<P> In his first season at Alabama, McCarron accepted a redshirt and did not play during the season as the team went 14--0 to capture the 2009 National Championship . During his redshirt freshman year, he did see some playing time, appearing in nine games as the Crimson Tide finished 10--3 . His first collegiate touchdown pass came during the season opener when he connected with wide receiver Julio Jones on a 29 - yard pass . He passed for a total of 389 yards and three touchdowns during the season . </P> <P> After a tight competition for the starting quarterback position during spring practices, McCarron was named as the co-starting quarterback alongside Phillip Sims for the team's 2011 season opener versus Kent State, and later became the de facto starter by starting in every game . In his first start in college, he passed for 226 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions as Alabama won 48--7 . His first road start for Alabama came the following week, as the Tide traveled to State College, Pennsylvania . His performance of 163 yards with no turnovers helped Alabama defeat Penn State 27--11, which came to be the last loss for head coach Joe Paterno . Another solid performance, alongside running back Trent Richardson, helped him get a victory in his first SEC start, a 38--14 win versus #14 Arkansas . </P> <P> During the course of his sophomore season, McCarron led an 11--1 overall record during the regular season, including 7--1 record in conference . Alabama's only loss of the season came during a 6--9 overtime defeat at the hands of #1 - ranked LSU . During the game, he completed 16 - of - 28 passes for 199 yards with one interception . By remaining unbeaten during the rest of the regular season, Alabama again met LSU at the Superdome for the national championship . His performance of 234 yards passing earned him Offensive Player of the Game in a 21--0 rout of the Tigers . During his first season as starting quarterback, he passed for a total of 2,634 yards with 16 touchdowns and five interceptions and a BCS National Championship . </P> <P> McCarron had a strong start in his second year as starting quarterback for Alabama as the Tide started off the season with a 9--0 record . In his first five games of the season, he passed for 999 yards and 12 touchdowns with zero interceptions . His good start to the season, including a comeback victory over LSU, had several media members put him as a dark horse candidate for the year's Heisman Trophy . His first interception, and Alabama's first loss, of the season came in the team's 10th game of the season . </P>

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