ST. LOUIS– A.J. McCarron’s first completed pass in a pro football game that counted came for the Cincinnati Bengals against the St. Louis Rams on Nov. 29, 2015. After an NFL career that’s seen him play for five NFL teams, his next professional pass should come as a St. Louis Battlehawk.

McCarron, the three-time national champion quarterback at Alabama, and Ryan Willis, who played in college at Kansas and Virginia Tech, were announced as the quarterbacks for the XFL’s Battlehawks Tuesday. The XFL will hold its draft Wednesday and Thursday in Las Vegas.

Head Coach Anthony Becht said his staff evaluated close to 85 quarterbacks before choosing the pair, which he said would engage in a true competition for the starting job. 

“We felt like with the two guys that we picked they gave us everything we needed to have a successful team, a leader for the team,” Becht said.

McCarron, who tore an ACL in the 2021 preseason for the Atlanta Falcons and missed last season, told reporters that he’s known for months that he’d be part of the team, which will practice and train in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area but will play its home games at the Dome at America’s Center. The Battlehawks’ offensive coordinator is Bruce Gradkowski, who was actually a playing contemporary–McCarron was with the Bengals while Gradkowski was in Pittsburgh. 

While McCarron was a celebrated college football player, injuries have gotten in the way at the NFL level. “Never really got a chance to be the guy that he really was in college at the next level and when I talked to him I thought at his age, I felt like he’s got a lot of juice, a lot of fire in the tank, and I just asked him quite frankly, I said look you’re at a crossroad right now. You still obviously have a desire to play at the highest level. I know you’re a high-level quarterback but you need to get on film at this point, you need to play games you need to get in front of a big crowd in certain situations,” Becht said in describing his conversations with the signal caller. 

“I’ve been playing the game of football since I was 3 years old was when I first started.I know everybody’s days are numbered in this great game. But I still have plenty left and I’m just excited to get back playing,” McCarron, a father of three kids under the age of 6, said. His oldest son only slightly remembers his dad’s play in 2021 so the idea of playing again and creating more family memories was also a factor.

If McCarron had a runway of a few months to comprehend what it would be like playing in St. Louis, Willis’ timeline was a bit shorter– as in a couple weeks. The Overland Park, KS native said he was driving to a tire shop last month when he got the call from the team’s front office asking him if he wanted to come on board. He said yes with no hesitation.

Willis started 10 games as a freshman at Kansas in 2015 and six in 2016, before transferring to Virginia Tech, where he played in 2018 and 2019. In 2021, he played in The Spring League, before signing with the Chicago Bears where he was on the active roster late in the season.

He said he’s already fielded congratulatory texts from former teammates, including one of this year’s Heisman frontrunners, Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker, who shared the QB room with him for two years at Virginia Tech.

His response to Hooker?

“Hey man, we’ve got a different route but we’re going to the same destination…this is a great platform for guys like myself to get more experience and more film out there,” Willis said. 

His sister and her husband both live in the St. Louis area and his brother-in-law was a Battlehawk fan in 2020. They were among his first calls after he took the job. 

“He’s at a different point in his career than I am,” Willis said of McCarron. “I’m a little younger but hey we’re both going to compete. We both can play, great, but usually there’s only one guy on the field so that’s coach’s decision,” Willis said.

“I want to do this as long as I can. I’m going to play football until the wheels fall off or until people start telling me no and I haven’t heard that yet so I’m going to keep giving it my all every day.”

Wednesday morning, teams will draft offensive skill positions (except quarterbacks), defensive backs, defensive linemen, linebackers and offensive linemen. 

On Thursday, teams will specifically select special teams kickers, punters and snappers, and then have open rounds for other positions.

Becht expects the team to add a third quarterback to the roster.

The XFL regular season kicks off in February.