Falcons Uniform History #62: Who else but the Mud Duck? By Kendall Jackson @projectjax on Jul 27, 2015, 3:00p 12 Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Todd McClure is undoubtedly the best Falcon to wear #62. When it comes to getting the best value for late-round draft picks, the Mud Duck easily ranks as one of the best in Falcons history — and arguably league history. Todd McClure was drafted 237th overall out of LSU by Atlanta in 1999 and spent all 13 seasons with the team. After he tore his ACL in training camp during his rookie season, he became the Falcons' starting center in Week 9 of the 2000 season and never looked back. He set the franchise record for consecutive starts with 144 and finished his career with 195 total games started. He was the anchor on Atlanta's offensive line, constantly staving off competition as the team had its share of coaching staff changes. McClure was criminally underrated throughout his career, incredulously failing to make the Pro Bowl once during his time in the NFL. But his play wasn't unnoticed by the Falcons organization, as McClure will soon be recognized when he's inducted in the team's Ring of Honor. He also announced Atlanta's second round draft pick earlier this year. It will likely be a long while before a Falcons player donning jersey #62 carves himself out a career similarly successful to the Mud Duck's. Nine other players wore #62: Brent Adams, Keith Alex, John Bramlett, Robert Jackson, Brett Miller, Greg Quick, David Richards, Gary Roberts, and current Falcon James Stone. Miller spent six seasons with the team, and Richards three. Stone will be just the fourth #62 to have spent at least two seasons with the Falcons.
BOT • May 2013 There’s a lot about former LSU and Atlanta Falcon football player Todd McClure that simply doesn’t add up. McClure, who recently retired after a heralded 14-year NFL career as a starting center, is a big man at 290 pounds but was always undersized compared to most who played his position. He was a seventh-round NFL draft pick in 1999 but went on to have a more successful career than many early-round selections. He tore his anterior cruciate ligament during training camp of his rookie season yet missed just one game for the rest of his career and set a franchise record for consecutive starts. He spent all 14 years of his time in the NFL with the same organization, almost unheard of in this day and time. He’s busted heads against some of the most aggressive, ferocious men on the planet yet gets choked up when speaking of his wife and family. When younger players were invited into the Falcons organization to challenge him for his starting spot, he saw the situation not as a threat but as an opportunity to mentor a less experienced teammate. He’s gained fame and fortune in his profession yet comes across as anything but arrogant, tooling around the streets of East Baton Rouge Parish in a diesel-fueled work truck instead of a Lamborghini. In his retirement, he could be off in the tropics right now lounging on the beach sipping a cocktail but instead drops his kids off at school each day and goes to work with his partners in the construction business. He has returned to his home in East Baton Rouge Parish to raise his family – smack dab in the middle of Saints Country – but when he hears the black- and-gold chanting “Who Dat!” it makes him a little nauseous. Other than that, McClure is about like you’d expect any former NFL star to be. As a testament to his huge popularity among his teammates, coaching staff and owner of the Falcons organization, McClure was the focus of a retirement press conference last month in a league where all but the highest-profile players are simply sent out to pasture without much fanfare. Even during the off-season, McClure’s offensive line teammates and quarterback made a point to attend. At the conference, Falcons owner Arthur Blank and coach Mike Smith heaped praise on the 36-year-old Central High grad and DEMCO member for his professionalism, perseverance, personality, leadership and ability on the field. “One of the greatest compliments you can give anybody is that he made other people around him better,” said Blank of the man known as “Mud Duck” by his teammates. “Todd has played at a high level and endured the physical and emotional stress by using his physical and emotional strength. He’s a warrior and a great family man who is always involved in his community.” Smith noted McClure is part of a lineage of coaches and leaders and said his maturity and ability to connect with players was like having a member of the coaching staff inside the huddle. “He’s a head coach’s dream,” Smith said. For his part, McClure didn’t make it far into his remarks when he began to get overwhelmed with emotion speaking about the game he was leaving behind, the friendships he’s made and the support of his family. “I want to thank my wife, Heidi, for putting up with me coming home sore and cranky, grumpy and complaining, helping get through the hard times and the injuries. She’s been my rock. And I want to thank my mom and dad for all the sacrifices they made, spending money they didn’t have so that their kids could play sports.” McClure mentioned that the previous day back home in Central he had coached two of his four children in a total of eight softball and baseball games. He ended his comments by saying, “This is the end of my journey (in football) but the beginning of the rest of my life.” Besides spending time with his wife, parents and other family members and working in his various businesses including supplying bucking bull stock for rodeos, McClure plans to stay involved in the sports activities of his four children and is thankful his family will no longer have to shuttle back and forth to Atlanta. Now settled back home in Central, McClure said he considers himself fortunate that he still has his health after a grueling stretch in the NFL trenches where the average career lasts just three years. Though he considered returning for a shot at claiming an elusive Super Bowl ring after making a playoff run last season, McClure said he knew it was time to move on. “The players are getting bigger, faster and stronger, and the collisions are more violent,” he said. “I’m blessed that I’ll be able to enjoy a decent, active life after football with my health intact. Many players get so many concussions and have dementia and after they retire everyday life is hard.” Now, instead of facing off against a hard-charging 350-pound nose tackle, McClure will have to contend with baseball moms who believe their sons should be getting more playing time. McClure chuckles at the thought. “Sometimes the parents can be a little overbearing when their expectations are set too high and they try to live their lives through their kids,” he said. “But with my personality, I’m kind of laid back. I try not to holler at the kids because I learned that when I played I responded better without the screaming and yelling. It’s the best way to get to the players.” While he’ll be busy on the baseball diamond for the rest of the spring and summer, McClure is also planning the annual summer football camp he runs each June with Central High School Coach Sid Edwards and which typically attracts more than 250 young athletes. And when the weather starts turning cool again, he’s also looking forward to taking his family to experience a Saturday night in Tiger Stadium. Because the family was always in Georgia during football season, the kids have never seen the Tigers play on their home turf. “That’s going to be a great time for our family,” he said. “It’ll be a lot easier to block from the stands and I’ll still be able to get out of bed and walk the next day.”
