Jalan McClendon (born October 21, 1995) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League (UFL). Initially committing to NC State and serving as a backup quarterback, he played his final year of college football with the

Baylor Bears football The Baylor Bears football team represents Baylor University in Division I (NCAA)#Football Bowl Subdivision, Division I FBS college football. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. After 64 seasons at the off-campus Baylor Stadium, renamed F ...

program. After spending some time in the offseason with both the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

and the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

, McClendon was selected by the

Los Angeles Wildcats Los Angeles Wildcats is a name shared by several American football teams from Los Angeles: * Los Angeles Wildcats (AFL), a team that played in the American Football League of 1926 * Los Angeles Wildcats (Minor League AFL), a team that played in the ...

, where he backed up Josh Johnson at quarterback until the cancellation of the

2020 XFL season The 2020 XFL season was the first season in the reboot of the XFL, and the second in the history of the XFL brand created and owned by professional wrestling magnate Vince McMahon, coming 19 years after the 2001 XFL season. The season began on ...

due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Early life

McClendon attended West Mecklenburg High School in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, playing

for the team, as well as playing some high school basketball. As a junior, he threw for over 1,700 yards and 22 passing touchdowns. As a senior, McClendon led the team to a 9–3 record and the North Carolina 4AA state playoffs, while adding 1,700 passing yards and 17 passing touchdowns. Graded out as a 3-star quarterback out of high school by Rivals.com, and as a 4-star quarterback by On3.com, and by

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on college recruiting, athletic recruitment in college football and college basketball, basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount Global, Paramount. The website hosts a large ...

, McClendon received multiple offers and visits from

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, East Carolina,

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, Miami (FL), NC State, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, before ultimately committing to the NC State football team on May 15, 2013, and signing his letter of intent on February 5, 2014.

College career

NC State

In 2014, McClendon redshirted to preserve his future eligibility. After Florida transfer quarterback Jacoby Brissett took over the starting quarterback job in 2014, and true freshman quarterback Jakobi Meyers redshirting 2015 and undergoing knee surgery, McClendon played 7 games for NC State as the backup quarterback to Brissett. Following the 2015 season, Brissett graduated and was selected in the 3rd round of the

2016 NFL draft The 2016 NFL draft was the 81st annual draft of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

. This opened up a quarterback competition between McClendon and Myers, with

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It ...

quarterback transfer Ryan Finley joining the NC State football team in 2016. McClendon was able to beat out Myers in the quarterback competition, forcing Meyers to start playing the

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

position. However, Finley would win the starting quarterback job, and McClendon for the second season in the row served as the backup quarterback for the NC State football team. McClendon saw more action at quarterback in 2016, scoring his first passing and rushing touchdown in college during September game against the

Old Dominion Monarchs The Old Dominion Monarchs are composed of 18 college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams representing Old Dominion University, located in Norfolk, Virginia. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, football, golf, s ...

, and seeing playing time in 10 games in 2016 at quarterback. With Finley fully entrenched as the starting quarterback of the NC State, McClendon only appeared in 3 games, and only attempting 3 passes. Following the 2017 season, McClendon graduated from NC State, and transferred to Baylor to play quarterback for the team, with one year of college football eligibility left, and due to Finley being granted an additional year of eligibility by the NCAA.

Baylor

Brought in to compete for the starting quarterback job for Baylor in 2018, McClendon competed with returning starter

Charlie Brewer Charlie Brewer (born November 26, 1998) is an American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven player ...

in the spring, with Brewer ultimately winning the starting job, but McClendon still seeing action at quarterback for the team. McClendon saw his first start at quarterback on November 3, 2018, against

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

. Despite McClendon's best efforts, Baylor trailed 24–14 in the 3rd quarter, which lead to head coach

Matt Rhule Matthew Kenneth Rhule (born January 31, 1975) is an American college football coach and former linebacker. He is the head football coach for the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, a position he has held since 2023. He was also the head football c ...

to bench McClendon in favor of Brewer. Baylor would come back from behind, and win on a Charlie Brewer touchdown pass to Denzel Mims with 7 seconds remaining. McClendon would not receive another start in 2018, and remained as the backup quarterback for the rest of the year, playing occasionally in 9 games in 2018.

College statistics

Professional career

McClendon went unselected in the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

Baltimore Ravens

On May 13, 2019, McClendon was signed by the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. However, on May 17, 2019, McClendon and

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

Kalil Morris were waived and subsequently cut from the Ravens to free up roster spots for Shane Ray and Michael Floyd. McClendon worked out with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

on July 27, 2019, but was not offered a contract by the team.

Washington Redskins

On August 11, 2019, McClendon was signed by the

after Josh Woodrum was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

for a torn pectoral muscle. McClendon received playing time during the preseason, but completed only 4 out of 10 passes attempted for 16 passing yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. On August 31, 2019, McClendon was cut by the team as part of the final cuts to get to the 53-man active roster limit. Later that week, the

worked out McClendon, but was once again not offered a contract by the team. On September 23, 2019, the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

brought in McClendon for a workout, but was not offered a contract by the team.

Los Angeles Wildcats

On October 7, 2019, McClendon was one of many quarterbacks included in the draft pool of the 2020 XFL revival. On October 16, McClendon was drafted by the

during the Phase 5: Open Draft section. Prior to the Wildcats' first season, McClendon made the team as a backup quarterback for the team leading into their first career game. In the Wildcats' first ever game against the Houston Roughnecks, thanks to an injury to presumptive starting quarterback Josh Johnson going into the game, and an injury to Chad Kanoff, the quarterback that started the Wildcats' first ever game after a big hit, McClendon made his professional football debut, going 1 for 4 (25%) passing, no passing yards, and threw an interception. During the Wildcats' week 3 game against the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The Defenders compete in the United Football League (2024), United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded by Vince McMaho ...

, McClendon took over at quarterback, recording a 3-yard rush. McClendon would record no other stats for the remainder of the season, and the XFL shut down operations and laid off all employees after week five of their inaugural season.

Vegas Vipers

On November 15, 2022, McClendon was selected by the Vegas Vipers of the XFL during Phase 0 of the 2023 XFL Draft. The Vipers folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).

DC Defenders

On January 15, 2024, McClendon was selected by the

with the sixth overall pick in the Super Draft portion of the

2024 UFL dispersal draft The 2024 UFL dispersal draft was the player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams for the 2024 UFL season and disperse the rosters from the eight teams from its component conferences, the XFL and USFL, that were not retained i ...

. He signed with the team on January 22. On November 4, he re-signed with the Defenders.

Houston Roughnecks

On November 6, 2024, McClendon was traded to the Houston Roughnecks in exchange for CB Kiondre Thomas.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McClendon, Jalan Living people 1995 births NC State Wolfpack football players Baylor Bears football players Baltimore Ravens players Washington Redskins players Los Angeles Wildcats (XFL) players Vegas Vipers players American football quarterbacks Players of American football from Charlotte, North Carolina DC Defenders players Houston Roughnecks (2024) players