In the words of St. Louis Battlehawks coach Anthony Becht, AJ McCarron has a “pedigree.” But the former Alabama All-American isn’t living off his name as he prepares for the relaunch of the XFL as the Battlehawks quarterback.

“Unprecedented experience, unprecedented leadership,” Becht said of McCarron during a video press conference on Wednesday. “It’s actually fun to watch. You know, a guy that’s been in the league, been there, done that, he’s made a little money — he’s been phenomenal. He is helping every single player on this team. He is immersed in our game plan and our offense.

“We were at Main Event yesterday. We were trying to take a break after three weeks of practice for a couple of hours, and he’s in there picking (offensive coordinator) Bruce (Gradkowski)’s brain and talking ball. And I’m like, ‘Man, you got to take a timeout and walk away.’ You love it. But it’s like this guy, he’s all about it.

“And it’s quite a surprise, quite frankly, for a guy that comes from a pedigree. But when you look at it on the other side, this guy’s hungry to do something. He’s finally getting the chance to be the guy, and he’s taking full advantage of it. And this is really a huge opportunity for him. He does have a lot of years left, a lot of tread on the tires for him to get back in the (NFL) and be a true backup for several more years and make some really good money and set up the security that he wants moving forward, so I’m excited for him.”

McCarron hasn’t played since Aug. 21, 2021, when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a preseason game and spent his eighth NFL season on the Atlanta Falcons’ injured reserve.

RELATED: AT SON’S REQUEST, AJ MCCARRON RETURNS TO PRO FOOTBALL

McCarron had been preparing to back up Matt Ryan, just as he’d been on standby behind Andy Dalton, Derek Carr and Deshaun Watson while starting four NFL regular-season games and one playoff contest.

Before the NFL, the former St. Paul’s Episcopal football and baseball All-State selection was a member of three Alabama national championship teams and the starting quarterback for two of them in the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Individually, he won the Maxwell Award and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting in 2013. McCarron remains Alabama’s career leader in passing yards and total offense.

Becht said St. Louis wasn’t “trying to set a depth chart” yet as it progresses toward its season-opening game on Feb. 19 against the San Antonio Brahmas. But the coach noted McCarron was establishing himself in the QB room with Nick Tiano and Ryan Willis.

“AJ’s getting the frontload of the reps as the far as the first group that actually goes out on the field and practices,” Becht said. “He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. Clearly, he’s standing out because of his leadership, his presence and, quite frankly, his play on the field as well, so, look, we’re not picking anybody as any of our starters across the board, but I would say right now AJ’s in an excellent position to lead this football team and continue to extend his career, quite frankly, so we’re excited for him.

“We’re excited about all three guys. We really do believe we have three quality starting quarterbacks, and I mean that very frankly, so it’ll be a tough decision if we have to make a move or if we decide to keep three. But AJ’s doing a great job, and he’s really showing everything he needs to show for us to count on him to move this team forward.”

The Battlehawks will use a West Coast hybrid offense, akin to what the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams run in the NFL. Becht said McCarron’s familiarity with that type of attack had helped him lead from the start for St. Louis.

“With a guy like AJ, it’s just natural,” Becht said about the quarterback’s leadership. “He’s a quarterback. This is a system he’s been in, very fluent in, understands concepts and what we’re trying to do, so he can jump right in. We have a couple of receivers the same way — Marcell Ateman and Darrius Shepherd. These guys know the system, so they bounce right in there and they can be leaders because of the familiarity.”

Becht is trying to cultivate leaders throughout the team, too. Like the other seven teams in the XFL, the Battlehawks are being built from scratch.

The XFL is open under new ownership in 2023 after the 2020 version of the league pulled the plug halfway through its 10-week regular season, so there were no returning starters or players who showed promise for the Battlehawks last season to welcome back in 2023.

“It’s extremely difficult,” Becht said. “We clearly want to install a lot, put a lot on their shoulders both offensively and defensively. Players obviously have some holes in their games that we’re trying to also work around and improve in order for them to give us the best chances to go out there and have the best 11 on each side of the football. And there’s been some really good competitions. There’s been players that, quite frankly, we did not think would be factors in our decision as far as our top 50, and they are.”

While each XFL team will play its home games in the city of its name, the league is training at facilities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area during training camp and will continue to do so when the season starts.

RELATED: BATTLEHAWKS FANS’ FERVOR REMINDS AJ MCCARRON OF COLLEGE

On Thursday, the Battlehawks are scheduled to hold a joint practice with the Orlando Guardians.

“Camp has gone extremely well,” Becht said. “We are using every player on our roster to give them an opportunity to showcase their skill set in every practice. We’re really not trying to set a depth chart at his point because we want to make sure we have equal reps across the board and each guy gets to kind of showcase.”

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