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Former Alabama football player Seth McLaughlin transferred to Ohio State after a Rose Bowl loss to Michigan ended his 2023 season. He opened up on that move this week.
The offensive lineman cited a few different reasons for his decision to leave Tuscaloosa. One was focused on the reaction to his final play as a Crimson Tide team member.
In his last game with the program, Alabama fell to eventual national champion Michigan in overtime. The final play saw QB Jalen Milroe get stuffed at the goal line with a chance to tie the score.
Seth McLaughlin’s snap on that QB run was low, throwing the timing of the play off. A large number of viewers blamed the center for the loss after the fact.
The overwhelming reaction was negative McLaughlin recalled while speaking with Cole Cubelic over the weekend. He says that salty Alabama fans made life difficult in the days to follow.
Rimington Award winner Seth McLaughlin on why he transferred from Alabama. He had several reasons and then came the Rose Bowl “Everything’s blowing up placing the whole loss on me, my address got leaked on twitter” Great interview on Cube Show with @colecubelic pic.twitter.com/II1PHJzzR6
— Juck (@JuckOnBucks) February 2, 2025
McLaughlin claimed that Crimson Tide supporters leaked his home address after the bad snap. He also says his phone blew up with angry responses at game’s end.
Looking for a fresh start, he landed at Ohio State. A year later, he was crowned a national champion with the Buckeyes‘ dominantly running through the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.
Alabama, meanwhile, went 9-4 in Year 1 of the Kalen DeBoer era. It’s safe to say things worked out in Seth McLaughlin’s favor after his decision to transfer.