A versatile football and sprinting star at Glynn Academy in Brunswick, Ga., Willie McClendon began his UGA career as a fleet-footed linebacker on the school’s junior varsity team—before becoming one of the first in a long line of dominant Bulldog tailbacks/running backs. It can be argued that Georgia’s current claim of being “Running Back U.” or “Tailback U.” begins with McClendon’s celebrated 1978 season.

After rushing for a combined 916 yards as a secondary running back in 1976 and 1977, McClendon was named SEC’s Player of the Year as a senior. That season, he rushed for 1,312 yards and 13 touchdowns, including gaining 100-plus yards in each of the season’s first eight games.

After a five-season stint in professional football, McClendon was an assistant college coach for eight years, including at Georgia for the first five seasons (1989-1993) of the Ray Goff era. Since then, he has held a variety of professional roles, including currently owning and operating WM Ventures.

UGASports caught up with McClendon from his home in Atlanta.

UGASports: To start off, Willie, please describe your college recruiting process while at Glynn Academy in the mid-1970s.

McClendon: “During the track season in my junior year of high school, I posted what were considered outstanding running times in the 100- and 200-yard sprints (McClendon ran a 9.5 and 21.2, respectively). This was the year before the metric system was implemented and we ran/sprinted in yards instead of meters. Anyway, after running those good times, that’s when my football recruiting started—and it just carried into my senior year. I started hearing from schools like Georgia, of course, the University of South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Kansas, the University of Florida… and some others.”

UGASports: How did you decide on Georgia?

McClendon: “Well, honestly, it wasn't my decision. It was my mother's decision. She was well aware that at Georgia, with head coach Vince Dooley, they had an athletic dorm with its own cafeteria and mini-bookstore—and an 11 o'clock curfew. This all fit the description of what my parents were looking for, for their 18-year-old child going off to college. The curfew definitely fit because we always had curfews growing up. My mother wanted to know where her kid was, what he was doing, and what time he was going to be in the bed. She would be able to know all of this if I went to Georgia.”

UGASports: By the end of your senior season (1974), you were considered one of the top running back prospects in the state. How was it that you were switched to linebacker as a freshman at Georgia?

McClendon: “I was one of a lot of running backs Georgia signed in 1975. (McClendon was one of seven running backs/fullbacks to sign that year, along with Greg Baker, Dave Boersig, Roosevelt ‘Rosey’ Gilliam, Ernest Ponder, Gene Veal, and Curtis Williams.) At practice for the junior-varsity Bullpups team, I felt as though I was never given an opportunity to play running back. So, one day at practice, I just got up, walked over to the linebackers coach for the Georgia freshman team, David McKnight, and said, ‘Coach, I just want to play football—and I’m not getting that opportunity just sitting around as a running back.’ Coach McKnight said, ‘Well, I need some linebackers… Come on.’ So, that’s how I ended up at linebacker.”

UGASports: After getting moved back to running back as a sophomore in 1976, you contributed on that season’s 10-win and SEC championship team. The following year with you and Kevin McLee starting at running back for Georgia, the Bulldogs slipped to a 5-6 record. What happened in 1977?

McClendon: “Although a fun season, 1977 was certainly a difficult season for us. It was Coach Dooley’s only losing season [in 25 years as head coach]. I’m pretty sure we still hold some kind of school turnover record which will never be broken. (That 11-game season, the Bulldogs fumbled 57 times, losing 35, while throwing 10 interceptions.) With Kevin and I starting at the two running back positions, we ran that Veer offense—and we couldn’t keep a quarterback healthy. (Because of injuries in 1977, Georgia played five different quarterbacks during the season, including three who started games.) And, in that [Veer] offense, because of all the reading of the opposing defense and pitching of the football, it’s real important the quarterback mesh’s well and is in sync with the running backs. That season, it seemed like every time Kevin and I would get in sync with a quarterback, he’d get hurt—and in came another quarterback. We were hardly in sync on offense that entire year. Also, that team, which was young to begin with, had a tremendous number of injuries even beyond all the quarterbacks. So, we were a better football team than our record showed—and we all knew it.”

