Quarterback AJ McCarron’s decision to return to St. Louis might have put the Battlehawks ahead of the curve as they prepare this month for the United Football League season.

The former Alabama All-American returned to football in 2023 in the revived XFL and led the league in touchdown passes, completion percentage and passing-efficiency rating. After playing for St. Louis, McCarron went to the Cincinnati Bengals, but he obtained an early release from his contract with the NFL team last month to start training camp on time with the Battlehawks.

“He talked the very first day, just saying what he wanted out of this league,” St. Louis wide receiver Hakeem Butler said during an appearance on WXOS-FM in St. Louis, “and he just wanted to contribute to other people’s success and lift others up. And I think that’s just a testament to his character. I think it’s also a testament to the fans in St. Louis and just the team overall. You don’t leave a franchise like the Bengals to come back to St. Louis for no reason.”

RELATED: WHY DID AJ MCCARRON RETURN TO THE BATTLEHAWKS?

With Butler and three other of St. Louis’ top six wide receivers from 2023 back on the team, the Battlehawks practically picked up where they left off in the passing game, Butler said.

“Day 2, we was in sync,” Butler said. “From here on it, it’s really just kind of clicking even more. But I would say Day 2, we looked like we hadn’t missed a step.”

Butler, Darrius Shepherd, Marcell Ateman and Steven Mitchell worked as St. Louis wide receivers last season. McCarron also has Manny Wilkins back with him in the quarterbacks room, along with former Gulf Shores High School and Troy standout Brandon Silvers, who started for the XFL’s Houston franchise last season.

“Having AJ back, and really Brandon Silvers and Manny, two veterans and one returning backup from last year, there is a sense of we can advance a little faster,” Battlehawks coach Anthony Becht said about St. Louis’ preparation for the 2024 season on Monday. “With the returning receivers that we had, our very good nucleus of core guys, those guys kind of stepped right in and just blended in really good, and that preparation and lead time is a lot faster.”

With 51 receptions for 599 yards and eight touchdowns last season, Butler led the XFL in TD receptions and finished second in the league in receptions and receiving yards. St. Louis wide receiver Jahcour Pearson led the XFL with 60 receptions for 670 yards in 2023 while playing for the Seattle Sea Dragons.

In the merger of the XFL with the USFL to form the United Football League, four XFL teams didn’t survive, including Seattle. Players from the defunct teams were dispersed in two drafts.

St. Louis picked up Pearson and Blake Jackson, who caught 45 passes for 440 yards and two touchdowns for Seattle last season.

“Overall, the room, as it was last year, is super stacked,” Butler said. “Last year, I thought we had one of the best receiver rooms I’ve ever been in whether it’s college, NFL or this league, and I feel the same way this year. We added a lot of guys from other teams, and we added some young guys.”

Becht said “don’t forget” about Ja’Marcus Bradley among St. Louis’ wide-receiver additions.

“Ja’Marcus Bradley was our top draft pick receiver-wise last season, and he ended up signing a futures contract with the NFL,” Becht said, “and he’s been really good as well, so you’re talking about arguably a starting-caliber receiver when healthy that may not actually get as many reps as they want on our team.”

The Battlehawks are preparing for their season-opening game against the Michigan Panthers at 3 p.m. CDT March 30 at Ford Field in Detroit. FOX will televise the game.

“The biggest roadblock for me as a head coach is making sure that those guys can continue to work the timing and the tempo at a high level, but yet get their legs prepared and ready and saved so that we can be ready for the opening game,” Becht said, “so it’s a tricky deal on how to do that, but we have a good plan in place, and I think it’s really shown how that has come together fairly quickly and, hopefully, allows us to start much, much faster than we did last season.”

Even with McCarron back at quarterback and the wide-receiver depth, Becht wants the Battlehawks to do more than drop back and pass. St. Louis has three running backs on its roster. Mataeo Durant ranked second in rushing for the Battlehawks last season with 117 yards on 39 carries, and Wayne Gallman and Jacob Saylors have NFL preseason and practice-squad experience at the pro level.

“I’ve brought in a couple of good running backs,” Becht said. “Gino Gradkowski, our new O-line coach, all of our starting linemen are back from last year and we’ve brought in some really good ones as well. We have to have good balance. We know we can pass. We know we can have strength. But when you’ve got a guy that can run the football, I don’t care if it’s collective or not, I expect our O-line to be much more physical and better at the point of contact so we can have a better contributing running game, which will ultimately make our pass game even that much better.”

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