After six years on eight NFL teams, Rashad Ross has finally emerged as a No. 1 receiver.

Well, maybe not schematically, the Arizona Hotshots pass catcher spends most of his time playing out of the slot.

"I don't know if I'm the No. 1 receiver," Ross said. "I just catch the ball when it comes my way."

But statistically, Ross leads the Alliance of American Football with four touchdown catches. He has more than twice the number of catches than anyone else on his team.

"He's been fantastic," Hotshots coach Rick Neuheisel said. "It's always a work in progress here, but he's off to a great start, and we're excited for him."

Ross, 29, has been chasing football stardom since he was a boy, wearing a 49ers jersey to his older brothers' football games. He didn't give up on that dream while playing two seasons at Butte College, which earned him a scholarship offer from Arizona State; and after a turbulent NFL stint, he's still not ready to call it quits.

"(The AAF) is just like JUCO. I'm a JUCO guy... when I didn't have the grades, I couldn't go D-I, I couldn't go D-II, I couldn't go to a big college," Ross said. "JUCO is a second chance, and I'm a big believer in second chances."

Through three games, Ross has made the most of his second chance. He's shown the blazing speed that earned him the starting kick returner job for the Washington Redskins in 2015. While he struggled to produce consistently in the NFL, his sure hands and chemistry with quarterback John Wolford have changed that. He's scored in all three Hotshots games.

"He is a competitor who wants ball every play, and he runs his routes really hard," Wolford said. "When you've got a guy like that, you want to feed him the ball as much as possible."

But now, when Ross makes a one handed catch or burns a nickelback, a national audience has a chance to see it instead of just one coaching staff.

"The benefit of doing this is that get live game tape against really good football," Wolford said. "You also get all 32 teams watching on TV instead of one."

On Thursday, Ross brought his bulldog, Lilo, to practice. Fellow receiver Josh Huff brought his two kids. The children ran around and played with the dog. After practice, Huff, Ross and a couple other players joined the fun.

Neuheisel welcomes the familial atmosphere, a stark contrast from the competitive, vagabonding lifestyle that comes with playing on NFL practice squads.

"Pressure breaks pipes," Ross said. "When you have a lot of pressure on you, it's really hard to think because you're trying to do everything perfect. Here, you're just trying to have fun."

Ross also said competing against opponents rather than teammates helps a receiving corps mesh better.

"In the AAF teams aren't bringing in people in every Tuesday to work out to replace us."

The word that always pops up in AAF circles is "development," and even though Ross is playing some of the best football of his career, he's still learning.

"Rashad is a gifted player," Neuheisel said. "He's been to the NFL before. We've just got to make him more consistent to get him back there."

This season, Ross' education has been more than learning routes or how to beat certain coverages. He's also learning how to handle the ups and downs of football without his father, Zachary, who is battling liver cancer in the Bay Area, by his side.

"He would be here watching me practice," Ross said. "When things were going bad, I could call on him. Now, I can't really call on him because I don't want to stress him out."

If Ross wants to make one last run at the NFL, he must summon the strength of his father from within. But the speedy receiver's entire career has taken place at different crossroads — needing junior college, slumming it on practice squads, taking a chance on the AAF. He knows how to play like his life depends on it.

But NFL teams are putting together younger rosters in order to save money, according to a recent analysis by The Associated Press, and some teams might be hesitant to take on a nearly 30-year-old receiver.

Ross is too familiar with the system to think an NFL comeback will be easy. After snagging two touchdowns in a breakout Week 1 performance, he received some special words of encouragement.

"My dad was the first person I talked to after the game was over with," Ross said "He told me to just keep going, keep pushing."

PHOTOS: Arizona Hotshots practice