NY Giants LB Jameel McClain Returns to Hometown in Showdown vs. Eagles

In the heart of Philadelphia, there is a statue of Rocky Balboa, the fictitious boxer made famous by actor Sylvester Stallone in the Rocky movie franchise.

The statue, which, according to VisitPhilly.com, was originally created as a prop for Rocky III, reminds its native sons and daughters of what toughness, determination and resiliency can lead to if one embraces the notion of hard work and the never-ending quest to be great. 

That’s a concept embraced by another one-time boxer and Gold Glove competitor from the City of Brotherly Love.

That one-time boxer, who today is an NFL linebacker, is Jameel McClain, who, with his New York Giants teammates, will visit his old stomping grounds for a critical division matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night. 

Shaping the Clay

Born on July 25, 1985, McClain was raised with his three siblings by his mother in a household that didn’t have much in the way of material possessions.

Sometimes, those meager possessions didn’t even include the basics that most people take for granted, such as a permanent roof over their heads.

While growing up, McClain, whose family moved around a lot and who spent time at an inner-city Salvation Army shelter, was no stranger to witnessing some of life’s harshest realities.

“I’ve been through everything you can encounter in this game and in this life,” McClain said.  

Rather than let his environment engulf and eventually destroy him, McClain and that fighting spirit—that to this day makes him a feared competitor determined to defeat the man across from him on the football field—wanted better.

To do that, McClain had to find the right path.

The Mentor

In the first installment of the Rocky franchise, the title character had a wise old trainer named Mickey to help him train.

McClain was fortunate enough to have his own Mickey come into his life at just the right time.

That person was his uncle, Greg Smith, who took the young man, his mother and his siblings into his home when McClain was a young teenager.

“My uncle was the first man in my life to really have any influence on me,” McClain said.

While Smith didn’t have McClain running the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, he did provide his adolescent nephew with a type of training that would serve him well for the rest of his life. 

That act by Smith that left such a deep impression on his young nephew was helping McClain’s older brother acquire a good-paying government job.

“I was young, and I remember thinking, ‘Man, I want that job; I want to make that kind of money,’” McClain said.

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press/Associated Press

His uncle, however, had some stern, yet sage words of advice for McClain.

“My uncle told me, ‘Look, I can’t do anything for you if you get into trouble. You can’t get this kind of job.’ That one piece of advice kept me out of trouble,” he said.

To make sure he stayed out of trouble, McClain took up football, playing for George Washington High School in northeast Philadelphia for a team coached by Ron Cohen, the winningest coach in Philadelphia city history.

A team captain in his senior season, McClain finished his high school career with 230 tackles, 22 sacks, eight forced fumbles and 13 fumble recoveries.

That body of work was good enough to attract the attention of Syracuse University, where McClain became an integral part of the Orangemen’s defense in his freshman season. 

By the time his college career ended, McClain ranked seventh on the school’s record list for tackles by a down lineman (177) and tied for 11th on the career tackle-for-loss record list (21.5).

Besides being an outstanding athlete, McClain also excelled in the classroom, where he earned inclusion on the school’s “Athletic Director’s Honor Roll” during his final three semesters.

The First Fight

Every year, a limited number of draft-eligible college athletes are given a chance, either via the draft or through free agency, to make an NFL roster. 

While many are committed to exceeding at the next level, some are not.

McClain, an undrafted rookie free agent whom the Baltimore Ravens signed on May 9, 2008, knew the magnitude of the opportunity the team offered.

He also knew that he was going to have to work as hard as he could to show that he belonged in the NFL. 

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

“All of the things I have overcome while growing up have just made every transition that’s happened in this league so easy," he said.

"Because I’m used to knowing that, I have to believe in myself and that I have to fight for what I want.”

What he wanted was to be an NFL linebacker for a Ravens team that already had the legendary Ray Lewis on its roster.

Observing Lewis’ work ethic and leadership, McClain began to shape himself into that blue-collar, high-motor type who, through sheer will and determination, aspired to outwork the man across from him on every play.

Per his Ravens bio, McClain became the only rookie free agent to make Baltimore’s opening-day roster.

In his first NFL season, he immediately made an impact by establishing a new franchise record with two safeties. He also finished third on the team with 17 special teams tackles.

As he continued to ingrain himself on that Ravens defense, McClain began to evolve as a leader under Lewis’ tutelage.

“He is a phenomenal man,” McClain said of Lewis.

“His words were amazing, but his actions were everything. One of the things I really learned from him is that you can talk to people a million ways and say a lot of things, but if you don’t back it up, nobody will believe you."

