Greg McElroy was in the running for a scholarship offer from Texas.
"I got a pretty good look from them," he said.
No, McElroy was not invited to sign with the Longhorns. Apparently his running ability was a drawback.
"They wanted a more mobile guy," he said. "They were real honest with me.
They said I just really wasn't fast enough."
No hard feelings. The
Crimson Tide starting quarterback isn't going into the Jan. 7 national championship game against the Longhorns with a grudge.
"It's all about winning," McElroy said. "It's not about a chip on the shoulder or revenge."
"They went with who they went with, and they've obviously had a lot of success, and I've had success here, so things work out," McElroy added.
"I like Texas. I have a lot of respect for their program. I was a Texas Tech fan growing up, but I'm happy for those guys. They've obviously done a great job. Coach (Mack) Brown is obviously second to none in the business."
McElroy started only one year in high school, but he threw a state-record 56 touchdown passes and led Southlake Carroll in suburban Dallas to a 16-0 record and a state championship. He committed to Texas Tech before that season but signed with Alabama after the season.
Brown said he and his staff considered offering McElroy a scholarship.
"The thing people don't understand about the University of Texas is that there's on the average 375 guys that sign scholarships in Division I out of the state of Texas each year, and we usually take 20," Brown said.
"I think there's 23 quarterbacks starting in programs across the country in Division I-A from the state of Texas.
"You start looking at what he did. He won. Greg was doing what he's doing now. He's a tremendous player. He was at Southlake Carroll, which won all the games. That hasn't changed.
"He manages the game well. He's a guy that's got great composure. He's got tremendous confidence." McElroy is a fourth-year junior, but he's a first-year starter, and he's still undefeated as a starting quarterback. He started the season well, slumped for a few games but bounced back. He led
Alabama on a long, late drive for a winning touchdown at Auburn, and he won the most valuable player award after leading the Crimson Tide to a 32-13 victory over Florida in the Southeastern Conference championship game.
He's a graduate student whose worst grade in college has been the B-plus he received last spring in a leadership and management class. Becoming a Rhodes Scholar is a possibility, but he won't apply until after the 2010 season.
McElroy considers himself a Texan, but he lived in the Los Angeles area until he was 10 years old. He has never been to the Rose Bowl, where the top-ranked Crimson Tide (13-0) and second-ranked Longhorns (13-0) will clash.
"We used to go to the Coliseum all the time and watch USC play," McElroy said. "I was a Stanford fan, believe it or not. I was kind of the brainiac. I was like, 'Yeah, I'm going to go to Stanford.' Of course, all the parents were impressed with that, a 9-year-old saying they want to go be a doctor at Stanford."
McElroy's father -- "my best friend" -- is a vice president in charge of marketing for the Dallas Cowboys. Previously he held a similar position with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He flew to L.A. each Monday and back to Dallas each Thursday to watch his son play high school football.
McElroy has spent some time this month at home in Texas, where he has heard "a good bit" of talk about the national championship game.
"Pretty good-hearted stuff," he said. " 'I hope you do good, but hook 'em Horns.' It's one of those things. Do you really want to hear that? Like, 'I'm a Texas fan, but I hope you play OK.' Just tell me you're a Texas fan, you know?"
McElroy said he didn't get a chance to see any of his former high school teammates who now play for Texas, "but I've been thinking about them a lot," he said. "I know it should be a nice little reunion between the players I'm familiar with down there."
Texas senior quarterback Colt McCoy is one reason why McElroy isn't wearing burnt orange. McCoy was a freshman with the Longhorns when McElroy was a senior in high school. Jevan Snead started out at Texas before transferring to Ole Miss. John Brantley was committed to Texas before he signed with Florida.
McElroy and McCoy are acquainted.
"I know Colt fairly well," McElroy said. "I met him when I was in high school and I was a junior and he was a senior."
McCoy doesn't remember meeting McElroy until July, when they shared a suite while serving as camp counselors at the Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, La.
"I've gotten to know him mainly through that and social situations," McElroy said. "That was pretty enjoyable. Getting to see somebody off the field is obviously eye-opening.
"For Colt, it's eye-opening in such a good way. I have so much respect for him and how he carries himself and how he handles both the pressure and the celebrity status that comes with being the Texas quarterback. He's a guy who stands by his morals. He's very assertive. He holds strong against all the pressures that come along with it."
So did the two quarterbacks compare notes at the Manning camp?
"Mostly just X's and O's and talking situations and a lot of smack talking, too, of course," McElroy said.
"Colt's a great guy. He's a great player. He's had an incredible career. I know he's going to be ready to play against us."
