Battlehawks put retooled pass rush to the test at Michigan

Two things needed to happen over the offseason for the St. Louis Battlehawks to come back with improved or sustained playoff prospects. They needed AJ McCarron to remain at quarterback and improve the defense.

McCarron returned to everyone’s delight after finishing the previous NFL season with the Cincinnati Bengals. With key members of the offense retained, what was left was to take advantage of the casualties that came with the merger between the XFL and USFL, which went from separate 8-team spring leagues to four-team conferences in the newly formed UFL.

The Battlehawks enter the Week 1 road matchup against the Michigan Panthers at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 30, in Detroit, sporting a new pass rush with the addition of Pita Taumoepenu and Austin Faoli. Taumoepenu was named XFL Defensive Player of the Year after he amassed 7.5 sacks and a league-high four forced fumbles last season with the Vegas Vipers.

“He’s going to be a tremendous asset for us,” Battlehawks defensive coordinator Donnie Abraham said.

During his weekly Zoom press conference, Abraham stressed the symbiotic benefits between Taumoepenu performing for St. Louis and the coaching staff, which includes defensive line coach and former St. Louis Ram La'Roi Glover, helping Taumoepenu return to the NFL.

“As much as Pita is going to help us, I think we are going to help him a lot as well,” said Abraham, who also played in the NFL from 1996-2004. “We are going to teach him some things that he may not have known in the past and just get away with using athletic ability. La'Roi Glover’s working with him to make him an even better player and I think he’s going to do a tremendous job in our scheme.”

Faoli spent last year in Seattle with both the Sea Dragons of the XFL and the Seahawks of the NFL. The defensive tackle earned All-XFL status last year with 24 tackles and one sack in all 10 games.

They join a solid pass rush that returns outside linebackers Travis Feeney and Carson Wells. Wells totaled 45 tackles and 3.5 sacks and Feeney collected 32 tackles and five sacks last year. Prior to the XFL relaunch, Feeney played in the USFL in 2022, where he amassed 50 tackles and 4.5 sacks with the Tampa Bay Bandits.

The Panthers made the playoffs with a 4-6 record and lost in the semi-finals to the Pittsburgh Maulers. They too sport a player who won a Defensive Player of the Year award in Frank Ginda, who dominated USFL offenses to the tune of 104 tackles, a sack, and three interceptions.

“(The Panthers) are a talented group on defense,” Battlehawks quarterback AJ McCarron said. “They are big up front, good secondary. You really have to adjust on the fly as the game goes on to what they’re doing.”