | 43 | Mexicas | Anuar Daniel De La Concha Hernández | WR | Pumas CU |
| 5 | 44 | Raptors | Carlos Emilio García Delgado | WR | Burros Blancos |
| 5 | 45 | Gallos | Jose Juan Olguin Hernández | OL | Leones AC |
| 5 | 46 | Fundidores | Ricardo Alejandro Angüiz Vázquez | QB | Águilas Blancas |
| 5 | 51 | Reds | Jonathan Alejandro Vázquez Sánchez | K | Leones AN |
| 5 | 52 | Galgos | Rodrigo De La Rosa García | OL | Cimarrones UABC |
| 5 | 53 | Reyes | Rodrigo Rojas Armenta | WR | Tecos UAG |
| 5 | 54 | Mexicas | Jaime García Gonzáles | RB | Águilas Blancas |
| 6 | 55 | Raptors | Xavier Alejandro García León | LB | Águilas Blancas |
| 6 | 57 | Gallos | Alonso Hernández Arteaga | WR | Borregos Qro |
| 6 | 58 | Fundidores | Jorge Iván Castro Hernández | OL | Águilas Blancas |
| 6 | 59 | Reds | José Manuel Flores Jiménez | DB | Búhos |
| 6 | 60 | Galgos | Mauricio García Bernal | WR | Águilas Blancas |
| 6 | 61 | Reyes | Arturo Calderón Huerta | TE | Borregos Qro |
| 6 | 62 | Mexicas | Edson Jhair Martínez Camacho | WR | Leones AN |
| 6 | 63 | Raptors | Eduardo Antonio Calderón Salazar | DL | Burros Blancos |
| 6 | 64 | Gallos | Fernando Sebastián López Pacheco | DL | Leones AQ |
| 6 | 65 | Reds | Sebastián Belaunzarán Sautto | LB | Burros Blancos |
| 7 | 66 | Galgos | Abraham Cortés Mata | LB | Cimarrones UABC |
| 7 | 67 | Reyes | Fernando Hazel Ascencio Baumgarten | DL | Borregos GDL |
| 7 | 68 | Mexicas | Fernando Jack Rodríguez Grajeda | WR | Pumas CU |
| 7 | 69 | Raptors | Santiago Arnaud Chávez | OL | Linces UVM |
| 7 | 70 | Gallos | Ricardo Contreras Amados | LB | Leones AQ |
| 7 | 71 | Galgos | Mario Isaac Barajas Martínez | OL | Cimarrones UABC |
| 8 | 72 | Reyes | Ezequiel Morales Espinosa | QB | Tecos UAG |
| 8 | 66 | Galgos | Abraham Cortés Mata | LB | |
| 8 | 67 | Reyes | Fernando Hazel Ascencio Baumgarten | DL | |
| 8 | 68 | Mexicas | Fernando Jack Rodríguez Grajeda | WR | |
| 8 | 69 | Raptors | Santiago Arnaud Chávez | OL | |
| 8 | 70 | Gallos | Ricardo Contreras Amados | LB | |
| 9 | 71 | Galgos | Mario Isaac Barajas Martínez | OL | |
| 9 | 72 | Reyes | Ezequiel Morales Espinosa | QB |
The LFA 2023 season is set to begin on March 4th.
