The Los Angeles Rams are arguably the hottest team in the NFL and a former Volunteer football player is a big part of the team’s success – on and off the field.

Jacques McClendon, the Rams’ Director of Player Engagement, graduated from the University of Tennessee in 2009 after lettering for the football team all four years. During that time he collected both his undergraduate degree in Economics and his master’s degree in Sports Management – an academic achievement that is rarely accomplished by regular students, let alone student-athletes with an already rigorous schedule.

McClendon is thankful Tennessee provided him the support and direction to earn his two degrees, while simultaneously preparing him for a career after football – a career in which he is already finding massive success.

McClendon played for the Vols from 2006-09 and was an anchor on the offensive line throughout his football career. He was a part of the offensive line for the Vols that allowed only four sacks in 2008 – the lowest total in the nation that fall.

He excelled on the field and off the field.

“They made a great academic plan for me to be successful,” McClendon said. “I graduated in three years and got my master’s (degree) in my fourth. That is in no short thanks to the plan that was given to me at the Thornton Center as a college freshman.”

McClendon credits much of his success in school and on the field to the Thornton Athletics Student Life Center, a facility on UT’s campus that offers counseling and career development services for student-athletes.

“I was taking 18 hours a summer to make sure everything was on track for me to graduate early,” McClendon added. “The Thornton Center provided that. I was a part of an ecosystem that allows student-athletes to be the best student they can be.”

After being selected by the Colts in the 2010 NFL Draft, McClendon enjoyed six years on an NFL roster before retiring in January 2017.

McClendon is now in a role that he believes is tailored to the kind of person he is, as he holds the position of the Director of Player Engagement for the Los Angeles Rams. He serves as a liaison between the players, coaches and the business office – making life for all three sides much smoother.

“I have a role that touches every department in our organization,” McClendon said. “Being able to have those contacts and seeing how we run everything… it’s a great growing experience for me.”

Following his playing career, McClendon received the ‘”Athlete Development Professional Certification” from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, through the “Executive Education” program.

Soon after, he received a call from the Los Angeles Rams for an interview and he was offered the job the next day.

“If I could do it all over again, I’d do it 10 times out of 10,” McClendon said. “I’ve had so much professional growth since taking this job. I think the trajectory of what I can do moving forward will always come back to this role I have here… I’m forever grateful.”

McClendon credits his relationships with NFL players and personnel today to the structure the Thornton Center built for him and the knowledge he gained at Tennessee.

“Tennessee prides themselves not only on being elite athletes, but elite students,” McClendon said. “I don’t think there’s a university that displays that as well as the University of Tennessee. I know that I was more than prepared for the world when I graduated and when I moved on after the 2009 season.”

McClendon grew up in East Tennessee and always pictured himself playing for the Vols. In 49 games he logged 26 starts for UT, and was a part of some of the most-prolific offensive lines Tennessee has displayed in the last decade.

McClendon was recruited by Phillip Fulmer and played for him for three seasons.

Fulmer took over as Director of Athletics last December for Tennessee. McClendon believes there’s “no better man to lead the ship.”

“To know that we have somebody that cares for Tennessee more than anybody can imagine,” he said about Fulmer. “It’s just right. It’s what it’s supposed to be. I am so happy for him and I support him fully.”

When McClendon isn’t spending his offseason on Rocky Top or in his home in Thousand Oaks, Calif., he joins public speaking panels to discuss how student-athletes aren’t just there for the sport – they are there to take advantage of an education.

In fact, McClendon did so well in speaking with these panels in the offseason that he was appointed to the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, which promotes reforms that support and strengthen the education mission of college sports.

“I didn’t see it coming,” McClendon said. “I just want to make sure the opportunity for every other student-athlete is better than I ever could have had.”

In high school, McClendon attended the Baylor School, a private high school in Chattanooga.

At Baylor, he broke several records in the weight room, including bench press and the squat record. He played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and was twice named All-State.

Even after experiencing tremendous success in his four years at Baylor, the Chattanooga native never second guessed where he would attend college for the next four years.

“Growing up in East Tennessee, everybody’s dream is running through that T,” McClendon said. “Being able to experience that, it will forever be engrained in my heart. I’m a proud Tennessean and a proud alumnus. It’s a part of the cloth of the fabric that I feel that I’m made of.”

UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee basketball program wraps up its season-opening, three-game homestand on Tuesday, hosting Georgia Tech at Thompson-Boling Arena for a 9 p.m. ET tip.

