But if the Ravens have the lead going into the fourth quarter or are in tough short-yardage situations, McClain will be their guy. He is the closer: just a big, burly masher who can suck the life out of a team yard by yard.
"He is going to be a combo back," Montgomery said. "He had those hidden yards he gave us last year where you just can't leave him out."
McClain has prepared for the workload. He reported to the team's training facility in mid-March for the offseason program and, coach John Harbaugh said, has been one of the team's hardest workers.
If there had been one area in which McClain needed to improve, it was as a receiver coming out of the backfield. But so far in training camp, he has performed well running mid- to short-range patterns in the flat or across the middle.
"I've been working on that all season with Joe [Flacco]," McClain said of his pass catching. "That will expand my role a little bit more. If I get better on the practice field, then the entire teams gets better on game day."
McClain has a good attitude. In Montgomery, he also has the perfect coach to orchestrate and distribute playing time. Montgomery, a former star running back with the Philadelphia Eagles, is brutally honest with all three runners.
"On my pro day [at Alabama], Wilbert was the only guy who pulled me aside and told me I could be a running back with the size and feet that I had," McClain said. "What we have in that backfield, on the offensive line, outside and with J-5 [Flacco] at quarterback, are a lot of weapons. For me personally, I just want to prove to everybody that last year was not a fluke."
