The jitters were sure to hit Greg McElroy, with all the usual signs. Sweaty palms. Butterflies. Racing heart.
Once the plane lands in Atlanta, No. 5 Alabama’s new starting quarterback figures he’ll be OK, though.
“I’m scared to fly,” McElroy said. “That’s about as nervous as I’ll probably get just boarding that plane.”
He will make his starting debut in the Georgia Dome Saturday night against No. 7 Virginia Tech in a nationally televised game, but he’s more comfortable in that kind of environment than on planes.
McElroy’s first high school start came as a senior against Midland Lee, the powerhouse Texas school of “Friday Night Lights” fame.
“I’m used to playing on the big stage for my first start,” he said. “It’s the only thing I’ve ever known. It’s only fitting because if this team wants to achieve great things, then we’ve got to beat great opponents.”
s passing as he was running last season.
Taylor is 13-1 as a starter not counting the loss at Florida State last year when his game ended with an injury on the first offensive play. He had four 100-yard rushing games last season.
Alabama cornerback Javier Arenas called him “a very dangerous guy” even if he’s just using his feet to buy time to find a receiver.
“It can wreak a lot of havoc for the secondary,” Arenas said. “You typically cover a guy for 4-5 seconds, 6 at the most. A guy like that you can possibly be covering up to 11 or 12 seconds. It gives him a greater opportunity to complete a pass.
“Our defensive line’s going to have to try to cut that down and make our job easier. It’s a team effort to stop a guy like him.”
Taylor has the reins now after sharing playing time with Sean Glennon the past two years. He said he will be smart about when to run and when to avoid taking unnecessary hits.
“The injuries that I’ve had in the past, I really can’t control those,” Taylor said. “As far as me changing my game, maybe getting down more or getting out of bounds quicker, but it’s nothing that I think about because when you think about injuries, that’s when they happen.”
Or as coach Frank Beamer said, “You want to play smart but I certainly don’t think you want to play scared. You’ve got to do what you do.”
hn Parker Wilson.
Taylor and McElroy have different styles – the scrambler and the drop-back passer – but similar burdens. McElroy is facing life without All-America linemen Andre Smith and Antoine Caldwell and tailback Glen Coffee. Taylor won’t have injured runner Darren Evans.
The biggest similarity: Both fan bases are expecting their quarterbacks to deliver plenty of wins. McElroy is familiar with that kind of pressure from Southlake Carroll High School.
“We were 63-1 in my four years with our one loss being my sophomore year, we lost 16-15,” he said. “Winning is a way of life. That’s the way I’ve been brought up. That’s what I expect to do. I’ve never lost a game as a starter, dating back to ninth grade.”
Playing in a town that revolved around high school football on Friday nights in the fall – like Tuscaloosa does on Saturdays – helped, too.
“I think that it did prepare me for this moment in the sense that I understand the magnitude of each game,” McElroy said. “Obviously it’s bigger here, but it’s something I’m ready for and something I’ve prepared for my entire life.”
Tide coach Nick Saban doesn’t sound too worried about how his new quarterback will handle the situation. Wilson was surrounded by veteran stars, though. McElroy won’t have that luxury.
“We have every confidence in him as a quarterback,” Saban said. “My concern would be more, are the players around him going to play well enough to allow him to do what he needs to do to be a good player?
“Quarterback is a difficult position to play if you don’t have the people around you playing well.”
Or if they don’t believe in you.
Hokies quarterbacks coach Mike O’Cain figures Taylor’s teammates noticed all the work he did on his throwing and reading defenses during the offseason.
“Most of his leadership comes by guys respecting him for what he can do and the way he goes about his business,” O’Cain said. “He worked his rear end off this spring and this summer throwing the ball.”
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AP Sports Writer Hank Kurz Jr. in Richmond, Va., contributed to this report.
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