UAB running back DeWayne McBride should be a household name. There are not many running backs that have accomplished what he has in a single game, in a season, in his career.
The Blazers’ junior back doesn’t get the level of national attention that others might receive across the college football landscape, but his game isn’t predicated on rewards and recognition. McBride finds success on a diet of drive, determination, and desire to go where others haven’t before.
UAB running back DeWayne McBride thrives on getting better each week
McBride joined Pro Football Network in the aftermath of a career day against Georgia Southern, but rather than focus on what he’s just achieved, the UAB running back was already thinking about how he can improve for the next game.
“It means a lot, but we’ve got to get back to work…It’s another week to get better,” McBride said. “We enjoyed it at the weekend, but it’s time to get back to work. I feel like we can always improve and get better.”
When Tom Brady was asked about his favorite Super Bowl ring, he famously quipped, “the next one.”
There’s something deep within elite athletes that drives them beyond current achievements to find a way to play a little better, compete a little harder, and deliver a little more.
During the 20 minutes spent talking with the UAB running back, there’s no doubt that drive exists deep with him. At the same time, there’s no doubting what he has already achieved for the Blazers.
As a true freshman in 2020, McBride set the program record for the longest touchdown run, with a 75-yard score against Louisiana Tech. That year, he also rushed for a 71-yard touchdown against Western Kentucky as he burst onto the college football scene with 439 yards in just six games, averaging a ludicrous 9.3 yards per carry.
As a sophomore, McBride averaged 6.72 yards per carry — the fifth highest in the nation.
Rushing for 1,371 yards and 13 touchdowns after replacing longtime UAB back Spencer Brown as the lead back, he routinely put in performances that ranked amongst the best in the country. This included a 210-yard game against Louisiana Tech that, up until the clash with Georgia Southern in Week 3 of this season, was his single-game career-high.
Locked in and looking to get better
“I was so locked in,” McBride replied when asked if he knew he was in the midst of a career-defining performance during that 223 rushing yards, four touchdowns outing against Georgia Southern. “I really didn’t know, I was just playing ball, trying to do whatever I could for the team.”
Even in the midst of that success, McBride doesn’t allow himself to be swept away by a tidal wave of congratulations and attention. Rather than reflect on what he did well, or revel in the glory of an outstanding performance, he’s focused on what he can do better and what he can do differently to ensure that he’s the very best running back that he can be.
“Just got to attack the day everyday, trying to get better. Even when I do great, see what I did wrong and how I can get better. My biggest problem is, when I bounce outside the tackles, I get too into running and get loose with the ball. I can also work on attacking the safety more. Last week [against Georgia Southern], I had a run where I could have attacked the safety better.”
To hear the UAB running back talk about “attacking more” should be a disturbing and terrifying prospect for anyone who has to play the Blazers this season — McBride’s game is built on physicality.
He’s a 5’11”, 215 pounds running back that thrives on bullying and bulldozing his way through opposition backfields. There’s no coincidence that he entered the 2022 college football campaign with a nation-leading 5.7 yards per rush after contact.
McBride is a physical threat shaped by weight room work ethic and upbringing
There are two elements to this physicality.
The first has been well documented. McBride was on the annual “Feldman’s Freaks” list, a who’s who of the ludicrous and freakishly athletic.
The UAB running back earned his spot on the nationally appreciated and anticipated list as a result of a recorded 345 pounds on the clean lift and 385 pounds on the bench press. He’s a weight room warrior who matches every pound on the lifting bar with drive and determination.
“You’ve gotta hit the weight room hard,” McBride explained. “Even on low days, I try and go a little bit over, push myself a little bit more. I know what my body can take. When you work out, it feels good and you have to treat your body right throughout the season.”
The second element has been less well documented. McBride’s drive and determination come from need as much as desire. The Florida native is one of a number of children fathered by the man who gave him his name.
McBride noted that not many kids make it out of the family situation that he came from, and the physicality that you see out on the football field comes as much from the words of a father who never got to live out his full potential as from the weight room at the Blazers facility in Birmingham, Alabama.
“Never let one man take you down,” McBride said. “That’s what he told me and I take it with me. I try not to let anyone take me down.”
McBride has treated adversity like he treats opponents on the football field
Those words have made McBride a difficult proposition to face on a Saturday afternoon. His background has helped make the UAB running back the player and person he is today. He’s stared adversity in the face, and he’s overcome it. Life hasn’t bought him down, and no linebacker or safety is about to either.
Florida is a notoriously difficult state to emerge from unscathed for a young footballer. It’s talent-rich, and off-field distractions are plentiful. McBride “didn’t have a stable spot” as he bounced between three different high schools while “half the time I was staying with my Grandma.”
Yet, rather than succumb and be swallowed up by the situation, the UAB running back drew strength and inspiration from it instead.
“Seeing my mum work every day makes me want to go harder. She worked seven days straight, getting up at four in the morning and didn’t get back until 8 PM. Seeing stuff like that makes me keep going. It means a lot. I’m the first to make it out, so it really means a lot to be doing something different.”
McBride could have stayed close to home in Florida when he emerged as a three-star prospect out of Vanguard High School. He had offers from FIU and FAU amongst a plethora of Power Five opportunities. However, in Birmingham, he found a new family that has worked alongside his existing and extended one to nurture his talent as one of the best running backs in the nation.
“When I took my official visit it just felt like home,” explained McBride on his decision to commit to UAB over all the other possibilities. “It was a team, everybody was for each other. It’s just a family here, for real.”
“I can always get better at what I do.”
At UAB, McBride has found stability that he’s never enjoyed before. The Blazers have consistently been one of the top teams in the conference, with his rushing exploits a key component of that success.
At the same time, his Florida family help guides him and inspire him, helping him “keep his head on straight” while “they’re very proud” of his achievements so far.
True to form, however, his drive and determination don’t allow him to get complacent with where he’s come from and where he’s at right now. His focus, for both himself and for the rest of the UAB team, is firmly fixed on the future.
“I can always get better at what I do. Never keep your head too low or too high,” McBride responded when asked about his achievements during the first two and a bit seasons in Birmingham before issuing a rallying call that acts as a stark warning to every opponent that remains on the UAB schedule.
“I feel like every game has got to be better, we’ve got to attack and go hard.”
