« Football 2013

AJ McCarron

School
Alabama
Position
Quarterback
Major
Health Studies

Classroom

McCarron graduated with a degree in Health Studies in May, 2013. He posted over a 3.0 GPA for four semesters and was named to the Southeastern Conference Freshman Academic Honor Roll.

Character

McCarron is a fifth-year senior that has quarterbacked the Crimson Tide to back-to-back national championships and a 25-2 record as a starter entering his senior season. He is Alabama’s vocal and emotional leader. McCarron strives to lead both on and off the field for the Crimson Tide and has proven to be an unselfish leader who deflects praise and is always working to make his team better. His team-first mentality is personified in his unflinching desire to win football games, many times at the cost of his own statistics and award accolades. McCarron also runs the offense’s offseason 7-on-7 program and is known for taking his offensive line and wide receivers out to dinner a couple nights before game and during camp to build team and unit chemistry. He has also taken it upon himself to be a shining light in the community, visiting hospitals and speaking to local youth, all without the glare of publicity.

Community

McCarron has been active in Tuscaloosa and throughout the state, especially in his hometown of Mobile. He has spent his Christmas Eve handing out presents at the South Alabama Children’s Hospital, participated in the Cookies for Kids with Cancer, Project Angel Tree, hosted sick children on tours of the Alabama football complex and visited countless children in hospitals throughout the region. One of those special children was Starla Chapman, who McCarron first met in December of 2011. Prior to the 2011 BCS National Championship Game, McCarron visited Starla at the South Alabama Children’s Hospital as she battled a rare form of leukemia. She gave him a wristband that read “Team Starla” and “Just Trust” and he promised to wear it at the game. A promise he kept every day since they met. Starla’s condition worsened and on Jan. 3, doctors told the family to prepare for the worst. Starla’s heart function had dipped to six percent and she wasn’t expected to make it through the night. With AJ in New Orleans preparing for the game, he asked his mother DeeDee to visit Starla in the hospital. As the days past, Starla continued to beat the odds and her condition improved. AJ once again went to visit her in the hospital after the game and the two stayed in touch. In March of 2012, Starla’s parents asked McCarron to be her Godfather, an honor he quickly accepted. She was declared cancer free on April 11, 2012.

Competition

McCarron won the starting job at quarterback in 2011 and has never looked back while leading the Crimson Tide to the school’s 14th and 15th national championships. He was named the Allstate BCS National Championship Game Offensive MVP against LSU. He then threw for 264 yards to beat Notre Dame in the Discover BCS National Championship Game. He was the first quarterback in the BCS era to lead his team to back-to-back titles. A 2012 third-team All-American by the Associated Press and second team All-SEC selection, McCarron led the nation in pass efficiency in 2012 (175.28) and boasts a career-passer rating of 160.29. He has seen action in 35 career games at quarterback and 40 overall. He started 27 games under center with a 25-2 record (.926) and ranks second in winning percentage in school history and fifth in total wins. He completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 5,956 yards and a school-record 49 touchdowns against just eight interceptions and enters the 2013 season third in career completions (460), fourth in yards (5,956) and fifth in attempts (690). He leads all Alabama quarterbacks in career completion percentage (66.7) and also boasts the lowest interception percentage (1.16). He went 291 pass attempts between interceptions (2011-12), the second-longest streak in SEC history. He boasts a career average of one interception every 86.25 pass attempts, which is the best ratio in SEC history and won the Ozzie Newsome Most Improved Freshman Award after 2010 spring practice and the Bart Starr Most Improved Player in 2011.