Alabama commit Jaylen Mbakwe and receiver Mario Craver aren’t the only Clay-Chalkville rising senior standouts being recruited heavily this year.

Massive offensive tackle JacQawn McRoy and linebacker D’Angelo “DJ” Barber — among others — also continue to draw heavy interest from college coaches.

The 6-foot-8, 365-pound McRoy is rated No. 6 in the updated Top 247 rankings for the Class of 2024. Barber is currently No. 32.

Clay coach Drew Gilmer described McRoy as “a large human.”

“The first time I saw him, he walked in and had to duck to get through my office door,” Gilmer said. “I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a human that big.”

McRoy, who transferred to the Cougars from Fairfield, told AL.com he’s always been the biggest guy in his class. He said he would like to play his senior season around 340 pounds. Is the 365 listed on the roster for him currently accurate?

“Yeah, let’s keep that,” he joked.

McRoy already has offers from multiple schools, including Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Miami, Mississippi State and Nebraska. He has a full June of visits set up with Ole Miss (June 2-4), Arkansas (June 9-11), Kentucky (June 16-18) and Oregon (June 23-25).

“I’m just looking at the college itself really,” he said. “I’m not really looking at the coaches. Of course, they are important, but you never know what will happen with that. I’ve got to go where I feel comfortable.”

Gilmer said McRoy – or “Shaq” as teammates call him — is just scratching the surface of his potential.

“He’s been with us a little over a year and has come leaps and bounds,” Gilmer said. “He is growing into his body. He probably grew so fast as a young kid. He is just now learning what he has and how to control it and what he is capable of.”

Barber led the Clay-Chalkville defense with 145 tackles a year ago, including 12.5 tackles for a loss, 8 sacks and 2 interceptions. His offers include Arkansas, Auburn, Alabama, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Tennessee.

“DJ Barber is one of my all-time favorites,” Gilmer said. “He’s a dude. He has played ‘mike’ linebacker for us since he was a sophomore. He’s a quiet kid. He’s a phenomenal human being. He cares about his teammates. He takes care of them. When you need something done, you ask him to do it. You don’t have to worry about it, it’s done. Good family. We’ve never had to deal with any issue with him whatsoever off the field. He’s dependable on the field.”

Gilmer said, on the field, the 6-foot-1, 224-pound Barber is “one heck of a linebacker.”

“We were a little concerned when he was young, thinking, ‘Is he going to get tall enough?’ Is he going to keep growing?’” Gilmer said. “He has, and I think he still has a frame to put on a lot more weight. He can run, he can cover, he makes all of our calls. He’s very intelligent, and he will strike you. He’s that old-school linebacker with new-school tools. He can get sideline-to-sideline. He’s fun to watch. Whoever gets him will get a heck of a player.”

With Mbakwe long committed to Alabama and having shut down his recruitment, Gilmer is hoping Craver, McRoy and Barber all make decisions this summer or early in the fall.

A quarterback name to know

Jared Hollins led Mary G. Montgomery to a breakout season as a junior.

The 6-foot-4, 178-pound Hollins completed 68 percent of his passes for 2,246 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2022 and also rushed for five scores.

“He checks every box,” MGM coach Zach Golson said. “He has a 4.2 GPA, extremely high character guy and he’s a great player so that is why he’s being recruited at the level he is.”

Hollins received offers this week from Marshall and Furman.

“It didn’t take Jared long last year to pick up on what we were trying to do and how we were trying to do it,” Golson said. “We were basically playing with no limitations from a play-calling standpoint so that made it nice.

“We were able to advance pretty quickly on what calls we could make and the comfort we felt in putting decisions on his back. He did a great job all year. I would think another year should only make him more comfortable.”

More In-state recruiting news:

Offers out:

Hollins’ favorite target, 1,300-yard wide receiver James Bolton, received a Marshall offer as did their teammate, RB Troy Flowers.

Davidson 2024 RB Derrick “DJ” Butler received an offer from Alcorn State.

UMS-Wright 2024 ATH Joe Lott has received an offer from Air Force.

St. Paul’s 2026 linebacker Anthony “Tank” Jones received offers from Notre Dame, UCF and Florida State.

Faith Academy athlete Ty Goodwill received a Marshall offer.

Saraland 2025 DL Antonio Coleman received an offer from N.C. State.

Thompson 2025 DB Anquon Fegans received offers from Missouri and Southern Cal.

Opelika QB Roman Gagliano received an offer from Furman.

Spanish Fort 2024 EDGE Cole McConathy tweeted an offer from Memphis.

Booker T. Washington 2025 LB Joseph Phillips also received an offer from Memphis.

Andalusia 2024 RB and Auburn commit J’Marion Burnette received an offer from Indiana.

Charles Henderson 2025 EDGE Zion Grady was offered by Southern Cal.

Pike Road DE Malik Blocton offered by Southern Cal.

Spain Park 2025 DL Nik Alton offered by Georgia Tech.

Elba 2025 RB Alvin Henderson offered by Mississippi State.

Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa DB Tavaris Banks offered by Jacksonville State.

Saraland 2025 QB KJ Lacey offered by West Virginia.