Nick Mcclellan

All right, let's see what this guy can do as an emergency quarterback.

Wesley Fair, Nick McClellan both played quarterback in high school as well.

So maybe those are guys.

But I'd want guys on offense who know, like, the playbook.

here.

I guess I would say Nick McClellan, too, right? So that's just one area, but I think there are so many other guys when you get to looking at so many new faces.

But don't

forget, and I'd probably say, Coy Beasley's been really good, dude, right? Gabe Powers, I know he's not new, but he kind of is.

Uh, Jordan Allen at 34, Wendell Gregory at 33 were right behind them, and then if you go and look at the, uh, next corner down, it's listed as JoJo Scott, but we know that he was out there playing nickel, uh, over the course of the game.

So it's not until you get further down and you see that, uh, Nick McClellan, uh, Garrett Dixon, and RJ Collins were getting some snaps out there.

But if, if I'm not mistaken, weren't most of McClellan's were at nickel too, weren't they?

Yeah, McClellan a- was all nickel.

Uh-uh, that's gone.

And Nick McClellan had the touchdown block.

That's a true freshman who saw a lot of time on Saturday.

He was in on punt return.

He's the one who had the touchdown block.

Last year, you would have had to pick three more spots to play him if you felt like he wasn't going to be a full-time contributor.

Now you can say, okay, Nick McClellan, you not only can rotate it on the defensive side of the ball, but you can be a staple on special teams because you're really good at it.

And I think that that is going to make a really big difference for Stanton, and we talked about that.

We get excited about some of the young talent, but when you haven't actually seen them on the field, it's very easy to get wrapped up in being excited about a young guy you think could be good, but is he flying up the depth chart because he's good, or is he flying up the depth chart because you're not as good as you thought at the

position? The lone true freshman that appeared to be in that immediate rotation was Nick McClellan, came in fairly early at nickel.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So that's interesting.

They gave JoJo Scott, you know, the outright nickel spot, which maybe that's not a surprise, but I thought maybe they go or there, but then went or for his backup between MJ Graham and Nick McClellan.

Caleb Patterson at corner and no Donovan McIntosh again.

I think Caleb Patterson was probably trending that way, but that's also a product of an injury as Donovan McIntosh hasn't really been practicing a whole bunch.

Cool.

I mean, the true freshman in that secondary to have, you know, we know Bill Mill is really good and he's not even on the two deep.

And then you've got Nick McClellan, a true freshman, cracking the two deep at the nickel spot.

And then Garrick Dixon, I mean, three true freshmen in that secondary at corner specifically and at nickel that are on there.

And he's, despite being late to the party, so to speak, he's kind of put himself in there into that cornerback mix.

And I understand he's a Juco guy, but you think about, Damian Miller plus those three freshmen, Bill Mill, Dixon, McClellan, and then you throw Michael Graham and Caleb Patterson in there too.

That's a pretty good group of guys.

I think the coaches feel really good about a lot of the defensive personnel.

And watching how he's matured and grown into the role he's in, he's earned it.

And he took it.

Beating out MJ Graham from Hutch, and then Nick McClellan, who Wyatt is also a big fan of, that's a freshman.

So you've got a sophomore and a freshman, you're too deep.