As high school football heads into a summer of uncharted territory in trying to manage the coronavirus pandemic, the state has suddenly lost one of its most popular assistant coaches.
The death of Jacksonville defensive line coach Michael McClellan at his home Wednesday morning was shocking for the colleagues he had worked with over the past decade. Those colleagues include Benton Coach Brad Harris as well as Scott Neathery and Scott Waymire, who were McClellan's athletic directors at Benton and Jacksonville, respectively.
Neathery told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that McClellan's father Dale said McClellan died of a heart attack. McClellan was 37.
Neathery's with McClellan went back to when he coached him as an assistant at Bryant in the late 1990s. McClellan graduated from Bryant in 2000 before playing college football at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia.
"What sticks with me is how much he loved the players," Neathery said. "He loved the kids. They reciprocated that love. I was glad he was on our team. He was that infectious person that everybody gravitated to."
Waymire said he originally wanted to hire McClellan on his staff at Carlisle in the late 2000s, but he went to Sheridan instead. He said McClellan had participated in a Zoom meeting with Jacksonville's athletic department Tuesday.
McClellan was set to enter his third season with the Titans, his first under new Coach Maurice Moody.
"It's been rough," Waymire said. "He was going to be an instrumental part of turning this thing around. He was so full of energy and enthusiasm. The kids flocked to him.
"It's a big loss for our school and community."
McClellan had worked as an assistant coach at three Arkansas high schools -- Sheridan, Benton and Jacksonville. He was a wide receivers coach at Sheridan in 2008-09, then became a defensive line coach at Benton from 2010-17 and was hired at Jacksonville in 2018 for the same position.
With McClellan in charge of the unit, Jacksonville's defensive line was considered one of the team's strengths with upcoming senior defensive tackle Tyas Martin, who has orally committed to play at Virginia Tech.
McClellan worked for two head coaches in the past two seasons at Jacksonville -- Barry Hickingbotham in 2018 and interim coach Jordan Johnston in 2019. Moody was his third head coach at Jacksonville when he was hired in January from Little Rock McClellan after seven seasons. Johnston was hired in the offseason by Newport to be the Greyhounds' offensive coordinator.
It was at Benton where McClellan began to shine as an assistant coach.
McClellan coached for Neathery from 2010-2015 and was the Panthers' defensive coordinator in 2012-2013 before Harris left his head coaching position at Lincoln and took over as defensive coordinator.
Harris worked with McClellan from 2014-2017. He called McClellan Benton's "juice man," which meant hyping up the players before and during games as well as practices.
"The great thing about him is that he loved his kids," Harris said. "He treated them [the players] like they were his kids. He was a great guy, man."
The excitement McClellan brought to Benton's sidelines was never lost on Harris.
"I was amazed at how he got so excited for the game of football," Harris said. "He got kids excited at gametime. My son Brayden played for him. He fed off Coach Mac. Many kids did that."
Benton became one of the state's top programs while McClellan was on staff as a position coach and the strength and conditioning coordinator. The Panthers reached the Class 6A state championship game in 2014. With McClellan in charge, Benton won the Class 7A/6A state weightlifting title in 2015.
"Any successful program has good assistant coaches," Neathery said. "They motivate kids. He was a big reason why the Benton program turned it around. He was a vital part of it."
Neathery said since McClellan's death, he has had numerous phone calls and text messages from former players and coaches.
"Some of our players who are these big, macho guys, they're crying," Neathery said. "They're heartbroken. They loved him."
In high school, McClellan was part of Bryant's first conference championship since 1980 when it won the AAAAA-South title in 1999 with Daryl Patton leading the Hornets. He was a Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas defensive selection that season in which the Hornets finished 11-1.
McClellan went on to play defensive end at Henderson State and was a four-year starter for the Reddies. He earned a bachelor's degree in general studies and a master's degree in educational leadership at Henderson State.
He is survived by his sons Julius and Jett. Funeral arrangements have not been announced as of Thursday.
Sports on 06/05/2020