Quarterback A.J. McCarron. Will he return to the UFL St. Louis Battlehawks?
One of the main reasons for the XFL-USFL merger was mainly because of the restricted talent pool in both leagues, especially at the quarterback position. Legendary football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant once famously stated, “Offense sells tickets. Defense wins championships,” and right now the UFL needs to focus on “selling tickets” and attracting fans to the league. Possibly the most important part of the offense is the quarterback, and even with half the teams in the league, there is still the question of whether the league has eight teams with starting-caliber quarterbacks.
While the league does have some near-surefire starting talents like Jordan Ta’amu, who recently confirmed he was returning to the DC Defenders, and Case Cookus, who was on the now-defunct Philadelphia Stars last year but was picked in the dispersal draft by the Showboats. We also have Louis Perez, who led the Renegades to an XFL Championship win, and potentially AJ McCarron if he decides to return for the St. Louis Battlehawks.
Yet there are as many starters as questions at the quarterback position, especially for the back-to-backs champions, the Birmingham Stallions. The Stallions recently lost Alex McGough to the Green Bay Packers and are now led by J’Mar Smith, who is a good quarterback who led the Stallions to their first title but is also very injury-prone. He was injured in the first week of the 2023 season, leading to Alex McGough taking over and sending the Stallions to their second title win. Smith could easily become a top QB in this league but also become a huge pain for the UFL, which highly needs premiere QB action to attract new fans to this young league.
The UFL also lost McLeod Bethel-Thompson to the Edmonton Elks of the CFL. Bethel-Thompson put up huge numbers for the New Orleans Breakers last year, but when the Breakers didn’t make the final cuts for the merger of the USFL and the XFL, Bethel-Thompson was released and moved on to the CFL. While he is 35 years old, he still put up huge numbers and showed he could be a starting QB that multiple teams could use right now.
The San Antonio Brahmas future starter is between former Guardian Quinten Dormady, who was the first pick of the dispersal draft and led the Guardians to the first and only win of the season against the DC Defenders. Dormady seems to have a huge clutch factor along with good running ability, but he also sits across from last season starter Jack Coan, who put up decent numbers on one of the worst teams in the league. This could easily become one of the most entertaining QB battles this year, but it is also a huge question for Brahmas fans and UFL fans in general.
The Battlehawks are also still figuring out who will fill that starting role. They currently have Manny Wilkins on the roster, with Nick Tiano being waived on Tuesday. Heading into training camp, AJ McCarron, their starter from last year, is still deciding whether he is going to come back or not. AJ was an absolute superstar last year, leading the Battlehawks to a 7-3 season, and would be the definite starter for the Battlehawks if he returned. Yet Battlehawks head coach Anthony Becht has stated that he is confident the Battlehawks will have a starting quarterback. The Battlehawks have emerged as a symbol of what is to come for the UFL, its fanbase is arguably the most passionate, with the stadium being nearly completely full for every game. The UFL must take steps to retain that huge fanbase to help keep this league above water, and getting the star QB back would be huge for retaining the large fanbase.
The Michigan Panthers could also be an interesting team this season, with E.J. Perry expected to be the starter. Perry was a superb QB last year after taking over for Josh Love at the end of the season and sneaking into the playoffs. While they did lose that playoff game to the Maulers in overtime, it was close, especially considering the Maulers defense, which was considered to be the best in the league. E.J. Perry has shown a good amount of promise, but he is also unproven and has a good deal of competition within his team.
The Houston Roughnecks also recently made a big change at quarterback, cutting Kenji Bahar and signing veteran Reid Sinnett, who as of February 13th is the heavy favorite for the starting position. Bahar didn’t put up fantastic numbers last season, but he still looked like a competent starter. Sinnett isn’t a horrible QB but is an unproven and injury-prone playcaller and could either become a solid QB in this league or sink the team in the largest venue the UFL occupies.
The UFL has a super high ceiling but also has a low basement, and a lot of this is dependent on the level of play that is produced by the “most important position in football,” the QB. The UFL’s success is partially in the hands of these questionable QBs. Let’s all hope they deliver.