UGASports: How did Georgia go from a losing season to the Underdogs-turned-Wonderdogs of 1978, which went 9-1-1 in the regular season?

McClendon: “On offense, moving from the Veer to the I-formation sure helped. Personally, I was more suited for an offense which was more straight-ahead going downhill than the Veer. In 1978, running the ‘I’ allowed us to maintain control of the football, beat up the defense, and then we generally should’ve been in good shape to own the fourth quarter. And, you know, the offense we were running was rather generic, and we really didn't have any what someone might consider ‘superstars.’ So, a lot of the media picked up towards the bottom of the conference in the preseason. Still, we were motivated to prove that 1977 was not Georgia football—and we were going to be much better in 1978.”

UGASports: Gaining 100-plus yards in each of the first eight games of the season, you had a rushing campaign in 1978 like no other Georgia player had before. What’s your feedback regarding going from the Bulldogs’ No. 2 or No. 3 running back as late as your junior season to being a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender by October of your senior year?

McClendon: “I think what always helped me was mentally staying grounded, realizing football was the ultimate team sport and knowing that any success I had I owed to the team as a whole. Sure, I was getting the publicity [in 1978]. But, I owed my success to players across the board. Not one individual can go out on the field and win a football game by himself. You need an entire team. And, that 1978 Georgia squad was the ultimate team.”

UGASports: After being selected by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 1979 NFL Draft, did you have any sort of ill will for the fact you backed up Walter Payton for four seasons?

McClendon: “No, not at all. Walter was probably the most gifted football player that I've ever been around. And I eventually reasoned with myself that, hey, if I'm going to be a backup in the NFL, it may as well be to the greatest running back in the league. I truly believe if Walter hadn’t been an all-pro running back, he would have been an all-pro safety, all-pro cornerback, all-pro linebacker, all-pro slot receiver... You can just about name any position. On the football field, whether at practice or in a game, he could handle any situation he was put in. I called his style of play ‘relaxed aggression,’ because he always stayed relaxed yet while he played so aggressively. Walter was just a tremendous person.”

UGASports: After not making the Bears’ team in 1983, you decided to play in the second season of the newly formed United States Football League (USFL) with the Jacksonville Bulls. Why did you decide to leave the NFL for the upstart league?

McClendon: “I had opportunities to go to other NFL teams as a free agent, but I would have been a backup, and my intentions were to play. The USFL offered me that opportunity to play. After four years of being a backup in the NFL, I just really wanted to play. In fact, at the time, I would have rather played but lost over not playing but winning.” (McClendon was one of the Bulls’ top performers in 1984 before shattering his interior cruciate ligament in his right knee six games into the 18-game season.)

UGASports: What did you do upon being injured?

McClendon: “I thought, here I am married and have two kids… So, it was clear to me I better get myself back in school and graduate with a college degree. It was an easy decision. On a Sunday afternoon in the spring [of 1986], I called up my old position coach at Georgia, Mike Cavan, who was beginning his tenure as the head coach at Valdosta State College, which is now a university. And I asked Coach Cavan if I could join his staff at Valdosta. He was elated and said, ‘yes,’ right there on the phone. Coach Cavan got me back into school so I could graduate and also started my college coaching career.”

UGASports: Describe your experience three years later when you became Georgia’s running backs coach under Ray Goff.

McClendon: “Being an assistant coach at Georgia was a great experience. Before we were teammates at Georgia for two years, Ray and I actually played against one another in high school. (Goff quarterbacked Moultrie High to a 26-8 win up over Glynn Academy in the 3-A state playoffs of 1972.) When I was coaching at Valdosta State, I’d run into Ray, who recruited South Georgia, including Valdosta, when he was an assistant at UGA. So, when he became the head coach at Georgia, I put in the call to him expressing my interest in the position.”