ESPN2 will carry the broadcast on Tuesday night, which can also be streamed online through WatchESPN. Fans can also listen live on their local Vol Network affiliate to hear Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp describing the action. Tickets are still available online at AllVols.com.

Tennessee (2-0) enters the season’s second week off an 87-65 victory over Louisiana last Friday night. For the second straight game, all five UT starters finished the game in double-digit scoring, led by junior Grant Williams’ 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting. As a unit, Tennessee’s first five of Jordan Bone, Jordan Bowden, Admiral Schofield, Kyle Alexander and Williams are averaging a combined 73.5 points per game through the first two outings of the season.

Those efforts from the starting unit have gotten UT off to a quick start offensively this season. Through two games, Tennessee has scored a combined 173 points, the most points by a Tennessee team through the first two games of the season since the 2011-12 campaign (177). Additionally, the Vols continue to share the rock effectively, averaging 25.0 assists per game compared to just a 9.0 apg clip for their opponents.

Tuesday’s showdown with Georgia Tech marks the final meeting of a four-game contract between the Vols and Yellow Jackets that began in 2015. Tennessee dropped the first game of the series that November, but has won each of the last two contests—81-58 in Knoxville in 2016 and 77-70 last season in Atlanta.

A WIN WOULD…

• Tie Rick Barnes for 26th on the all-time wins list with legendary coach John Wooden (664).
• Improve UT’s record vs. current members of the ACC to 110-99.
• Give the Volunteers their fourth win over an ACC team during the last two seasons.
• Move UT to 3-0 on the season heading into the NIT Season Tip-Off.

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH

• There is plenty of history in this series, as these programs met annually from 1945-68 (Tech was a member of the SEC from 1932-64).
• Georgia Tech opened its season last Friday night, running past Lamar 88-69 in Atlanta. Tech never trailed in the game and dished out 26 assists on 32 made baskets.
• Four Yellow Jackets scored in double figures in the win, led by Brandon Alston’s 17 points.
• The Yellow Jackets lost three of their top four scorers from last season, including first-round NBA Draft pick Josh Okogie (18.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.5 apg) and former ACC Defensive Player of the Year Ben Lammers (11.7 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 2.4 bpg).
• Jose Alvarado (12.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.7 spg in 2017-18) is the team’s top returning player. The sophomore guard started all 25 games he played in before suffering a season-ending injury during conference play. Alvarado tallied 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting on Friday night against Lamar.
• After sitting out last year due to transfer rules, former Vol guard Shembari Phillips eligible to compete this season for the Yellow Jackets. He got the start in Tech’s season-opener, scoring 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting to go with four rebounds and four assists.

GEORGIA CONNECTIONS

• Tennessee also has produced two All-Americans who are Georgia natives: Reggie Johnson (Ellenwood) was a first-team All-American in 1979 and 1980; Dale Ellis (Marietta) was a first-team All-American in 1982 and 1983.
• Third-year Vols assistant coach Desmond Oliver worked as an assistant at Tech rival UGA in Athens, Georgia, from 2004-09. He was on the Bulldogs staff when UGA won the 2008 SEC Tournament in Atlanta.
• During Oliver’s time at UGA, the Bulldogs were 2-3 against the in-state rival Yellow Jackets.

SCHOFIELD, WILLIAMS NEARING 1,000-POINT MILESTONE

• Senior wing Admiral Schofield and junior forward Grant Williams enter UT’s game against Georgia Tech less than 25 points away from eclipsing the 1,000-point mark for their careers.
• A total of 48 Vols have accomplished that feat during their time on Rocky Top, with Robert Hubbs III being the most recent addition to the 1K Club in 2016-17.
• Schofield (988 points) and Williams (977 points) could both reach the milestone on Tuesday night. The last time a UT duo achieved the feat in the same season was during the 2013-14 campaign, as eventual NBA Draft picks Jordan McRae (1,521 points) and Jarnell Stokes (1,129 points) joined the club while helping lead Tennessee to a Sweet Sixteen appearance.
• All-time, UT has had 10 duos reach 1,000 points in the same season, including Ernie Grunfeld and Bernard King in 1975-76.
• Along with this year’s All-SEC duo, junior guard Lamonté Turner also could surpass 1,000 career points this season. At 644 career points, the 2018 SEC Co-Sixth Man of the Year needs just 356 points to reach 1,000. Last year, Turner finished the season with 381 points. If all three were to eclipse the mark, it would mark the first time a Tennessee trio has done so in the same year.

