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AJ McCarron discusses how upbringing in Alabama prepared him for role as Crimson Tide starting QB
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Playing college football for a program like Alabama is a dream for many high school athletes. And the opportunity to suit up at the quarterback spot for Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide brings with it intense pressure to represent the premier college football program in the country. It’s even more intense when you’ve grown up in the state itself.
AJ McCarron, who led Alabama to back-to-back BCS national championships, departed as the program’s all-time career passing yards leader and had more passing touchdowns than any other Tide quarterback before Tua Tagovailoa threw 87 between 2017 and 2019. But what exactly was it like for McCarron to transition from playing high school ball in Mobile to playing in front of countless thousands of fans in Tuscaloosa?
As it turns out, it was just a matter of remembering where he came from.
“I think the thing that made it special for me was growing up in Alabama, and parents being Alabama fans,” McCarron said in an interview with Clay Travis. “I had been around people…that don’t have any money at all, and all they lived for is Alabama football, and that win each Saturday. So, for me, it was deeper than just playing quarterback. It was, like, all the people I grew up with and I know that are watching, like, ‘Damn, I want to make them proud…’
“I think anybody can go back and look at my career, in the biggest games wherever we needed it, like, I felt like my teammates and the fans knew like, all right, ‘10’ was going to be ready to play.”
AJ McCarron shares with @ClayTravis what being the starting Quarterback at #Alabama is like during the OutKick Bourbon Tour poured by @BuffaloTrace. #BuffaloTrace #sponsored pic.twitter.com/4cNHHGMKDU
— OutKick (@Outkick) December 16, 2021
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
