Who is Greg McElroy?
Much of Alabama's fate rests in the hands of this young man
Going into the 2009 season, prognosticators and pundits have been unable to come to any clear consensus on Alabama’s QB situation. With the reigns being passed over to Greg McElroy many are wondering how he’s going to handle being “the man.” Love him or hate him, John-Parker Wilson was a decent steward of the Tide especially in his senior season leading the Tide to a 12-0 regular season record, a shutout against his rivals, and coming within one game of a national championship. Many in the state are wondering just what’s in store for them with McElroy. Can he be the QB Bama needs him to be? Can he lead this team? In short, the answer is absolutely he can.
McElroy attended Carroll Senior High School in Southlake, Texas. During his sophomore and junior seasons he played behind Chase Daniels. In his senior season in 2005, he led Carroll to a Texas 5A State Championship going 16-0. During that season he set the single season 5A state record for TD’s with 56 while only throwing 9 INT’s. His 56 TD’s rank second all-time in the entire state behind Graham Harrell. His 4,646 passing yards ranks 5th all time in the state as well.
Chase Daniels and Graham Harrell are pretty good company. What’s most impressive about McElroy is his mobility. He’s a dual threat QB** that can run and throw the long ball with pin-point accuracy. Although the video quality is shoddy, you can get an idea of what he’s capable of in he highlight film below:
McElroy’s biggest weakness is, of course, his inexperience in the SEC. But he looked fantastic in the A-Day game as evidenced below:
Frankly, the Crimson Tide faithful should be able to breathe a sigh of relief. I think McElroy may be the best QB the Tide have had behind center since Jay Barker. With the recent add of Michael Bowman and the fact Bama has one of the nation’s top receivers in Julio Jones, McElroy could end up being the second or third best QB in the conference this year.
** Officially, McElroy is considered a pro-style QB, but it’s obvious after watching his high school tape above that he has excellent mobility and speed and can run with the ball when needed.