BARNES APPROACHING JOHN WOODEN’S CAREER WINS TOTAL

• Rick Barnes owns 663 Division I wins in his 32 seasons as a head coach. Legendary UCLA coach John Wooden totaled 664 victories during his 29-year career.
• Barnes needs only two more wins to ascend past Wooden into 26th place on the all-time D-I wins list.

PICK YOUR POISON

• Tennessee’s roster features five different players who have multiple 20-point games during their careers.
• Grant Williams owns a team-high 12 20-point games, while Admiral Schofield follows with seven such performances.
• Lamonte Turner has scored 20 or more points five times, and fellow juniors Jordan Bone and Jordan Bowden each have done so twice.
• So far this season, UT’s starting five has eclipsed the double-digit scoring margin for both games.

UP NEXT: NIT SEASON TIP-OFF

• Tennessee heads to New York City for the NIT Season Tip-Off next week. The Vols open their stay in the Big Apple with a showdown against Louisville on Wednesday, Nov. 21.
• UT will play again on Nov. 23, facing either No. 1 Kansas or Marquette.
• Tennessee last appeared in the NIT Season Tip-Off in November 2010. That year, the Vols walked away as champions after defeating VCU in the semifinals and Villanova in the title game.

UT Athletics

Opening Statement:
“I thought for the first time this year that our guys played with good effort throughout the game. We didn’t always execute like we would like to, and we definitely didn’t finish the game the way you want to. We had two fumbles in the fourth quarter and had a chance to finish the game and we didn’t. Luckily, we got some turnovers on defense, but there are lots of positives, but there’s a lot of things we can learn from and we need to improve on to get better this week.

“We are playing against a really good football team. These guys [Missouri] are 6-4 and really with the rain game against South Carolina where they had a pretty good lead and if they don’t get two penalties against Kentucky, they are probably 8-2 and they have played the two best teams in our league in Alabama and Georgia better than the rest of us. They are very well coached and balanced offensively. It starts with their quarterback and upfront they have a lot of experience. Missouri has really good tight ends and playmakers on the outside. They also play multiple running backs, take care of the football and make explosive plays. Defensively, they have been good against the run. They have good pass rushers and they give you multiple looks defensively. They have good guys on special teams, good specialists and good returners.

“We need to improve this week, eliminate mistakes from Saturday and eliminate negative plays offensively. We need to create explosive plays and hopefully find something in the run game. Defensively, we need to find some way to affect the quarterback. We have to able to stop the run against these guys and get off the field and hopefully we can create something positive on special teams.”

On Saturday being Senior Day:
“I think the seniors we have, most of them have graduated, and the few that have not are graduating this semester. That is why they came here is to get a degree. If you look back there are some really good times for this group and some times they probably wish they had back. In the last 11 months, these guys have really bought in and they have really tried to do what we’ve asked them to and we are thankful for that. Hopefully some of these guys behind them can follow their lead and the expectations and standards of how they went about their business.”

On discipline after the win against Kentucky:
“We have done a lot of things that a good football team doesn’t do during the game. We had a penalty after a touchdown, we turned the ball over in the fourth quarter and we intercept the ball and pitch it on the ground with a 17-point lead with two minutes to go in the game. We have to learn how to win to give ourselves a chance to win. We have to know how to handle it and those are some lessons we can learn from that.”

On setting a foundation:
“When you look at the big picture that is a big deal, but we are focused on trying to improve today and learn from the mistakes we made Saturday. Hopefully, we won’t make them again and focus on Missouri to find a way to play our best football.”

On what he saw on film:
“Defensively, I thought we did a really good job of keeping the quarterback in the pocket. We kept him from creating some big plays in the passing game and we kept our edges. We weren’t perfect by any means. We made a lot of mistakes in the game that we need to correct. We can’t continue to make mistakes. I do think our guys played hard defensively. We probably tackled a little better than we had in the past.

“Offensively, there are still a lot of negative plays. There’s plays that, whether we didn’t have the right splits at the receiver or maybe we’re pulling to a backer and he runs through and we don’t have eyes on him. So, there’s a chance we could’ve had maybe a 15-yard play and we got minus four. The quarterback works the wrong side of the field, we didn’t high-point a football, ball security. There’s lots of things. We had some penalties. We had plenty of things that we need to improve on, I can assure you.”

On Bryce Thompson’s injury:
“He got his bell rung. I’m not a doctor, so he’ll go through the standard precautionary deals. He came in and saw me today and he’s fine, so we’ll see.”

