Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron has the intangible qualities necessary to lead an NFL team, and that will ultimately help him be a success at the next level. That's what UA linebackers coach Lance Thompson indicated Monday in speaking to a football club to begin the Crimson Tide's idle week.
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"He's a team-first guy in an era where top players are saying, 'Look at me! Look at me!' tearing their shirts open, and AJ's going around telling guys they made a great catch," Thompson said, according to al.com.
"He's had as much a part of that (Alabama's success) as anybody. Look at what he's done as a producer at quarterback. Football is the ultimate team game. ... The people who pay people to play, they value that and they respect that."
McCarron, a fifth-year senior and third-year starter, is ranked the No. 34 senior NFL prospect for the 2014 draft by NFL.com draft analyst Gil Brandt. He is also pursuing his unprecedented third consecutive BCS National Championship, and has a career record of 33-2 as a starter.
Thompson added: "AJ's going to go down in Alabama history as doing things that nobody will ever do again."
In 2008 and early '09, Thompson recruited McCarron, a Mobile native, to Alabama as the Crimson Tide's designated Mobile-area recruiter. McCarron redshirted his first season, and played sparingly as a freshman in 2010 before taking over the starting role in 2011.
Look for McCarron to be invited to the Mobile-based Senior Bowl, which issues invitations in December and is played in late January.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread.*
