After the St. Louis Battlehawks reduced their training-camp roster to the regular-season limit of 51 players last week, coach Anthony Becht said he couldn’t separate the three running backs into one, two or three yet. But of the six running backs that came to training camp with St. Louis, Becht knew which had been sixth – former South Alabama ball-carrier Kareem Walker.

The Battlehawks released their depth chart this week for their XFL season-opener on Sunday. Walker is the second-team running back.

How did Walker go from roster-filler to potential contributor for St. Louis in the course of training camp?

“We threw a dart at the running backs, and the dart went through Kareem’s name,” Becht said of how Walker joined the Battlehawks. “And he’s been a subtle surprise for us. I can’t really take it upon myself to say that we found him, but I’ll tell you, man — young, hungry. Doesn’t know how to be a pro. In my office often throughout training camp: ‘What do I need to do, coach? How do I become a better pro? How do I take notes?’ Like the very basic needs to become a player and live up to the standards he wanted to know, and he asked the questions. He was not bashful.

“Excellent pass protector. Little bit of a tall runner, but he runs hard, aggressive, finishes and catches the ball very, very smooth, so he brings a lot to the table. And he is one of our core special-teams players. He gets it. He understands he wasn’t going to make this team as a running back first. He was going to make it as a special-teams player.

“But he has been a very good surprise for us. We’ll see what it looks like for him as far as reps and stuff, but he’ll be on the field. He’ll be helping us in certain areas. But he’s been a guy that’s really piqued our interest and really won over the coaching staff when he probably came in as sixth on the depth chart when we started camp.”

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Walker ran for 295 yards and four touchdowns on 86 carries and caught 12 passes for 43 yards and one touchdown for South Alabama in 2021. The Jaguars were the fourth stop of his college career after Michigan, Fort Scott and Mississippi State.

The Battlehawks visit the San Antonio Brahmas at 2 p.m. CST Sunday. ABC will televise the game.

St. Louis has Brian Hill at No. 1 on its depth chart at running back. Hill has 982 rushing yards in 48 NFL games. Former Duke standout Mataeo Durant is in the No. 3 running-back slot.

“Our running backs are going to be a collective group,” Becht said last week. “I couldn’t tell you right now who’s going to be one, two or three. I think they’re all 1A, B and C.”

The Battlehawks-Brahmas contest is the third of four games on the XFL schedule for the league’s first of 10 weeks of regular-season play.

The XFL season kicks off with the Vegas Vipers visiting the Arlington Renegades at 2 p.m. Saturday on ABC. The Orlando Guardians visit the Houston Roughnecks at 7:30 p.m. Saturday on FX. The weekend concludes with the Seattle Sea Dragons visiting the D.C. Defenders at 7 p.m. Sunday on ESPN.

The players from Alabama high schools and colleges on XFL rosters for the opening weekend include:

Arlington Renegades

· Defensive lineman T.J. Barnes (Enterprise)

· Tight end Sal Cannella (Auburn)

· Offensive lineman Mike Horton (Auburn)

· Defensive lineman Davonte Lambert (Auburn)

D.C. Defenders

· Tight end Trae Barry (Spanish Fort, Jacksonville State)

· Linebacker Jamal Brooks (Bessemer City, South Alabama)

· Defensive tackle Gabe Wright (Auburn)

Former Alabama State standout and coach Reggie Barlow is the head coach of the Defenders.

Houston Roughnecks

· Quarterback Brandon Silvers (Gulf Shores, Troy)

· Offensive tackle John Yarbrough (Homewood)

Orlando Guardians

· Offensive lineman Ja’Chai Baker (South Alabama)

· Defensive lineman Nick Coe (Auburn)

· Defensive back Javaris Davis (Auburn)

· Defensive tackle Trevon Sanders (Troy)

· Linebacker Erroll Thompson (Florence)

Defensive backs Maurice Smitherman (Minor) and Dee Virgin (West Alabama) are on the Guardians’ injured list.

San Antonio Brahmas

· Linebacker Ben Davis (Gordo, Alabama)

Seattle Sea Dragons

· Long snapper Thomas Fletcher (Alabama)

· Offensive lineman Chris Owens (Alabama)

· Wide receiver Kelvin McKnight (Samford)

· Wide receiver Jordan Veasy (Gadsden City)

· Wide receiver Damion Willis (Troy)

St. Louis Battlehawks

· Quarterback AJ McCarron (St. Paul’s Episcopal, Alabama)

· Running back Kareem Walker (South Alabama)

· Offensive lineman Dallas Warmack (Alabama)

Vegas Vipers

· Offensive lineman Quinterrius Eatmon (Vigor)

· Offensive lineman Antonio Garcia (Troy)

· Defensive back Maurice Smith (Alabama)

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.