(It was then pointed out to McClendon some of the standout backs he coached in just five seasons at Georgia: Rodney Hampton, Larry Ware, Garrison Hearst, Mack Strong, Frank Harvey, and Terrell Davis.)

“Yeah, we were constantly getting in good backs—Running Back U. And I thought about staying in coaching, but I was torn. I wanted to stay in coaching, but I had really gotten acclimated to how much time college coaches spend away from their families. At the time, the oldest of my three boys, Brandon, was about the start high school. My middle son, Bryan, was about to start middle school, whereas my youngest, Brent, was about to start elementary school. I just made the decision: it was time for me to get out of coaching and be around my family. It was the best decision I've ever made.”

UGASports: What did you do professionally after leaving Georgia following the 1993 season?

McClendon: “I was a sales rep. for Georgia Crown Distributors in the Atlanta market. That was a tremendous learning experience. After that, I did a year and a half of middle school teaching. But I discovered that I did not like to be inside buildings when working (laughing). I then started Mc Construction Supplies and I sold commercial roofing. I did that for a few years. Finally, Warren Morgan and I started WM Ventures. A contractor for Southern Company/Georgia Power, we install and service those green electrical boxes you’ll see behind some businesses. We’ve been around since 2011. WM Ventures’ headquarters is in Smyrna, but I work throughout the state. I call it, have truck will travel…”

UGASports: Following your playing days at Georgia, your younger brother, Tyrone, played for two seasons as a Bulldog (1986-1987). Your son, Bryan, also played for Georgia (2002-2005) and has been an assistant coach (2007-2015 and currently) and even head coach for a game. And, your nephew, Warren, is currently a member of the team. Willie, it appears you started a legacy of sorts at Georgia.

McClendon: “Well, that's what it ended up being. Yeah, there's no way in the world anyone could have predicted that would all transpire. We've been a blessed family to have had the abilities to get out on the field and excel at the game of football. And my mom was the biggest Georgia Bulldog ever. She was proud—so proud of us all. My mother got the chance to watch all of us play. She passed away January of last year.”

UGASports: How happy were you to see Bryan return to Athens this past year to be the Bulldogs’ receivers coach?

McClendon: “I’m happy for Bryan and his family to be back at UGA. When he was an assistant at South Carolina (2016-2019), they were only three hours away. He was a good distance away when he was at Oregon (2020-2021). So, it’s now great that Brian's family is close by—so close for that family support. That's the joy I get out of it.”

UGASports: Tell us about the rest of your immediate family.

McClendon: “My wife, Susan, who I met at UGA, and I were married for 39 years until she passed away about three years ago. Our oldest, Brandon, is a teacher in the Atlanta Public School System. Our youngest, Brent, he was part of the first Georgia State football team under Bill Curry [in 2010]. For my two sons who played college football, Bryan was so fortunate to have an outstanding head coach, Mark Richt, who was a leader of men. Likewise, Brent had a head coach, Bill Curry, who was of high character and just a good human being. Brent started off as a college coach but now works for me at WM Ventures.”

UGASports: Do you still associate with the UGA football program?

McClendon: “Yes, I usually attend at least one game a year. Other than that, I like the sofa with the clicker in my hand on Saturday. You know, there’s nothing better than watching a college football weekend, man. But I’m still active in the UGA Football Lettermen’s Club. I like to get over to Athens and visit with my old teammates and friends. We still remain in close contact. I wear my hat proudly—absolutely.”

UGASports: Finally, what makes the University of Georgia a special place, in your opinion?

McClendon: “Well, you know, I’ve been reading all these articles about Arch Manning and his recruitment—and they all seem to mention how fond Arch is of Athens and the city’s environment. Well, apparently, the same holds true now as it did when I was a recruit, and the entire time in between: the city of Athens is a great community. And the UGA spirit that lives in that community makes for a tremendous atmosphere.”