Seth McLaughlin left Alabama just days after its loss to Michigan during the College Football Playoff semifinal.
Now, one year later, McLaughlin is a national champion at Ohio State, after a difficult end to his career with the Crimson Tide.
Despite his All-American season being cut short due to a ruptured Achilles, McLaughlin is proud of the player he has developed into with the Buckeyes which is something he felt like he wasn’t getting at Alabama.
During an appearance the “CubeShow” with Cole Cubelic on Sunday, McLaughlin highlighted his stagnant development as a major reason for looking to leave Alabama.
“I felt like I got kind of stagnant in my development,” McLaughlin said. “Not by anything that the coaches did, just because there was a ton of younger guys that need to be developed to get on the field and play. And when you’re the guy that always knows that he’s doing, there’s a lot more coaching on what people are doing at that point that than how to do it.
“So i just knew i kind of wanted to leave and get more development on myself and I thought I could do that if I switch programs and I change.”
Despite the lack of growth he personally felt, all of McLaughlin’s feelings of transferring culminated after the loss to the Wolverines. Throughout the season, many were critical of McLaughlin’s snapping chemistry with quarterback Jalen Milroe, which were highlighted again when a snap appeared to come low on the final play of the game where Milroe was stopped at the goal line.
“Everything’s blowing up placing the whole loss on me, I see my address got leaked on Twitter,” McLaughlin said when talking about his experience following the Rose Bowl loss. “It was kind of a surreal moment, I had those conversations that I needed to with my position coach and head coach.
“I talked to Coach Saban and he told me he didn’t want me to leave but understood why I wanted to. He wanted me to stay but I wasn’t gonna do that I just gotta go and find a new place to grow and become the player I knew I could be.
“I’m glad it worked out that way.”
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Patrick Dowd is a Reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via Pat_Dowd77
