'Roll of the dice' is paying off for Hoos S Jalen McNair, who has found his Power Four fit at UVa
CHARLOTTESVILLE — He spent his first six seasons all in one place at Buffalo, but Jalen McNair is no stranger to change.
And the 5-foot-8, 198-pound safety said he’s leaning on his past to help himself acclimate to Virginia’s defense this spring. McNair left the Bulls through the transfer portal this past winter and joined the Cavaliers in January.
“I had three head coaches at Buffalo, eight different defensive coordinators and seven position coaches,” McNair said. “So, I’ve been exposed to a lot.
“I think there isn’t a defense I haven’t seen,” he continued, “or a terminology I haven’t heard. … It was a pro and a con, because I didn’t have any consistency, but I feel like everything prepared me for now.”
He was recruited to Buffalo by former Bulls coach and current Kansas coach Lance Leipold. McNair played for ex-UB coach Maurice Linguist, who resigned to take a job on Alabama’s coaching staff, and for current Bulls coach Pete Lembo, too.
McNair started all 25 of Buffalo’s games over the past two years, racking up 103 total tackles, three tackles for loss, three interceptions and 10 pass breakups over the two-year stretch.
About why he’s a strong fit for UVa’s defense, McNair said: “I love how aggressive everybody is. Nobody is scared to make plays or put their chest on somebody.”
UVa defensive coordinator John Rudzinski said McNair’s versatility has surfaced as well since the start of spring practices last month.
Virginia safety Jalen McNair runs during the Cavaliers' scrimmage on March 28 in Charlottesville.
“He’s a guy who can come down into the box, has showed a ton of savviness,” Rudzinski said. “He played 800 snaps last year at Buffalo, so he’s a guy that — with his experiences — allows us to do multiple things.”
Andy Stefanelli, who coached McNair at Good Counsel High School in Maryland, said McNair even displayed his smarts and was a quick learner when he transferred to Good Counsel from St. Vincent Pallotti High School as a junior.
For McNair to earn playing time in a historic parochial power like Good Counsel, he needed to adjust rapidly as a high schooler.
“The first piece for us was he had to be accepted academically,” Stefanelli, now the offensive coordinator at St. John’s College High School, said. “And that was pretty stringent. And with the football kids, usually their football IQ is pretty good regardless of how their academic profile shapes out, but we needed both and he came in, took school seriously, took football seriously, adapted and picked up stuff very quickly.”
Stefanelli said McNair’s intensity on the field, his ball skills and tackling helped as well.
All of those skills are coming in handy again.
McNair said he didn’t know what to expect while in the transfer portal after opting to leave Buffalo to explore potential options for his final college campaign.
The knock on McNair in high school as a recruit was his lack of height, according to Stefanelli. As a transfer, he at least had extensive film to show he belonged regardless of size.
Still, “I took a roll of the dice on myself,” McNair said with a grin.
McNair is glad he did, too, he said, because multiple Power Four programs reached out.
He said UVa was his first visit, though, and that lone visit was all it took in his decision-making process.
McNair wanted to be closer to his hometown of White Plains, Maryland, so family and friends could see him play in person more easily.
He also got a glowing recommendation about the Hoos from fellow Good Counsel alum Mitchell Melton, who racked up 45 tackles, five sacks and 10 tackles for loss in his lone season with the Cavaliers this past fall after transferring from Ohio State to UVa.
“He played a big part in the recruiting,” McNair said. “I reached out and we spoke about how everything was here, how the culture was and how the defense and coaches were, so once I heard from him and he gave me his input, it made me more comfortable.”
Virginia safety Jalen McNair backs up to cover during a practice last month in Charlottesville.
McNair said he formed trust in safeties coach Curome Cox, cornerbacks coach ShaDon Brown and fifth-year UVa coach Tony Elliott while being recruited.
“I had a couple of schools I talked to about taking visits, but once Coach Cox called me and I knew Virginia was in,” McNair said, “I felt like if I came up [on the visit] and am comfortable and I liked how it feels, then I’m not wasting any time.”
He committed instantly, he said, not wanting the opportunity to slip away.
McNair is eager about the chance he finally has in a power-conference, and that doesn’t surprise Stefanelli, who said he was thrilled for the success McNair found late in his career at Buffalo and thinks McNair will transition smoothly to the Cavaliers.
“For him to live out that dream, because I know it was his goal in high school to play at the level and compete,” Stefanelli said, “is very satisfying. It’s gratifying to see him being able to achieve that, even if he didn’t take the easiest path to get there.”
McNair said he felt like some of his better performances with Buffalo were in non-conference matchups against Power Four foes, because those challenges forced him to raise his level of play. He wants to do the same as he prepares to play weekly in the ACC.
This past season, McNair had nine tackles and two pass breakups against Minnesota of the Big Ten. The year before against Missouri of the SEC, he had six tackles.
“Coming from the MAC, you always watch these big games,” McNair said. “In the MAC, we have games on the weekdays, so on Saturday, you’re watching these games. Now, I’m with them [at Virginia], I’m in the locker room with them and get a chance to play on Saturdays.”
He said his move to UVa means he’ll have to find a way to collect more tickets for all the folks that can make a short drive from Maryland to Scott Stadium.
Though, his family and friends shouldn’t have trouble getting in for the April 18 spring game because admission is free for the 3:30 p.m. scrimmage.
He said he’ll miss the teammates he played with at Buffalo. Outside of his mom, he said, no one was happier that he earned a chance at UVa than his fellow Bulls.
That, McNair pointed out, meant the world to him.
“They were really happy and really proud of me,” he said. “They know what I’ve been through the last [six] years to get to this point.”
McNair got to Buffalo in time to play in the 2020 Covid-impacted year as a freshman. He redshirted in 2021, played some the following year, but then suffered a season-ending injury in the opener of the 2023 season before thriving the last two go-arounds.
So far, McNair is making the most of his chance with the Cavaliers, too.
“He’s really good in the run game and I think that’s his strength,” Brown said. “We have to do a good job as a staff of putting him in position to be successful and up to this point, he’s doing a good job learning what his role will be and he’s doing a good job of working his tail off each and every day. I think he’ll have a role for us this fall.”
Said Stefanelli: “UVa coaches are going to love having him around. He’s one of those culture guys that you need to have.”
Related
Virginia safety Jalen McNair discusses his decision to transfer from Buffalo to join the Hoos this past winter.
