Scott Adamson, Author at Adamsonmedia.com

Different paths

Heading into Saturday’s United Football League spotlight game between the Birmingham Stallions and St. Louis Battlehawks, here are some numbers to consider – Skip Holtz 303, Anthony Becht 16.

Those figures reflect the number of times the men who’ll lead their teams into action have been on the sidelines wearing the hat of a head coach.

**Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Threads @sladamson1960 and Adamsonmedia on Facebook.**

Holtz logged a 152-121 record during 17 years as a college boss. He joined the new United States Football League in 2022 and never looked back, going 21-3 and leading Birmingham to back-to-back championships. Four teams from the USFL, including the Stallions, were folded into the UFL. His 2024 Birmingham team stands at 6-0.

Becht, on the other hand, got his first head coaching gig last year when St. Louis was one of the flagship franchises of XFL 3.0. He led the ‘Hawks to a 7-3 record and has them sitting at 5-1 in the new spring pro football circuit.

While Becht has proved to be a quick study, it makes sense that his and Holtz’s paths never crossed until the eight UFL teams convened in Arlington, Texas, last February.

“No, we hadn’t been together a lot,” Holtz said. “I mean, I spent my time in college and he spent his time in the NFL, so we had a little different path to get here.”

While Holtz’s playing days ended following his senior season at Notre Dame in 1986, Becht went on to have a fine NFL career after graduating from West Virginia in 1999.

The tight end played 12 years for five different teams, making the All-Rookie Team while suiting up for the New York Jets in 2000.

He finished his pass-catching/blocking days with 188 receptions for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Becht’s whistle-and-clipboard career began in 2019 when he coached tight ends for the San Diego Fleet of the ill-fated Alliance of American Football, and then got his first shot at the top job last year with the Battlehawks.

“I was not on their radar,” Becht told Tampa’s FOX 13 in March. “But, be determined in what you want to do. Twelve years in the (NFL), five organizations, seven different head coaches with two firings in between. I learned a lot of good and bad from the coaches I’ve been around.”

One coach he gets to be around now is Holtz.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Skip Holtz,” Becht said on Monday. “He’s 27-3, he’s the crème de la crème of spring leagues. If you’re a coach that cares and wants to be a winner, you want to emulate that record – you want to be as good as they’ve been the last three seasons.”

Holtz said he’s become quite familiar with Becht over the late winter and spring.

“Where I really got an opportunity to be around him was when we scrimmaged each other during the preseason,” Holtz said. “The UFL had slated everybody to scrimmage somebody, and we got matched together. So, I spent a lot of time with him on the phone and I’ve talked to him a lot during the course of the season. I have great respect for him and I think he does an unbelievable job from a coaching standpoint.”

If past is prologue, the first regular season matchup between their teams should be a dandy.

Both sides are capable of big plays – and stopping big plays – and appear to be evenly matched across the board. Birmingham has the UFL’s No.1-ranked defense while St. Louis’ offense is No.1.

It’s just Week 7, but it would hardly be surprising to see these squads meet again on June 16 in St. Louis – site of the inaugural UFL Championship Game.

But, first things first.

Becht says he never looks ahead, so he isn’t looking past Saturday.

“Consistency matters if you want to be a good coach,” he said. “You can’t be a good coach one year and then the next year lay an egg. If you want to excel in this profession, you’ve got to show consistency.

“They play sound, aggressive football, they’re good on both sides, special teams are clean, they don’t make a lot of mistakes, and their quarterbacks make plays.”

The clash is set for 3 p.m. on FOX.

Martinez, McCarron talk QB life

**Birmingham QB Adrian Martinez (9) throws against the Memphis Showboats on May 4 in Memphis.** (Photo by Wes Hale/UFL/Getty Images)

The United Football League’s game of the year (to date) takes place on Saturday when the Birmingham Stallions (6-0) host the St. Louis Battlehawks (5-1) in a late afternoon matchup at Protective Stadium.

Yet, while there’s no mystery who’ll lead the visitors into battle – that’ll be former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback A.J. McCarron – the home team’s starter is TBA.

Adrian Martinez has started the last two games for the Stallions, but has been part of a rotation with Matt Corral. Getting the first snap in back-to-back games is a first for a Birmingham signal caller in 2024.

Whether Martinez goes three-for-three, well, that remains to be seen.

