FB: This doesn't happen often
UNT faces 'Bama on September 19th. What the 'Bama and UNT quarterbacks have in common.
1. Both played football for Southlake Carroll High School in Texas.
2. Both led their respective teams to Texas 5-A championships.
3. Both were coached by UNT head coach Todd Dodge
4. As a sophomore Dodge was the backup for senior McElroy in '05.
Ex-Carroll QB's time with Alabama is now
10:48 PM CDT on Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Associated Press
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – As a former Southlake Carroll quarterback, Greg McElroy knows how to follow tough acts.
McElroy, the new starting quarterback for fifth-ranked Alabama, succeeded Chase Daniel in high school and marched Carroll to a state title. Now, the junior is taking over for the Crimson Tide's all-time leading passer, John Parker Wilson, on a team with national title aspirations.
"The fact that I played behind Chase has prepared me for this moment," said McElroy whose first start comes Sept. 5 against Virginia Tech.
The fourth-year junior claimed the job over Star Jackson and Thomas Darrah in spring practice. He has thrown just 20 collegiate passes.
"We just feel like he's the man," receiver Mike McCoy said. "He's our Superman."
The 6-3, 220-pound McElroy has spent the offseason beefing up – bench-pressing a personal-best 370 pounds. He roomed with Colt McCoy of Texas and Oklahoma's Sam Bradford at the Manning Passing Academy, soaking up the atmosphere and the words of NFL stars Peyton and Eli Manning.
In the meantime, McElroy graduated over the summer and has started working toward a master's degree in sports management.
McElroy didn't start until his senior year at Carroll after Daniel, the 2004 national high school player of the year, left for Missouri. McElroy threw a Texas-record 56 touchdown passes.
McElroy knows fans have little idea what to expect. The most extended view of him was a 189-yard, two-touchdown performance in the spring game. He threw his only touchdown pass last year against Auburn.
He insists his only expectations are: "Just go out there and enjoy the situation and take every moment like it's my last. Just have fun with it."
McElroy said he had double-digit scholarship offers before starting a high school game, from such schools as North Carolina and Texas Tech. Coaches checking out Daniel had noticed his understudy, too.
McElroy caught the eye of then-Carroll coach Todd Dodge as a seventh-grader who devoted himself to the school's training program and didn't bother with other sports.
Dodge said he knew by McElroy's 10th-grade year that he would succeed Daniel.
"He just developed into a tremendously accurate quarterback," said Dodge, now head coach at North Texas. "He threw the deep ball really well."
McElroy said being quarterback for a high-profile team such as Alabama won't affect his attitude.
"You won't see me changing as far as how I handle myself," he said. "I refuse to let it happen."
(This post was last modified: 08-27-2009 11:08 PM by MeanGreen61.)
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