The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
LB McGee Another Newcomer Making An Impact For Blazers
10/24/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Steve Irvine
uabsports.com
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- Alonzo McGee had to look up on the depth chart during his first season at Georgia Military College. He didn't have the same problem his second season.
"All the sudden, in his second year, they're like `This is our best guy,'" said UAB head coach Bill Clark.
Now, the 6-foot-1, 214-pound McGee is one of the better guys on a UAB defense that has taken tremendous strides since last year. McGee is sharing time at the Mike linebacker with Harris Gaston and also can play the Will linebacker spot. He's third on the team with 27 tackles, including three for loss, and tied for team-high honors with eight tackles in a road win over Western Kentucky.
In other words, he's carried over the success he had at Georgia Military to Birmingham.
McGee is a product of Crestwood High in Sumter, South Carolina, where he had 123 tackles, including 23 tackles for loss, as a senior. He received some recruiting interest but did not qualify and chose to attend Georgia Military College.
It wasn't an easy transition.
"It was very, very tough," McGee said of the military school way of life. "I wanted to quit because most people don't make it out there."
So what got him through?
"I thought about what I was there for - to play football and get my grades up," McGee said. "I just kept grinding every day and playing ball."
It paid off during a season where Georgia Military College came up one step short of winning a national championship. The Bulldogs won their first 11 games before falling to East Mississippi Community College, 52-32, in the national championship game. McGee had a team-best eight tackles with three tackles for loss and one sack in the loss. He finished with 48 tackles while playing in 11 games.
"We all were a family at Georgia Military, same as here," McGee said. "You play around great players, that's what happens."
The family atmosphere created by Clark and the new staff was a big reason that McGee chose to come to UAB. But it took some time for the Blazers to connect with McGee. He received attention from mainly Football Championship Subdivision teams after nearly helping GMC win the national title. He eventually decided to attend Bethune-Cookman College but plans changed once he received a late call from the UAB coaching staff.
He visited UAB the weekend before National Signing Day and committed before returning home. He signed with the Blazers the following Wednesday and arrived in Birmingham in late spring.
"He didn't graduate at mid-term, which made him available to people like us who were getting in late as well," Clark said. "We fell in love with him immediately. His coaches loved him there and we see why. He's high energy, it's important to him, he loves the game of football, he's just a good kid."
McGee moved to the top depth at the Mike linebacker in a hurry during fall camp. However, he moved down a spot the day before the season opening win over Troy when Gaston was ruled eligible. However, McGee is glad to play on the same defense with Gaston, who has 25 tackles in six games.
"Harris Gaston is teaching me a lot," Gaston said. "After he came in, I watched and listened to him and learned a lot."
At times, McGee and Gaston have been on the field at the same time. Other times he's lined up with Jake Ganus, the team leader with 33 tackles and the starter at Will linebacker. McGee is capable of stuffing the run or dropping into coverage and equally comfortable chasing the quarterback.
"You see us, we move those guys around, rush them off the edge," Clark said. "We try to be real multiple. He has the speed to move outside but he hits like an inside guy."
