Former Alabama standouts Xzavier Dickson and Brandon Greene have signed with the Birmingham Iron, the Alliance of American Football team 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 -- UAB, South Alabama, Troy, Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Jacksonville State, Samford, Miles, North Alabama, Tuskegee and West Alabama -- as well as Louisiana Tech, Maryland, Mississippi State, Missouri, North Carolina State and South Carolina.

From the Iron Bowl rivals, the Iron already had signed wide receiver Chris Black, 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 Jacksonville State, 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.

Dickson played at Alabama from 2012 through 2014. An outside linebacker, Dickson entered the NFL as a seventh-round selection of the New England Patriots in the 2015 NFL Draft. He spent time on the practice squads of the Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons that season. Dickson went to training camp with the Toronto Argonauts this year, but he was released at the end of the preseason.

Greene played a variety of positions in his 54 games at Alabama. He joined the Tide as an offensive lineman, but he switched to tight end before his redshirt-freshman season. As a sophomore, Greene moved to offensive tackle, but shifted back to tight end before the end of the season and caught a 24-yard pass in overtime against LSU. In 2015, Greene saw action as a tight end and an interior lineman. As a senior, Greene worked as a tight end, mainly as an extra blocker and in jumbo packages, but he did catch one pass.

Greene signed with the Chicago Bears in 2017 and spent most of the season on the NFL team's practice squad working at guard. He joined the active roster for the final two games of the regular season, but did not get onto the field. The Bears waived Greene at the end of preseason this year.

The Iron also announced the signing of defensive end Devin Taylor on Friday. A former South Carolina standout, Taylor has five seasons of NFL experience, including starting every game for the Detroit Lions in 2016.

Other players who have been signed by Birmingham include centers Aaron Cox and Cory Tucker, defensive backs Brandaun Addison, Christian Bryant, 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, Rickey Hatley, 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, Deontae Skinner and Matthew Wells; quarterback John Gibbs, offensive tackles Darrell Brown and Tyler Howell, running backs Marshaun Coprich, Ty Isaac and Brandon Ross; and wide receivers Amir Carlisle, 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.