Where Are They Now - Charles McClain

Former Oxford product, Charles McClain, is continuing his fast rise up the board at North Alabama.

 

FLORENCE—The college football world realized what many in Northeast Alabama have known for quite sometime. 

 

Charles McClain is a football player. 

 

A record-setting defensive back at Oxford High School for the bulk of an illustrious prep career, McClain’s stock among college recruiters, as well as, the Oxford faithful skyrocketed following his emergence as the Yellow Jackets top receiving and special team’s threat in his final two seasons at the Big O. 

 

Officially listed at 5-foot-8 and 170 pounds, the diminutive McClain quickly earned a reputation as a versatile playmaker with a flair for the dramatic. 

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In the first two weeks of his junior season in 2005 McClain played the starring role in two rousing Yellow Jacket wins.  Trailing hated rival Anniston in the waning minutes of one of the state’s fiercest rivalries, McClain slipped behind the coverage to catch the game-winning TD pass from QB Derek Thomas in the back of the end zone on third and long, lifting Oxford to a thrilling 19-16 win. 

 

A week later, Charlie was up to his old tricks again. 

 

McClain intercepted four passes against Southside, subsequently returning all for touchdowns and lifting Oxford to a runaway 42-0 victory. 

 

“I want to be able to help my team out anyway that I can,” says McClain, now playing at Division II powerhouse North Alabama.  “I just want to get better every day.”  

 

That mantra, perhaps more than anything, has defined McClain’s football career. 

With a mere 25 practice dates standing between the opening of fall camp and the Lions first game last season, many presumed McClain, like the majority of true freshman making the leap from high school to college football, would redshirt. 

 

They were wrong, which should come as no surprise considering McClain’s knack for seizing an opportunity whenever it presented itself.  

 

Case in point:  McClain, subbing for former Tarrant star and current Alabama WR—Marquis Maze, the 2006 Class 4A Back-of-the-Year—in the prestigious Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic, the state’s premier postseason football showcase, McClain hauled in a touchdown pass, helping Alabama to a 51-14 win. 

 

Two months later, he caught a 67-yard pass in his first scrimmage at UNA, making a big first impression on UNA’s coaching staff.   

 

“There’s nothing like being thrown into the fire in a big time situation,” McClain says.  “I like the pressure.  Pressure is something I thrive on.”  

 

Not only did the former Oxford standout play his way right out of a redshirt, by mid-season he played his way into the starting lineup, taking over the Lions kickoff and punt return duties.  While he tallied four rushes and caught 8 passes on the year for a modest 96 yards, he cemented himself as a solid return man.  On the year, McClain averaged 12 yards per punt return to include the team’s season long of 32 yards. 

 

His responsibilities are expected to increase dramatically this fall as UNA’s pocket rocket is penciled in with the first-team offense after an impressive spring campaign.  In the Lions spring game, McClain, as a member of the first-team offense caught a TD pass from quarterback AJ Milwee.   

 

“Charles McClain and Ed Gant both showed they can be playmakers for us…” said UNA head coach Mark Hudspeth in his postgame comments to the Florence Daily Journal.  

“A lot of people didn’t have much confidence in me because I was a freshman,” remembers McClain of last season.  “But Coach Hud believed in me and I knew I could do it if I were given the chance.” 

 

As you might expect, McClain placed an exclamation point behind those question marks, quickly silencing the doubters and proving what many of us here in Northeast Alabama already knew. 

 

Charles McClain is a football player.  

 

Jay Pace

Highschoolgameday.com 

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