Baylor Football Recruiting
2020 Jase McClellan: Young, phenomenal, growing ... and wanted
Could the state's best football player be one of the youngest varsity players?
It's not a completely silly question when you watch Aledo High School running back Jase McClellan in action. Back in December, McClellan showed 25,983 fans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington that he was more than just another freshman.
McClellan did his part as the game's leading rusher to help Aledo defeat Corpus Christi Calallen in the UIL Class 5A Division II state championship game. Aledo won its seventh state title overall and sixth in the last eight years.
And who was the offensive MVP? It was the youngest player on the football field. McClellan, who finished his freshman season with 1,528 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns, was 14 years old when he earned his first state title.
And as we enter the month of June, McClellan is still 14. He doesn't turn 15 until June 25.
"If you look at him, you wouldn't think he was a 14-year-old freshman," Aledo coach Steve Wood said after the state championship game. "He's a specimen."
McClellan, one of the elite names in the 2020 class, showed his worth Tuesday morning during Aledo's spring game. He is no longer the new face of the program. He is a football juggernaut at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds and, more importantly, a leader for his team. He also happens to be a prime recruiting target for a number of schools -- Baylor being one of them.
And if you ask him, he'll be the first to admit he's just scratching the surface with what he can do.
"Life's been great, but there's still a lot of work to put in," McClellan said in March before The Opening's Dallas regional. "Most of our team was seniors, so you still put in work, go hard in the weight room and try to come back next year to get back to the state championship."
McClellan earned offensive MVP honors of the state championship game after rushing for 98 yards on 13 carries against Calallen. He scored on a 59-yard run that showed his speed, acceleration and power, carrying two defenders to the end zone the final seven yards of the run.
To say McClellan is beyond his years, Wood said, is an understatement.
"You put yourself back when you were 14 years old. I wouldn't be prepared like he is," Wood said. "What we try to talk to the kids about is staying level-headed, being a great teammate and not worrying about who gets the credit, as long as the job gets done in the end. As long as he stays level-headed, the sky's the limit for him."
McClellan has 13 reported offers. His second offer came from Baylor, and he said he's looking to make a few trips to the campus in the future. He scored the offer after visiting the campus in March.
"I like what the coaching staff is doing over there," McClellan said of Baylor. "When I was there, I had a chance to really see what all they were doing and what it was like there. I'll be watching what they do and how they use the running backs."
Along with Baylor, McClellan has offers from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Georgia, Michigan, Nebraska, Miami, Oregon and in-state schools Texas A&M, TCU, Houston and SMU. While he is a long way from making a final college decision, the winning school will get an athlete who has a college-ready body and a football mind that will make him an instant favorite among the coaching staff.
"He's just got another gear," Wood said. "He's really patient for a freshman. He'll sit back and let a play develop, and when he hits it, he really hits it. That's a strong young man, and I'm excited about helping him get stronger."
Wood, who has coached at Aledo for 14 years and just finished his third year as the head coach, said McClellan can be as dominant as two Aledo alumni before him -- running backs Johnathan Gray and Jess Anders. Gray is a 2012 Aledo graduate who signed with Texas; Anders is a 2015 graduate who signed with UTSA.
Gray is the high-profile back who McClellan is hoping to one day catch, statistically. Gray rushed for 205 career touchdowns and 10,889 career yards from 2008-11. The 205 touchdowns ranks No. 1 all-time, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations record book. The 10,889 career yards rank No. 5 all-time nationally.
"A lot of things go through my mind," McClellan said. "How can I come close to being as good as [Gray]? How can I be a better player? Seeing what he did makes me want to put in the extra work every day and every night."
The fact that McClellan has those goals so early in his high school career makes it easy to want to follow his every step.
It's not a bad life for someone who legally can't drive a car for a little over a year.
"He's a great young man," Wood said. "I know he can't drive for a couple of years, but if he needs me, I'll gladly pick him up to bring him to school."
