AJ McCarron's homecoming: 5 things to know before the Battlehawks vs. Stallions UFL game
For the first time in over a decade, A.J. McCarron will play a football game in the state of Alabama.
The Alabama football legend is the starting quarterback for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the United Football League. McCarron and the Battlehawks will take on the Birmingham Stallions this Saturday in what the Battlehawks' X/Twitter account has dubbed "a homecoming a decade in the making."
a homecoming a decade in the making. pic.twitter.com/RhOG6ChzJM
— St. Louis Battlehawks (@XFLBattlehawks) May 7, 2024
A native of Mobile, Ala., McCarron won three national championships with the Crimson Tide under head coach Nick Saban. He started for back-to-back national championship teams in 2011-12 and finished his Alabama career as one of the most accomplished and celebrated players in program history. In his 2013 senior season, McCarron won the Maxwell Award, the Kellen Moore Award and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, was named a first-team All-American and finished second in Heisman Trophy voting. By the time he left for the NFL, McCarron was Alabama's all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns.
This is McCarron's second season with the Battlehawks. Last season, he led the XFL in touchdown passes with 24 and the Battlehawks to a 7-3 record, although the team missed the playoffs due to a point differential tiebreaker. This season, now part of the XFL conference within the UFL, McCarron again leads the league in touchdown passes with 13 and has St. Louis atop the XFL conference.
Here are five more things to know about A.J. McCarron and the UFL ahead of Saturday's matchup between the Battlehawks and Stallions:
More: UFL: Alabama football legend set to join St. Louis Battlehawks for a second season
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What is the United Football League?
The UFL is a new spring professional football league playing its inaugural season. The UFL is the product of a merger between the USFL and the XFL. It contains eight teams divided into two conferences, the USFL conference and the XFL conference. The two conferences each contain four teams from the previous versions of the respective leagues.
McCarron's St. Louis Battlehawks are in the XFL conference along with the Arlington Renegades, D.C. Defenders and San Antonio Brahmas. The Birmingham Stallions are reigning back-to-back USFL champions, sharing the USFL conference with the Houston Roughnecks, Memphis Showboats and Michigan Panthers.
What are the Battlehawks and Stallions records?
The Battlehawks and Stallions currently lead their respective conferences and look like the two best teams in the UFL. St. Louis sits at 5-1, having lost its first game on a last-second field goal but riding a five-game winning streak since then.
Birmingham, meanwhile, is the only undefeated team in the UFL at 6-0. The Stallions are also the only team to have clinched a postseason berth.
When was AJ McCarron's last game in Alabama?
McCarron's last game in Alabama tends to leave a sour taste in the mouths of Crimson Tide fans.
Since McCarron did not play in the Senior Bowl in his hometown of Mobile leading up to the 2014 NFL Draft, the last game he played in the state was on Nov. 30, 2013, in Auburn. That game ended with perhaps the most famous play in Iron Bowl history, a game-winning 109-yard kick return touchdown by Auburn's Chris Davis after a missed Alabama field goal, known forever to college football fans as "The Kick Six."
What has AJ McCarron's career been like since Alabama?
McCarron was drafted in the fifth round (164th overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. When starter Andy Dalton went down late in the 2015 season, McCarron started the Bengals' last three games, including a Wild Card playoff game in which they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
After four seasons in Cincinnati, McCarron signed with the Buffalo Bills in 2018. From there, he was traded to the then-Oakland Raiders, who released him in 2019. He signed with the Houston Texans for the 2019 season, starting their 2019 season finale as the team was already locked into its postseason seed. He also spent 2020 with the Texans before joining the Atlanta Falcons in 2021. In week two of the 2021 preseason, McCarron tore his ACL and was placed on injured reserve, ending his season.
McCarron joined the Battlehawks in 2022 and was named their starter for 2023. He quickly became a breakout star in the XFL and was among the league's best quarterbacks. When Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow went down for the season, McCarron rejoined Cincinnati as the backup to Jake Browning. When the NFL season ended, McCarron requested his release from the Bengals to rejoin the Battlehawks.
What channel is the Battlehawks vs Stallions game on?
Date: Saturday, May 11
Time: 3 p.m. CT
Channel: FOX
The St. Louis Battlehawks at Birmingham Stallions game will air live on FOX from Protective Stadium in Birmingham at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday, May 11.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: AJ McCarron homecoming game: Battlehawks-Stallions UFL game preview
