Jase McClellan on Three-Touchdown Performance: "I was just doing what a teammate does"

McClellan totaled three touchdowns, with one rushing, one receiving and one off of a blocked punt on special teams.

Joey Blackwell | Sep 11, 2021

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — In Alabama football's 48-14 defeat of Mercer on Saturday afternoon, few Crimson Tide players were as prevalent in the game as sophomore running back Jase McClellan.

On the game, McClellan rushed four times for 13 yards and a touchdown. However, he also made one reception for 21 yards — another touchdown — on top of recovering a blocked punt and returning the ball 33 yards for a third touchdown.

He might not have led the team in rushes or receptions, but he tied quarterback Bryce Young for the most touchdowns on the team with three.

"I was just doing what a teammate does in making plays for my team," McClellan said. "Just doing what the coaches expect from me and just playing my role."

Alongside McClellan, the rest of the Alabama running back stable also saw successful days. Redshirt-senior Brian Robinson Jr. rushed the ball 10 times for 70 yards and a touchdown. Off the bench, redshirt-sophomore Trey Sanders carried the ball seven times for 33 yards.

Even sophomore Roydell Williams joined the fray against the Bears, rushing four times for 11 yards. With a total of 158 rushing yards on the game, and two rushing touchdowns, the day was quite successful.

However, McClellan was not completely pleased with his offense's performance despite the group putting up 424 total yards against Mercer.

"As a whole perspective, we got to get better at some things," McClellan said. "We've got to clean up some things and just got to focus."

On the passing side of the Crimson Tide offense, Young had another solid week. In total, the sophomore completed 19-of-27 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed twice for one total yard.

In the receiving game, Alabama utilized a total of six wide receivers and two running backs to make catches. Freshman JoJo Earle led all receivers in both receptions and receiving yards with seven and 85, respectively.

"We're trying to get JoJo experience," Alabama coach Nick Saban said. "We think he's an explosive player. He played some last week with a couple of shorter passes and we're working him as a punt returner — trying to get him to gain confidence.

"Slade [Bolden] is very incredible back there but JoJo can be very explosive."

Junior Jameson Williams along with McClellan and redshirt-junior Bolden finished the game with a receiving touchdown each. In total, the Alabama receivers accounted for 266 receiving yards.

"Offensively, we had to play a lot of players," Saban said. "Obviously the experience will help them as well."

Gallery: Jase McClellan Highlights vs Mercer

Photos courtesy of Alabama Athletics

Published Sep 11, 2021

JOEY BLACKWELL

Joey Blackwell is an award-winning journalist and assistant editor for BamaCentral and has covered the Crimson Tide since 2018. He primarily covers Alabama football, men's basketball and baseball, but also covers a wide variety of other sports. Joey earned his bachelor's degree in History from Birmingham-Southern College in 2014 before graduating summa cum laude from the University of Alabama in 2020 with a degree in News Media. He has also been featured in a variety of college football magazines, including Lindy's Sports and BamaTime.