Former Auburn football LB coach Travis Williams, who currently serves as the defensive coordinator under Gus Malzahn at UCF, gave praise to a current Tiger the pair coached on the Plains.
And said praise was higher than Willie Nelson at the Guadalupe Peak.
LB Zakoby McClain, currently #3 in the SEC for total tackles, was called one of the all-time greats at his position.
This was Williams’ response to being asked what he thought about the former Valdosta, Georgia 4-star Malzahn recruit (via 247Sports):
"“He’s up there (with the best Auburn linebackers in recent memory),” Travis Williams, Zakoby’s former position coach at Auburn and an All-SEC linebacker for the program in 2004 and 2005, told Auburn Undercover. “From a guy that coached him and a guy that played there, it’s a unique perspective. There’s been a lot of really good linebackers and he’s a great one. The first thing that comes out, he’s a dog. He’s a guy you want in an alley with you. He’s a guy that loves ball. Even recruiting him coming out people talked about his size, and I’m like, ‘Have y’all seen the film? Have you seen how this dude plays the game?”“He’s right up there. His peers will tell you tell he’s one of the best, not even the coaches — his peers will tell you, Zakoby is the one.”“He’s definitely one of the top ones to come through Auburn,” Williams said. “I was texting with Karlos Dansby, Dontarrious (Thomas), Mayo Sowell. I’m like, ‘This guy right here, he ranks up there,’ and they all agree."
McClain will be a lynchpin in Derek Mason’s defensive counter to the Aggies rushing attack of Isaiah Spiller and Devon Achane.
Perhaps beyond this season, McClain’s Auburn football journey could segue into a professional career, but for now, McClain is the glue guy of the a defense that has proven to be lost without him the first half of the Tigers’ Week 4 Georgia State clash after the phantom targeting call against Penn State the week prior.