Former Oakland Raiders linebacker Rolando McClain appears to be attempting to get his life back on track. After unexpectedly retiring from football last month, McClain has reportedly decided to go back to the school where he became a star.
According to Nick Saban, McClain is back at Alabama.
“I know a lot of people get disappointed in Rolando McClain and a lot of the things he’s struggled with,” Saban said Tuesday during a speaking engagement, via AL.com, “but he’s with us now.”
McClain played three standout years with the Crimson Tide and wound up being taken with the eighth overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. He was released by the Raiders earlier this offseason and signed by the Baltimore Ravens on April 12, but was arrested for the third time in two years just 10 days later.
McClain has had a difficult time staying out of trouble since he entered the NFL. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail in 2011 for allegedly firing a gun by the head of another man. He was also arrested at the beginning of the year for giving a false name when he was pulled over, but later said the “corrupt police” were at fault for the arrest. Despite all that, Saban spoke highly of him.
“That guy was a phenomenal leader,” he said. “He affected everybody in the organization at a time when we needed leadership because we had a lot of bad things happen when I first got there.”
I suppose it’s never too late to get your life back on track, and finishing college is a good starting point for that. McClain certainly has a lot to prove.
