Alabama football: 5 most overrated players in program history

Rolando McClain was the first star linebacker under Nick Saban. The Decatur, Alabama native arrived in Tuscaloosa the same year as Saban, leaving in 2009 as a First-Team All-American, a Butkus Award winner and a BCS National Champion. The disruptive playmaker was key in Alabama defeating the Texas Longhorns, but never achieved all that he could at the professional level.

McClain was taken No. 8 overall by the then-Oakland Raiders in the 2010 NFL Draft. The Silver and Black were an incredibly zany organization at the tail-end of late owner Al Davis’ life. Though this was a selection many draft pundits applaud, McClain had all sorts of trouble on and off the field in Oakland.

After three years with the Raiders, he was released in 2013. McClain was briefly on the Baltimore Ravens before joining the Dallas Cowboys. That’s when things really went off the rails. Substance abuse issues wrecked his NFL career, resulting in him being suspended multiple times by the league. McClain has not played a snap in the NFL since 2015, and may never do so again.

Was McClain an incredibly talented player for Saban at Alabama? Absolutely, but with so many incredible linebackers following him in the form of Reggie Ragland, Reuben Foster and Dylan Moses among many, we have to wonder if McClain was really a product of Saban’s defensive system. Regardless, he proved to be one of Saban’s bigger draft busts while at Alabama.