Former Alabama star quarterback AJ McCarron is making history in the XFL. The former national champion and consensus All-American with the Crimson Tide has put together an incredible season with the St. Louis Battlehawks.
McCarron etched his name in the league record books on Saturday after leading the Battlehawks to a 53-28 win over the Orlando Guardians. The quarterback completed 28-of-35 pass attempts for 420 yards and six touchdowns.
With that performance, McCarron ended the year tossing 24 touchdown strikes. That’s the most in league history, passing a record set by Tommy Maddox for the LA Xtreme in 2001.
McCarron led St. Louis to a 7-3 record this year but the Battlehawks still missed out on the XFL playoffs. He finished the season with 2,150 yards and 24 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
St. Louis missed out on a playoff bid to the Seattle Sea Dragons, which also finished with a 7-3 record. The two teams were tied through the first four tiebreakers: head-to-head matchups, best win-loss percentage in division games, strength of victory in all games and best-combined ranking among division teams in points scored and points allowed.
Seattle earned the playoff spot thanks to the fifth tiebreaker: best-combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed in all games.
AJ McCarron Won Three Titles at Alabama
AJ McCarron won three national championships during his time at Alabama, two of those as a starting quarterback. He enjoyed an impressive career while in Tuscaloosa.
He led the Crimson Tide to back-to-back crowns in 2012 and 2013. During those two seasons, he combined to throw for 5,996 yards and 58 touchdowns with just 10 interceptions. McCarron completed 67.4% of his passes as well.
In 2013, McCarron claimed the Johnny Unitas Award, Maxwell Award, Kellen Moore Award and earned first-team All-America honors. The quarterback then was selected in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.
McCarron spent four seasons with the Bengals (2014-17), then had stops with the Raiders (2018), Texans (2019-20), and Falcons (2021). He’s started in four games and played in 17 total contests, owning a 2-2 record.
While McCarron’s career in the NFL didn’t quite pan out the way he planned, he’s certainly found success in the XFL. The 32-year-old made league history over the weekend, proving he’s still got plenty of talent left in the arm.
Will McCarron’s success carry over to next season?
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