You might have enough narratives of every marvelous college football entity having their loudest cheerleaders in their family tree, mostly in their parents. But you can’t deny the happy fairytale essence behind it. With Arkansas State Quarterback Timmy McClain, it is even more of a storybook rise but with a pinch of personal melancholy.

Grandma and grandpas are the Robinhood of our childhood who offer us unconditional support and care fighting shy of the parents’ hard shell. Sally Ann, McClain’s grandmother, not only backed the kid with his childhood mischiefs but also pushed him through an astonishing career path in CFB in a mystic prediction. But before jumping to that meat, you better meet the McClain couple, Marchael and Timmy McClain, to know from where the 22-year-old got his power football genes.

Marchael McClain and Timmy McClain: Dynamic parents who raised a superstar kid

McClain is one of the most gifted passers in Central Florida high school football. His cool and calm demeanor during the pressure situation on the field from a very tender age was commendable. ”He was never a rah-rah, too-high or too-low kind of person. Having a steady kind of personality like that is always good for a football team,’ said former Seminole coach Eric Lodge. But it was never rocket science. It was all there in his DNA. Father Timmy McClain had his mark in Livingstone college as a standout QB.

He made it a habit that his little one goes on a regular practice with him, be it at midnight or mid-afternoon. But he was later flabbergasted, realizing it was actually his teen son who teaches him the lesson of perfectionism. The 7-year-old kid’s unwavering determination made him perfect a drill, no matter how much time and hours it took. ”If we started late, say around 11 p.m., we would still do it until we got it right,” said McClain’s father, a criminal defense attorney in Orlando by profession. The hard work started to pay off big time since he chose the Bulls over a slew of school offers in hand.

Mom, Marchael McClain, has been a silent witness to this glorious rise and keeps on being the emotional punchbag for her athletic kids. Kids, in the sense, McClain’s younger brother, Andrew, who was also a prolific quarterback at Seminole HS and replaced Timmy late in the 2020 Class 8A state title game following an injury bite.

Timmy McClain, who is a namesake to his father, has a distinct middle name Jahqueal stemming from the mixed effects of Jacquez Green, the former Florida Gator and Tampa Bay Bucs receiver, and his mother’s name, Marcheal. And Granny Sally Ann had a big vision for her favorite ‘Jahqueal’. 

How much does McClain owe his career to his late granny Sally Ann? 

Like every grandmother, Ann was an old fangirl of her grandson. Seeing the little one running with the ball with a fire in his eyes made her dream of a bigger picture. She was a big brag about her grandson, telling everyone he would be a footballer one day, ”That boy is going to be famous.’‘ The phrase became an obsession for the loving mother of senior McClain. She used to propagate it so much that her sisters jokingly remarked maybe these were the last words she murmured before she breathed her last.

McClain proved his grandmother true. The kid went beyond the boundary of his yard and the school premises and shined bright as the standout quarterback of UCF Knights, throwing for 1065 yards, nine touchdowns, and three interceptions in a breakout 2023 season.

He also made his legacy imprinted in the USF locker room in 2021 where he bagged 1888 yards, five touchdowns, and seven interceptions in just 11 games. Now, as he landed in Arkansas State for a fresh 2024 season, the stats will hopefully be on the higher side. After all, a departed soul from the above seems to smile big whenever the QB makes the opponent nettle with an impressive touchdown.

If you want to know about other nitty-gritty of college football, you can refer to our ES Think Tank interview with Doug Sanders, founder of Sanders Sports and Entertainment.