McCLAIN, THE BASHFUL ‘BACKER
Lott Profiles 0907; For use as desired
Rolando McClain has a problem.
He’d like to be just another student on the University of Alabama campus with nobody bothering him. “I’m real laidback,” he says. “I don’t like to be in the eyes of the media or the limelight.”
And that’s the problem. You see, Rolando McClain is 6-4, weighs almost 260 pounds and runs as fast as most tailbacks. He may be the best linebacker in all of college football.
“I just like to do my job, work hard, then go home basically,” says the shy 21-year-old junior from DeCatur, Alabama.
But that spotlight is definitely on him. McClain is on almost every major Watch List for defensive players this season, including The Lott Trophy for the player with the biggest IMPACT* on his team.
(*IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity)
“I’m just a guy that wants to lead by example,” McClain said. “I haven’t always been a vocal leader. That’s something coach (Nick) Saban wants me to be now. For the most part, I was just leading by example, trying to do my job and hope the guys fed off that, off the plays I made and the way I did things. Anything that’s going to benefit the team, I’ll do it. I don’t mind staying late and teaching guys plays or going over the playbook with guys.”
“I think his maturity is not just as a football player, Saban told, Michael Casagrande of the Times (Alabama) Daily, “but what he’s been able to do as a leader.”
McClain’s accomplishments in just two years would already fill a scrapbook:
*Alabama Defensive Player of the Year last season.
*All SEC first team
*All-American third team
*Butkus Award finalist (top linebacker in the nation)
*Academic All SEC
Turns out there are multiple sides to McClain.
Former Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson can testify to McClain’s ‘other’ personality. “He’s just a funny, goofy guy. He likes to kid around. He’s got a big heart, but you wouldn’t know it on the football field because he’s a head hunter out there.”
Then there’s McClain’s cerebral side. “Along with the athletic ability, he understood things really well,” says his high school coach Jere Adcock. “He picked up on any change that we made.”
A starter since his first game as a freshman, McClain found himself in the spotlight again last season, involved in a fraternity fight.
Saban quickly came to his defense. “I think he’s one of the best guys on our team and I think he’s a great person. And if you made a mistake because somebody else did something (start a fight), we all make them.”
He finished a spectacular sophomore season with a team high 95 tackles (12 tackles for losses) on a defense that was ranked No. 2 in the country against the run.
McClain makes few mistakes on the football field. And now, entering his third season of college play, he hopes to follow in the footsteps of previous great Alabama linebackers like Lee Roy Jordan, Woodrow Lowe, Cornelius Bennett, Derrick Thomas and DeMeco Ryans, the 2005 Lott Trophy winner.
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