Damon Sayles is a feature columnist for SicEm365. Follow Damon via Twitter: @DamonSayles
It's not a completely silly question when you watch Aledo High School running back Jase McClellan in action. Back in December, McClellan showed 25,983 fans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington that he was more than just another freshman.
McClellan did his part as the game's leading rusher to help Aledo defeat Corpus Christi Calallen in the UIL Class 5A Division II state championship game. Aledo won its seventh state title overall and sixth in the last eight years.
And who was the offensive MVP? It was the youngest player on the football field. McClellan, who finished his freshman season with 1,528 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns, was 14 years old when he earned his first state title.
And as we enter the month of June, McClellan is still 14. He doesn't turn 15 until June 25.
"If you look at him, you wouldn't think he was a 14-year-old freshman," Aledo coach Steve Wood said after the state championship game. "He's a specimen."
McClellan, one of the elite names in the 2020 class, showed his worth Tuesday morning during Aledo's spring game. He is no longer the new face of the program. He is a football juggernaut at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds and, more importantly, a leader for his team. He also happens to be a prime recruiting target for a number of schools -- Baylor being one of them.
And if you ask him, he'll be the first to admit he's just scratching the surface with what he can do.
"Life's been great, but there's still a lot of work to put in," McClellan said in March before The Opening's Dallas regional. "Most of our team was seniors, so you still put in work, go hard in the weight room and try to come back next year to get back to the state championship."
McClellan earned offensive MVP honors of the state championship game after rushing for 98 yards on 13 carries against Calallen. He scored on a 59-yard run that showed his speed, acceleration and power, carrying two defenders to the end zone the final seven yards of the run.
To say McClellan is beyond his years, Wood said, is an understatement.
"You put yourself back when you were 14 years old. I wouldn't be prepared like he is," Wood said. "What we try to talk to the kids about is staying level-headed, being a great teammate and not worrying about who gets the credit, as long as the job gets done in the end. As long as he stays level-headed, the sky's the limit for him."
McClellan has 13 reported offers. His second offer came from Baylor, and he said he's looking to make a few trips to the campus in the future. He scored the offer after visiting the campus in March.
"I like what the coaching staff is doing over there," McClellan said of Baylor. "When I was there, I had a chance to really see what all they were doing and what it was like there. I'll be watching what they do and how they use the running backs."
Along with Baylor, McClellan has offers from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Georgia, Michigan, Nebraska, Miami, Oregon and in-state schools Texas A&M, TCU, Houston and SMU. While he is a long way from making a final college decision, the winning school will get an athlete who has a college-ready body and a football mind that will make him an instant favorite among the coaching staff.
"He's just got another gear," Wood said. "He's really patient for a freshman. He'll sit back and let a play develop, and when he hits it, he really hits it. That's a strong young man, and I'm excited about helping him get stronger."
Wood, who has coached at Aledo for 14 years and just finished his third year as the head coach, said McClellan can be as dominant as two Aledo alumni before him -- running backs Johnathan Gray and Jess Anders. Gray is a 2012 Aledo graduate who signed with Texas; Anders is a 2015 graduate who signed with UTSA.
Gray is the high-profile back who McClellan is hoping to one day catch, statistically. Gray rushed for 205 career touchdowns and 10,889 career yards from 2008-11. The 205 touchdowns ranks No. 1 all-time, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations record book. The 10,889 career yards rank No. 5 all-time nationally.
"A lot of things go through my mind," McClellan said. "How can I come close to being as good as [Gray]? How can I be a better player? Seeing what he did makes me want to put in the extra work every day and every night."
The fact that McClellan has those goals so early in his high school career makes it easy to want to follow his every step.
It's not a bad life for someone who legally can't drive a car for a little over a year.
"He's a great young man," Wood said. "I know he can't drive for a couple of years, but if he needs me, I'll gladly pick him up to bring him to school."
Damon Sayles is a feature columnist for SicEm365. Follow Damon via Twitter: @DamonSayles
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