Guard Leon Brown of Alabama, tight end Wes Saxton of South Alabama and guard Chris Schleuger of UAB have signed with the Birmingham Iron, the Alliance of American Football announced on Friday.

The Alliance of American Football is an eight-team football league scheduled to begin play in February. In the first step of the AAF's player-distribution process, each of the league's teams has an assigned set of colleges from which it has the first choice of signing players.

The Iron controls players from Alabama and Auburn plus 11 other in-state schools as well as Louisiana Tech, Maryland, Mississippi State, Missouri, North Carolina State and South Carolina.

Saxton and Schleuger are the first players signed from their schools by Birmingham.

From the Iron Bowl rivals, the Iron already had signed wide receiver Chris Black, outside linebacker Xzavier Dickson, offensive tackle Brandon Greene, offensive tackle Dominick Jackson, running back Trent Richardson, quarterback Blake Sims and defensive back Bradley Sylve of Alabama and cornerback Chris Davis, long snapper Ike Powell, safety Robenson Therezie and defensive back Ryan White of Auburn.

Other in-state signees for the Iron include tight end Brandon Barnes (a former Russell County High School standout) from Alabama State, wide receiver Josh Barge and quarterbacks Eli Jenkins and Max Shortell from Jackonsville State, wide receiver Lonnie Outlaw from Miles, linebacker Shaheed Salmon from Samford, guard Steven Rowzee, linebacker Jonathan Massaquoi and quarterback Brandon Silvers from Troy; wide receiver DeVozea Felton from Tuskegee and running back Marquell Beckwith, a former Lee-Montgomery prep standout who played at Troy and Alabama State.

Birmingham also signed linebacker Beniquez Brown, a Florence High School standout who played at Mississippi State.

After completing his career at Alabama, Brown went to training camp with the Baltimore Ravens in 2015 and spent time on the NFL team's practice squad that season.

A former Hueytown High School standout, Saxton became the first former South Alabama player to appear in an NFL regular-season game on Oct. 4, 2015, with the New York Jets. Since then, Saxton has been on the practice squads of the Jets and Washington Redskins and gone to training camp with the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers, but has not played in another NFL regular-season game.

Schleuger played left guard in his single season at UAB in 2017. He went to training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers this year.

The Iron also signed on Friday Maryland wide receiver Amba Etta-Tawo, Garden City Community College defensive lineman Jeremy Faulk and South Carolina place-kicker Elliott Fry.

Faulk went to training camp with the Cleveland Browns this year. The league's allocation process also assigns players from unaffiliated colleges based on their most recent NFL or Canadian Football League team, with the Iron getting first crack at players coming off the rosters of the Buffalo Bills, Browns, New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL and the Montreal Alouettes and Ottawa Redblacks in the CFL.

In all, 32 players joined Alliance rosters on Friday, including former Vigor High School standout Quinterrius Eatmon, who signed with the Orlando Apollos. The offensive tackle, who played collegiately at South Florida, was in training camp with the Carolina Panthers this year.

Other players on Birmingham’s roster include centers Aaron Cox, Dallas Jackson and Cory Tucker, defensive backs Brandaun Addison, Christian Bryant, Elijah Campbell, Jacob Hagen, Aarion Penton, Max Redfield, JaCorey Shepherd and Jamar Summers; defensive ends Nelson Adams, Aaron Adeoye, Allen Edwards, Jake Payne, Dante Sawyer and Nick Seither; defensive tackles Josh Boyd, Harold Brantley, Nick James, Lawrence Okoye and Casey Sayles; guards Jason King, Sam Lee, Kitt O’Brien, Bret Pierkarski and Garrison Wright; kicker Nick Novak, linebackers Shane Johnson, Darnell Leslie, Deontae Skinner, Ike Spearman and Matthew Wells; quarterbacks Stephen Garcia and R.J. Nitti, offensive tackles Darrell Brown and Tyler Howell, running backs Marshaun Coprich, Ty Isaac and Brandon Ross; tight ends Connor Davis and Jonathan Powell and wide receivers DeVozea Felton, Jamal Robinson and L’Damian Washington.

AAF players sign non-guaranteed contracts worth $250,000 over three years. They'll have the opportunity to earn more through a variety of bonuses tied to performance, statistics and fan engagement. Players who complete one season in the league will earn an educational stipend.

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