AJ McCarron returns to Alabama as Battlehawks take on undefeated Stallions

It’s been a long time coming for St. Louis Battlehawks quarterback AJ McCarron.

The Mobile, Alabama native, a decade removed from graduating from the University of Alabama with three national championships, will play a professional football game on Saturday, May 11, as his Battlehawks take on the Birmingham Stallions in what is undoubtedly the game of the UFL season.

“It's gonna be interesting to see how many Alabama fans root for St. Louis or how many of them root against me,” McCarron said. “It'll be a fun atmosphere either way. I'm excited about it.”

Both teams are currently on top of their respective conferences and on track to clash in the UFL Championship Game in June. The Battlehawks are 5-1 on a five-game winning streak and boost the No. 1 offense in the league. The Stallions are the league’s lone undefeated team and are built behind the No. 1 rated defense in the UFL.

“You want to be in games that matter,” Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht said. “You want to be in games where you know that they say they're the best team. And I think this is a game where we talk about our team and everybody has to play well. I think we know who our best players are. Our best players have to show up in this game.”

The matchup is headlined by the quarterbacks. McCarron leads the UFL in passing touchdowns with 13, which is five more than former Battlehawks and current DC Defenders QB Jordan Ta’amu, who has eight.

“He’s been on the biggest stage his whole career,” Battlehawks offensive coordinator Bruce Gradkowski said. “That’s when A.J. rises to the occasion most. I’d love to see the stadium packed. He’s basically going home, so it’s a cool game.”

McCarron became the star of spring football after a decade-long career in the NFL. He was drafted in the fifth round by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2014 and even started in a playoff game in 2015. He was a backup for four other teams and injuries initially knocked him out of the game entirely in 2021. He made a comeback with the XFL as a way for his kids to see him perform as a starting QB rather than a backup. After an MVP season in the XFL, McCarron returned to the Bengals as a backup in 2023. He returned to the Battlehawks after asking for his release from the Bengals in February. He continues to carry the torch as the UFL’s top passer.

“We selected A.J. for a reason last year. We looked at more than 100 quarterbacks,” Becht said. “We really like our offensive line and thought we could build something here, so let’s get a quarterback who could operate in the framework once the play comes in. There’s no one better than him in this league the last two years.”

Meanwhile, Birmingham’s dual-threat single caller Adrian Martinez has thrown for 971 yards and ranks second in the UFL in rushing with 327 yards on just 31 carries. He is the only player in the league to rush for more than 150 yards and throw for 350 yards this season.

Martinez recently said on "The No. 1 College Football Show with RJ Young," that the dynamics of the Stallions' offense comes from taking “what the defense is giving us.”

“They want to try and take away my running ability, we can do it through the air, and I think we've been able to prove that," Martinez said. "And then, on the flip side, when we played Houston, they wanted to sit back in coverage; they wanted to try and take away the pass game, so there's a lot of rushing lanes, and that's the result of that.”

The Stallions defense is led by Kyahva Tezino, who is No. 6 in the UFL in tackles (42), one more than Battlehawks linebacker Willie Harvey (41). Birmingham’s pass rush features UFL sack leader Carlos Davis, while last year’s XFL Defensive Player of the Year Pita Taumoepenu has made the St. Louis defense threatening to opposing quarterback with four sacks of his own.

A win over the Stallions will not only cement the Battlehawks’ case as the top team in the UFL but also keep their lead in the XFL Conference standings.