“You know, when you guys see that depth chart, it’s around the time we find out,” Martinez said earlier today. “We’ll compete each week, continue to get better, push each other to be better and when (Stallions coach Skip Holtz) makes that decision, he’ll make it.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a consistent timeline and sometimes those things change, so stay light on your feet.”

Martinez is the only player in the UFL to throw for over

300 yards in a game this season. He put up 334 against Memphis in Week 3 and in last Saturday’s rematch he lit up the Showboats for 368 yards and four TDs.

His passing stat line reads 62-105-1 for 971 yards and seven touchdowns.

He’s also the circuit’s second-leading rusher with 327 yards and a TD.

Corral has also acquitted himself well, going 36-62-2 for 494 yards and two touchdowns.

It’s a 1-2 QB punch any UFL club would love to have.

But aside from the competition, Martinez is simply enjoying playing the game.

“I’d say this is the most fun I’ve had and it’s part of what this league is about and something that I really wanted to challenge myself to do,” Martinez said. “You know, enjoy it. We don’t know if it’s gonna be my last time playing ball, so just have gratitude. Go out there and enjoy it, have fun.

“I mean, that’s what the game is about. We’re out here playing a child’s game, so just have fun with it.”

**A.J. McCarron throws against the DC Defenders at Audi Field on April 28 in Washington, DC.** (Photo by Greg Fiume/UFL/Getty Images)

McCarron wouldn’t disagree, but he also knows his return to Alabama is a business trip. It’ll be the first time he’s played football in the Magic City since helping St. Paul’s win the Class 5A state championship game against Briarwood Christian, 14-13, on December 7, 2007 at Legion Field.

“Listen, it’s just another game and that’s all I want it to be,” McCarron said. “But Birmingham is a great city and I love to go there. I have a bunch of friends there and just about all of my doctors are based there, so I spend a lot of time there.

“I appreciate all the support and love, but I want to just stick to this normal routine and not do anything out of the ordinary.”

McCarron is 135-199-2 for 1,306 yards and 13 touchdowns. His 13 aerial scores are far and away a UFL best after six weeks – and a big reason St. Louis has won five consecutive games.

McCarron has spent time with six different NFL teams and is 113-179-3 for 1,192 yards and six touchdowns in big league action.

The 33-year-old is as known for his composure as he is his ability, and he credits that with his time playing under Nick Saban.

“Going into my first year starting, (Saban) was playing a ton of mind games that spring and really just messing with me,” McCarron explained. “I didn’t understand, being young, and it was pissing me off more than anything. And I remember him bringing me in his office and saying, ‘Listen, if you can handle the mind games that I put on you and the pressure that I put on you – whether it’s in practice, scrimmages, whatever, going out in front of 102,000 people will be nothing.’ And so that was one thing that always stuck with me.”

Martinez, 24, remembers watching McCarron during his college days.

“A.J., shoot, I grew up watching him play at Alabama,” he said. “I know he’s had a long career and I have a lot of respect for him. He’s won national championships and has a lot of accolades that you don’t bat an eye at.

“He’s a very good player.”

Saturday’s game is set for 3 pm. Saturday and will be televised on FOX.

And whether McCarron’s counterpart will be Martinez or Corral, the Battlehawks field general knows his team is in for a tussle.

“Birmingham’s a very well-coached team,” McCarron said. “They’re in the right spots, they do the right things. And then, just like all teams, if they mess up, you’ve got to make them pay. You’ve got to capitalize on those opportunities.

“It’s gonna be a good challenge for both teams, and we’re excited about the challenge.”

Distress Call 2374

“Dang it!”

Paulie Priest walked the same path through the woods every morning, sat on the same green wooden bench, and he was always able to get a Wi-Fi signal on his laptop.

Not today, though.

Instead of several options popping up under the “Select a Wireless Network” window, there was nothing – not even “JumpinJackFlash68,” which had become his go-to connection.

Paulie was painfully shy, incredibly smart, and much more comfortable alone than with others. His morning walks were something of a refuge; he loved the sights and smells of the forest, but he also relished the sounds of “nerd time.”

That’s what he called his daily ritual, which featured the flora, fauna and funga appetizer followed by the main course –

plopping down and listening to podcasts such as “Robotics Rebellion” and “Humanoid Aliens: A Theory.”