On Darrell Taylor’s performance:
“Well, twice they didn’t block him. When they don’t block you, you need to sack the quarterback. The other two times, we had them in long-yardage situations and I think that helped. It helped with them being behind the sticks. I think some of it had to do with not having explosive plays and having a little more ability to stop the run, to put them in some long-yardage situations. It’s much easier to rush the quarterback when they’re one-dimensional.

“Darrell has ability. We’ve been harping on him all year about consistency. He’s learning a new scheme and he’s got a lot thrown at him just like the other guys and he’s going to continue to improve in the duration of his career.”

On if there’s a difference between Darrell Taylor with his hand on the ground or standing up to rush the quarterback:
“No. It’s interesting, though. We play 3-4 (defense) and we stand up and then we play 4-3 (defense), so it depends on the plays that they run. Some of it depends on how comfortable our players are in a stance. We want them to play in a stance that they can be the most productive at, depending on the plays.”

On how they can get the offensive line to be more consistent:
“Not having mental errors, to start with. Some of it is being in the right run of looks. If they have four guys and we have three to block them, that’s not a good look. We don’t need to be running plays into that. There was times Saturday where we got some push and we finished and there was times where we didn’t. Some of it has to do with the backs hitting the holes. The thing about offense, one guy can have a breakdown and it affects the other 10 guys. Defensively, 10 guys can have a breakdown and if you have one guy that can erase that, it can make up for it sometimes. There’s two different sides of the ball there.”

On practice translating to the game and if he knows what he’s going to get come game day:
“No, I don’t think so. I think when you practice the right way and you create the right habits, you do that over a long period of time. You’ve watched us play over the last 10 games. We’ve been really different in all 10 of those games. Some of them we’ve played the right way for certain periods of time, some of them we haven’t. We’re looking to be able to play the right way for 60 minutes. We’re still searching for a four-quarter game.”

On the physicality at the line of scrimmage during the Kentucky game:
“I think our guys are…Some of this is about learning to strain and create the right habits and doing it over and over. I don’t think there’s any team in the country that goes out there and doesn’t want to be physical. Sometimes, the way the other team plays can change the way you think. I thought our guys played the right way from that standpoint. We need to execute a little better on both sides of the ball and I think if we continue to do, that’s something to build off of.”

On how much the extra practice would help if Tennessee were to be bowl eligible:
“The only way you can get better at something is to repeatedly do it over and over, so you get extra practices, you get an extra game. So, I think if you go about your business the right way and work hard during those practices, you have a chance to improve.”

On what Drew Lock has done to help Missouri turn it around:
“Well, just watching him, with the exception of I think Kentucky and Alabama, they’ve scored 29 or more points every game. I don’t know what kind of rough start you’re referring to, but they’ve been pretty productive offensively.”

On Missouri’s offense:
“They’re very balanced offensively. I think Derek’s [Dooley] done a fantastic job with what they’re doing offensively. They’ve been able to run the ball. They’ve been committed to it. Done a really nice job protecting the quarterback and they have lots of experience up front. They have big men, have a good scheme so we’re going to have to play well to have a chance.”

On what’s the first thing he wants to learn about an opposing offense:
“You want to know who they are, what kind of personnels do they play with, what’s their best plays, how do they create explosive plays, who’s their best playmakers. I think that’s what you have to do with everybody. What personnel are they putting in the most? So, you have to know where to spend most of your practice. How do you create negative plays? We have a system we go through weekly of whether it’s their base plays, it’s second and seven plus, it’s red areas, third downs, short yardage, goal line, two minute, two-point plays, four minute get the ball back. So, you kind of have your scenarios that you go through and what did they do. That’s it.”

On his relationship with Derek Dooley:
“I’ve never worked with Derek. We both worked for Coach [Nick] Saban at different times. I know that some of the guys I’ve worked with have a whole lot of respect for him, what kind of coach that he’s been when they worked with him on the staff. I’m watching what they’re doing offensively and they’re doing a really good job. They’re physical in the run game. They protect the quarterback. They create explosive plays. They give you multiple looks. So, it’ll be a tremendous challenge for us.”

On Tennessee’s secondary on Saturday:
“Well, we need to clean up technique in the back end. There’s probably several times maybe there was guys open Saturday, but we had some good pass rush. We need to clean up back there. It was good getting Micah [Abernathy] back and I think we’ll have Trevon [Flowers] back this week so gives a little more competition back there, a little more depth which makes everybody better. It should help with some on special teams. We just have to work on fundamentals and continuing to improve and play the ball, keep them cut off.”

UT Athletics