Alabama football commit, Jaylen Mbakwe is accepting the challenge of being the starting quarterback for the Clay-Chalkville Cougars in stride.

Mbakwe, who is considered a five-star athlete, is projected to be a defensive back at the next level. However, his athleticism and playmaking ability make him a candidate to contribute on either side of the football in the future. The Cougars are giving the Alabama pledge the keys to its offense this season, and Mbakwe feels it is helping him grow as a leader.

"It has been great,” Mbakwe said. “It is just being that leader I have been in in the past. I just got to boost my leadership up a little bit more coming from the quarterback position.”

Clay-Chalkville’s offense is picking up momentum with Mbakwe as QB1. The Cougars are 3-0 after picking up their latest win over Pell City. Mbakwe had four touchdowns in the first half in the win.

“It means a lot to us,” said Mbakwe when asked what the win means to him and his squad. “We struggled the first two weeks, and we came back and then we played excellent as an offense. I feel like we played great as a big first region win and we just got to keep it going.”

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Mbakwe is keeping a close eye on Alabama this season as his commitment remains firm. He was in attendance for both of the Tide’s first two games. Before Alabama was defeated by Texas Saturday, the five-star said he like the swagger Alabama’s defense started the season with.

It is a long season ahead for both Clay-Chalkville and Alabama. Mbakwe will look to continue to be the elite

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Justin Smith is the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via jdsmith31smith