If he could somehow survive middle school and high school, he wanted to go to Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He would never dare tell anyone, of course, but he was confident he could make history there.

Last year during the annual science fair at Fillmore Middle School, the seventh grader took the grand prize with a homemade robotic vacuum cleaner. Designed to look like the spacecraft of his favorite show, “Wandering Star Command,” the gadget scurried across the floor of the auditorium, picking up debris and wowing the judges with its efficiency.

It was one of many inventions he had stored away at the small house he shared with his mom. Because when he wasn’t walking and listening to podcasts, Paulie loved tinkering in the garage and building whatever he could think of with whatever he could find.

Many of the components he used were left behind by his dad, a computer technician who drove off to his job in Atlanta several years earlier but never bothered to come back.

Instead of holding on to a bitter memory though, all Paulie wanted to do right now was listen to the live broadcast of “Robotics Rebellion.” Without a signal, that wasn’t going to happen.

So, he did what people always do when the Wi-Fi isn’t working: he rebooted.

Moments later his laptop came back to life and he found one network option called “Distress Call 2374.”

“Well,” he said, “there’s no lock and the signal looks strong, so hello, ‘Distress Call 2374.’”

With a simple keystroke, he was in.

However, all the icons on his screen disappeared and were replaced by what looked like hundreds of neon yellow dots moving randomly – and rapidly – over a bright orange background.

The dots ultimately settled into a pattern, one that formed the fuzzy outline of what appeared to be a woman sitting at some sort of control panel.

“This is Captain Luna Bertrand of Exploration Vessel Marquee … do you read me?”

Paulie blinked several times to make sure he was seeing what he was seeing – and hearing what he was hearing.

“I read you … fine,” he said. “You’re really blurry, though.”

The screen pulsated with white light briefly before clearly displaying Bertrand, a green-eyed redhead clad in a blue military-style uniform.

“Sorry about that,” she said. “Am I clear now? I can see you fine.”

Paulie gazed at Bertrand and all the high-tech equipment in the background. The production values of the broadcast were excellent.

“So, what gives?” he asked. “Is this some kind of viral marketing thing? If this has to do with a ‘Wandering Star Command’ spin-off, I’m all in. Your bridge doesn’t look like their bridge, though.”

Bertrand tapped her side of the screen and a schematic popped up in the lower left corner.

“Look at this and tell me if it’s yours,” she said.

Paulie immediately recognized it as the blueprint for his robotic vacuum cleaner.

“Well … yeah,” he said, slightly puzzled. “That was my science project. But how did you get it? How do you even know about it?”

Bertrand answered by punching a button transforming Paulie’s computer screen into a hologram that displayed both the vacuum cleaner and the spacecraft.

“We’re facing a bit of a time issue here, so I’m giving you the condensed version,” Bertrand said. “To you, it’s May 8, 2024. But I’m from the year 2374 and communicating with you through a rift – a very, very tenuous rift. In the 350 years between your time and mine, the earth has endured two world wars and three plagues. But five years ago, in 2369, there was a cyber attack that resulted in an information wipe.

“Explaining the particulars would take far too long, but let me just say we’re dangerously close to using an abacus to figure out math problems. Now, I don’t really expect you to believe any of this, but I’d appreciate it if you’d humor me.”

Paulie was certainly skeptical, but the fact that his standard laptop was now a device capable of 3D imaging got his attention.

If it was a hoax, it was a brilliant one.

“OK,” he said. “Just for fun, I’ll play along. What do you need from me?”

Betrand placed the image of Exploration Vessel Marquee over that of Paulie’s vacuum.

“According to the bits and pieces of historical records we salvaged after the wipe, the class of starships used 200 years ago are based on your science project,” she explained. “Comparatively speaking to what we fly now, they’re easy to build, cost-effective, durable, and ideal for transporting passengers. Problem is, we haven’t been very successful reverse-engineering them. I need you to compare the schematics and give me some idea of what we need to do to replicate the Priest-Class vessels. I’m confident we can figure out a way – with your help.”

Paulie smiled.

“This is funny,” he said. “Normally somebody’s idea of a joke ends up with me stuffed in a locker so … thanks for naming spaceships after me.”

Bertrand shook her head.

“Please, Dr. Priest,” Bertrand said. “If we’re going to successfully evacuate Earth before the planet dies, we could use your expertise. Now, look at how our engine room is constructed in relation to the motor on your device …”