The Sequel

Fully committed to his craft, McClain treated each new season with that same doggedness that drove him to prove as a rookie that he was worthy of being on an NFL roster.

Promoted full time to the starting lineup in 2010, McClain has gone on to become one of the top three Ravens defenders in total tackles, while also finding his voice as a team leader.

His performance was so good that in March 2012, the Ravens rewarded him with a two-year contract worth $10.5 million, according to Spotrac.  

Unfortunately, McClain didn’t get a chance to finish that 2012 season, which ended with a Super Bowl championship. 

In a 31-28 loss to Washington in Week 14, he suffered a spinal-cord contusion that landed him on injured reserve.

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Being the fighter he is, McClain overcame that injury, an ailment that causes symptoms such as weakness, numbness and, in the worst-case scenario, complete and permanent paralysis.

Although the timing could not have come at a worse time, McClain was determined to get back up from what could have potentially been a knockout punch to his career.

“I’ve been given things, and then I’ve had them taken away. God always finds a way to keep me humble,” he said.

McClain spent the first six weeks of the 2013 season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.

He would then play 10 games in what would be his final season as a Raven. He finished that season with 52 tackles.

On February 27, 2014, the Ravens terminated McClain’s contract, which was due to pay him $3.2 million in base salary this season. 

Having to find a new “home” yet again in his life, and for the first time as a professional football player, McClain drew interest from several teams, including the Giants, Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings.

Ultimately, he decided that the Giants were the best fit for him, signing what Over the Cap reported to be a two-year, $4.5 million contract on March 15, 2014.

A True Giant  

Originally projected to be the Giants’ starting strong-side linebacker, McClain, who often calls himself “a linebacker,” has had to fill in for Jon Beason in the middle during Beason’s absence with a toe injury. 

With McClain quarterbacking the defense, the unit hasn’t missed a beat. It’s currently ranked 18th overall in the NFL, with the 10th-best run defense.

He has also done well individually. According to the latest Giants’ team stats, McClain’s 31 tackles are second on the team, behind fellow linebacker Jacquian Williams’ 39 tackles.

What is probably most admirable about McClain is how he instantaneously clicked within the Giants’ culture. 

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That didn’t happen by accident. McClain’s fellow linebackers lauded him for coming in on day one with an open mind and a great attitude that befits the Giants’ locker room. 

“When you become a vet, sometimes you’re like, ‘Oh, I don’t have to prepare or study.’ That’s not the case with Jameel,” said Beason. “He’s in it, and every week he prepares.”

“Jameel is a vocal guy, very passionate and definitely is a downhill, physical linebacker,” Williams said. “You know he has been around some great guys.”

“McClain is definitely a high-energy guy,” added linebacker Devon Kennard. “He always gets the room going in some kind of way.”

“You have to play into who you are,” McClain said of his personality and why he has been such a good fit in the Giants organization.

“I’m blessed that the Giants brought me in here. They brought me, Jameel McClain, the person in. If I take away from the person I am, then they are not getting the bang for their buck.

“But, if they tell me to tone it down, then I’m going to tone it down because they’re the boss,” he added with a grin.

McClain smiled and shook his head when it was suggested that he has the traits of a leader.

“I don’t play with the ‘leader’ word as much as everyone else,” he said. “I believe everyone has something in them that everyone else can follow, so in that sense, everyone’s a leader.”

Back to the Past for the Future

On Sunday, McClain makes his first trip back to play in a game held in his old stomping grounds since September 16, 2012, when McClain was part of a Ravens team that finished 10-6 before rolling through to a Super Bowl championship.

The Eagles, meanwhile, fell to 4-12 that season, Andy Reid’s last as the team’s head coach.

This time around, things are very different for both the Eagles and McClain’s current team, the Giants.

If the Giants win, their 4-2 record will move them a half-game ahead of the Eagles, who would also be 4-2, in the NFC East because of the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Alex Goodlett/Getty Images

To put it plainly, a Giants win would be huge. To ensure he does his part to make that happen, McClain abstained from participating in the sophomoric behavior by both sides and focused on the task before him.

“If you need something extra to push you over the top, far be it from me to stop you from whatever you need for extra motivation,” McClain said.

“But I don’t need anything to go out there and motivate me to play the game that I love. My motivation is the competition. My motivation is the sport, the challenge.”

Rocky Balboa no doubt would have been proud of his fellow Philadelphian.

All quotes and information for this article obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced. Follow me on Twitter @Patricia_Traina.