A.J. McCarron warned Alabama Crimson Tide fans about the state of college football and how it will impact the program amid a roller-coaster season.
Alabama fell to No. 15 in the latest AP Top 25 poll following a seven-point loss to Tennessee last week. The team will take on No. 21 Missouri this weekend.
Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback A.J. McCarron, #10, warming up before the start of their game against the Auburn Tigers at Bryant Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Nov. 24, 2012. (John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)
McCarron, who won a national championship at Alabama under Nick Saban, said on the “McCready & Siskey” podcast that things were not the same at the school and explained name, image and likeness (NIL) had a lot to do with it.
“Everybody’s worried about f—ing TikTok and having a reel and being on highlights for their personal self and personal gain, and how much money they can get from NIL. We just didn’t have that s— back then. It was a team sport. You came together as a team because you had one common goal, because you knew that’s how you were going to make your money, was by winning.
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Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, #4, avoids a Tennessee defender during the first half of an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
“Winning attracts people to that program, it attracts scouts, it attracts GMs, it attracts ownership to allow yourself that opportunity to go make yourself a lot of money and change your family tree for a long period of time. You can just tell. It’s not the same. I would think Bama fans should get used to that in a way of, hey, it’s not gonna be what you knew from 2008 up until last year, where there was just a certain standard. That’s not a knock on the coaching staff or a knock on anybody.
“It’s just a different era. I think it’s something that they’re going to have to buckle up if they’re not ready for it.”
McCarron threw for 9,019 yards and 17 touchdown passes in 53 games for Alabama.
Alabama wide receivers Germie Bernard, #5, and Ryan Williams, #2, celebrate a touchdown by Bernard during the second half of an NCAA college football game against South Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
With the SEC as strong as it is, Alabama’s schedule will not be any easier after Missouri. The team will hit the road on Nov. 9 for a matchup against LSU. The team will have Mercer mixed in before playing Oklahoma and Auburn.
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