UGA Football: Warren McClendon Chat

11/29/2021

You can have the turkey on Thursday, but bring Warren McClendon the ham.

McClendon, a 6-foot-4 and 300-pound Georgia offensive lineman from Brunswick, Ga., is all about the ham on Thanksgiving. His fellow big lineman with a big appetite, Xavier Truss, feels the same way.

Though he’s the nephew of former All-SEC tailback Willie McClendon, who starred in the late 1970s, McClendon, a redshirt sophomore, has forged his own path and made his own name for himself. He’s been the top-ranked Bulldogs’ starter at right tackle all season after starting nine times in 2020.

During a Quick Chat before practice Monday, McClendon talked about Thanksgiving, his funniest teammate, his favorite class this semester, getting better as a student in college, golf with his dad, and much more. Here’s some of what he had to say:

Frierson: We’ve got the holiday on Thursday, so do you have a favorite Thanksgiving dish or family tradition?

McClendon: My favorite dish is the honey-baked ham, yeah, honey-baked ham and dressing. I like turkey but sometimes it can be too dry and stuff like that. I’m more of a ham guy. For the sides, macaroni and cheese, dressing and some greens.

Frierson: Out of all the classes you’re taking this semester, is there one that you’re finding the most interesting or the most challenging?

McClendon: It’s probably my legal regulations class, that’s probably the most challenging one I have this semester. It’s pretty hard. There is a bunch of different law stuff, different cases you have to study, and just keeping up with everything. It’s a lot of reading.

Frierson: How much better at studying have you gotten since you first arrived at Georgia?

McClendon: You know, in high school you probably didn’t have to study as much, but when you get to college, the classes are very challenging. Balancing football and class and your free time, you may have to take some of your free time to study. Just being able to be efficient with your studying is really important.

Frierson: What do you do during the little free time that you have during the season? How do you get away from school and football?

McClendon: I like to golf, I like to fish, play video games, maybe watch a movie or something like that

Frierson: I remember the last time we did one of these, you talked about playing golf with your dad a lot and how he always beats you. Is that still the case?

McClendon: Yeah, I think the bye week me and my dad went to play, and he beat me on the last hole. He birdied and I parred, so he beat me — I was pretty upset.

Frierson: You both must be pretty good if you’re closing the round out with a par and a birdie.

McClendon: He hit some good shots that last hole which is what set him up for the birdie to win.

Frierson: Golf is obviously so much different from football — is that one of the things about it that appeals to you?

McClendon: I just like the fact that you have to keep your calm. When I used to play when I was younger, I would get mad a lot. My driving was not as good as it is now and I used to hook it and slice it, and I’d get mad. It would be downhill from there, and now I may hit a bad drive but I know I’ve just got to make up for it on the next shot

Frierson: Have you ever had a hole-in-one?

McClendon: I have not — I’ve been close but I haven’t had one yet. I remember one time, I can’t remember the yardage but I hit it onto the back of the green and rolled back to the hole and almost went in. I was happy, I thought it was going in, I was jumping up and down, and then it just stopped.

Frierson: Who is the funniest guy on this year’s team?

McClendon: There are a bunch of them: Jordan Davis, he’s pretty funny; Xavier Truss, he’s always got me laughing; Micah Morris, he’s always got me laughing. Then there’s (Amarius) Mims, he’s another one of the guys I’m around most of the time. Everybody’s keeping you laughing and they’re always happy and cracking jokes.

Frierson: How valuable is that during a long season?

McClendon: It’s good because sometimes you may be having a bad day, you may have had a test or something that didn’t go your way, and just coming in here and having somebody to cheer you up a little bit, it helps you out tremendously

Frierson: You’ve been playing football for a long time now, so what does it feel like to be having the season that you and the rest of the guys are having? Have you ever experienced anything like it?

McClendon: The hard work is paying off. All of the hard work that we put in during the offseason and the spring and during the summer — all of those days when you’re just like, “Man, we’re doing this again?” — but now you’re getting to see why we were doing all of that.

(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)

Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men’s Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He’s also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.