TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) -Greg McElroy is a Texan who spent much of his childhood in Los Angeles. He loves the Dodgers and the Dallas Cowboys, and was recruited by the Texas Longhorns.
No. 1 Alabama’s quarterback has all the bases covered when the Crimson Tide faces the second-ranked Longhorns on Jan. 7 in Pasadena, Calif., a “local” boy competing against his adopted state’s college football powerhouse for a national title.
McElroy’s family moved from the L.A. area to Southlake, Texas when he was in the fifth grade. He easily recites the Dodgers’ current lineup and says Raul Mondesi and Mike Piazza were his favorite players. His family’s favorite vacation spot remains Laguna Beach, he said.
“I love L.A. I still have a lot of family out there,” McElroy said. “It was a fun place to grow up.”
Sorry, Texas Rangers fans, he’s not a convert.
“Still to this day I can’t stand the Rangers,” McElroy said.
thletic” to football, where he parlayed his lone year as starter at Southlake Carroll High School into a state title and a Southeastern Conference scholarship.
Perhaps the only thing that would make this matchup and venue more special is if McElroy’s recruiting efforts came down to the Longhorns and Tide. Instead, it was Texas Tech or ‘Bama.
He committed to the Red Raiders before his senior season, impressing them enough to earn a scholarship offer after three years of backing up Chase Daniels. Then-Alabama coach Mike Shula came in with a late offer and McElroy said he “fell in love with it here” on his visit to campus.
“I was really dead set on Texas Tech,” he said. “I was only going to have one year to start in high school, so I committed to Texas Tech early. I knew I was going to go through and there would be many more opportunities for me after the season, and I knew I was going to re-evaluate everything and take my visits and things like that.”
Texas coach Mack Brown said McElroy was approved for a possible offer. But the Longhorns eventually signed Jevan Snead, who wound up transferring to Mississippi after Colt McCoy won the job.
McElroy was more patient, finally winning the starting job at Alabama as a fourth-year junior after backing up John Parker Wilson.
uchdowns while throwing only four interceptions. He led the winning drive against Auburn, then completed 12 of 18 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown in the SEC championship win over Florida to earn game MVP honors.
“I think Greg’s a tremendous quarterback,” McCoy said. “He’s played well all year long. He’s been a leader on their team. He’s kind of the guy that gets it going for them. (Tailback Mark) Ingram gets a lot of the attention, but I think the quarterback’s the most important position. To be able to win 13 games is hard. I respect him and I respect their team. It’s going to be a fun time in Pasadena.”
His decision to head to Alabama has certainly worked out. Not only does he have a chance to lead the Tide to a national title, but he also has already earned his degree and started graduate school in the fall.
McElroy has done so well, in fact, that he has been invited to apply for a Rhodes scholarship next year. His lowest grade was a B-plus last spring in Leadership and Management.
The two things he misses most about Texas: family and the Cowboys. He managed to take in the Cowboys-Chargers game before Alabama started bowl practices.
“That was obviously kind of the staple of my childhood and the staple of my growing up was going to the Cowboys game on Sundays,” McElroy said.
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AP Sports Writer Jaime Aron in Austin, Texas, contributed to this story.
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