Twenty youngsters went on a shopping spree with St. Louis Battlehawks quarterback AJ McCarron and members of the Mobile Police Department and Mobile Fire-Rescue Department at Academy Sports + Outdoors on Airport Boulevard in Mobile on Wednesday evening. The event served as the kickoff for McCarron’s annual football camp, where he’ll be on Harrison Field at Mobile Christian School with hundreds of youngsters on Saturday.
In between, the former Alabama All-American doesn’t have time to take it easy, even though he’ll be throwing enough passes on Saturday for every camper to catch at least one.
On Thursday and Friday, McCarron will be in St. Louis to help with the third of six talent-scouting events being staged by the XFL this summer.
“I fly out actually tomorrow at 5:50,” McCarron said on Wednesday evening. “I’ll be gone. I’ll be in St. Louis Thursday and Friday helping with the XFL and the Showcase they’re having in St. Louis, and then I fly back Friday night and wake up early Saturday and do my camp. No sleep.”
But McCarron wouldn’t miss it. This year’s camp will be his eighth free football event in his hometown, where he was an All-State selection in football and baseball for St. Paul’s Episcopal, and McCarron said he planned to keep holding the camp annually “as long as I can do it.”
“I’ve been truly blessed,” McCarron said. “Growing up on the (Dauphin Island) Parkway and seeing tough times. Our parents raised us during those times, and then to be able to be blessed enough to do this for other kids and people that were in our position back in the day. Mom really instilled that in me to give back and help people, especially in my city. I love the city of Mobile and everybody here. Just very proud to be from here.”
On Wednesday evening, 20 youngsters set to attend Saturday’s camp gathered at Academy Sports + Outdoors to meet McCarron, who presented each with a $100 gift card. The youngsters then fanned out across the store to spend their money, assisted by police officers and firefighters.
“I think it’s this whole process,” McCarron said when asked what he looked forward to the most with his annual football camp. “I think it’s coming here a couple of days before the camp starts, being able to team up with local cops and firefighters. Definitely want to give a big thanks to Chief Paul Prine, Chief Brandon Jackson and Chief (Jeremy) Lami of the Mobile Police Department and Fire Department. But to be able to give back and include the people I view as heroes to start off this whole process with this little shopping spree, and then the camp on Saturday is always just awesome and a ton of kids.”
The shopping-spree winners were picked at random from the 750 registered campers.
Paden Roberts, a 13-year-old rising eighth-grader at Clark-Shaw Magnet School, was among the winning campers.
“I love being a winner,” Roberts said. “Every time I win, I get real excited. I try to stay, like, a good sport about it, but it feels really good to win.”
With his gift card, Roberts picked out a fishing shirt, cap, socks and football cleats. He plays center and defensive tackle.
“It was very hard,” Roberts said about his in-store decisions, “because I didn’t really know what I wanted, and I wasn’t expecting all this.”
After making his choices, Roberts and his father had their picture taken with McCarron.
“Listen, Academy is an awesome sponsor and teammate for us, really and truly,” McCarron said, “and it’s just special to always come back and give back to your city that helped make you the person you are today, so very blessed.”
After eight seasons in the NFL and a knee injury that sidelined him for a complete campaign, McCarron returned to the football field this spring in the new XFL and flourished with the Battlehawks as he led the league in touchdown passes, completion percentage and passing-efficiency rating.
McCarron will be reconnecting with the league as he joins personnel from the XFL, Battlehawks and Houston Roughnecks for Friday’s XFL Showcase at Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis. Prospective players will be seeking to earn an invitation to the XFL Combine, which will be held July 25-27 in Arlington, Texas, in preparation for the next XFL Draft.
Between St. Paul’s and the pros, McCarron started at quarterback for three seasons at Alabama, two of which ended with the Crimson Tide holding the BCS national-championship trophy. He remains Alabama’s career leader in passing yards and total offense.
In 2013, McCarron won the Maxwell Award and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award while finishing as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.