UFL: Alabama football legend set to join St. Louis Battlehawks for a second season

An Alabama football legend will continue his career in St. Louis for a second season.

The St. Louis Battlehawks of the UFL (the product of the XFL-USFL merger) announced former Crimson Tide quarterback A.J. McCarron has agreed to contract terms and will rejoin the team for the upcoming UFL season.

McCarron impressed in the XFL last season, throwing for a league-leading 24 touchdowns in nine games. He also led the league with a 68.8% completion rate and ranked second with 2,150 passing yards. The Battlehawks finished with a 7-3 record but did not qualify for the postseason.

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Following the XFL season and an injury to starting quarterback Joe Burrow, the Cincinnati Bengals signed McCarron to their active roster to back up Jake Browning for the final six games of the 2023 regular season. Originally a fifth-round selection by Cincinnati in the 2014 NFL Draft, McCarron has also spent time as a backup with the Buffalo Bills, then-Oakland Raiders, Houston Texans, and Atlanta Falcons. Overall, McCarron has seven seasons of NFL experience, totaling 1,192 passing yards and six touchdowns with three interceptions across his handful of relief appearances. The Bengals released McCarron on Wednesday, clearing the way for him to reunite with the Battlehawks.

A native of Mobile, Alabama, 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. By the time he left for the NFL, McCarron was Alabama's all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns.

McCarron will be joined in St. Louis by Dallas Warmack, a former offensive lineman for the Crimson Tide who later transferred to Oregon. Warmack's older brother, Chance, was an integral part of the offensive lines McCarron played behind at Alabama.

Other former Alabama players in the UFL include running back Bo Scarbrough (Birmingham Stallions), wide receiver Slade Bolden (Stallions), guard Deonte Brown (Stallions), linebacker Reuben Foster (Houston Roughnecks), linebacker Dylan Moses (Memphis Showboats), defensive back Jared Mayden (Arlington Renegades) and guard Chris Owens (Renegades).

The UFL season kicks off on Saturday, March 30. Scarbrough, Bolden and Brown will meet Mayden and Owens when the USFL-champion Stallions take on the XFL-champion Renegades in the league's kickoff game. McCarron and Warmack will also play on opening day, as the Battlehawks will travel to Detroit to take on the Michigan Panthers.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football legend to rejoin St. Louis Battlehawks in the UFL