AUSTIN, Texas — DJ McClelland remembers the night as clear as can be. It was March 21, 2022, and the junior at Granger High School had been let out of school early that day. He was back at home as the day was about to turn to night, when he heard that there was a tornado heading their way from nearby Jonah, Texas.

“I was like, 'Oh, that’s kind of close,'” McClelland recalled. “But I never thought in a million years it was going to come through our place.”

As the storm kept moving towards Granger, McClelland could actually see the funnel cloud off in the distance and took video of it. He realized things were getting more serious.

“I went and grabbed my sister and my brother and my niece,” McClelland said. “I told them to go into my mom’s room, which was the center of the house.”

The tornado remained on a direct path headed towards the family’s property. McClelland and his siblings began to brace for possible impact as they could tell the storm was close.

“I looked to my left and saw the door flexing back and forth,” McClelland said. “I was like, oh my goodness, and that’s when the roof ripped off.”

McClelland was recording video on his phone the moment this happened. You can see the roof go flying off and debris come crashing down. Across town, Granger head football coach Stephen Brosch was following the path of the storm and knew that his star player lived right in line of where the storm was moving. He quickly called the family and got McClelland’s granddad on the phone, who was in a different house but on the same property. 

“He’s not crying, but he’s distraught. You can hear stress in his voice,” says Brosch. “He says my babies are stuck, they’re stuck.”

As McClelland was buried underneath the walls of the room he was in, he started trying to make sure all his siblings were OK.

“I screamed out to him (his brother) and said, 'Where’s Skye?'” McClelland said. “We both screamed out to her and she didn’t answer the first few times. That’s when I thought the worst. I just lost my twin sister and my niece and I started crying.”

After a few moments of silence, McClelland finally heard his sister and she responded that she was OK.

“That was probably the happiest moment of my life,” McClelland said.

The fact that everyone survived was a miracle in itself, but the devastation to the home and all of the property was immense.

“When I pulled up to the house, the destruction was overwhelming,” said Brosch. “DJ coming out of the top of it was a huge sigh of relief and at the same time a realization of look what they just lost.”

McClelland climbed out through the rubble and was shocked to see what was around him.

“There was probably 150 cars in our lawn,” McClelland says. “I was like, 'Oh my gosh, the whole city of Granger was in our lawn.'”

The community provided incredible support as the family tried to pick up the pieces to their homes and their lives. While McClelland walked out of the storm alive, he did suffer a concussion from debris falling down on him. The injury forced him to miss track season that spring and put in question if he could play his senior football season.

“We deal with a tornado that rips through our captain, our leader's home and affects his family,” said Brosch. “I should’ve known from the get go that he was going to springboard and rocket into his senior year and do remarkable, phenomenal things.”

That’s exactly what McClelland did. He was eventually cleared to play and had a senior season that few will ever forget in Granger. On offense he had almost 2,000 yards rushing and 32 touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes and had seven receiving touchdowns. Add to that four more touchdowns on special teams. McClelland also played defense and had 101 tackles. His effort helped Granger go 11-3 and reach the fourth round of the playoffs for the first time in 15 years.

“It’s a class I know for a fact I might coach for another 25 years, and I know without a doubt I’m never going to forget.” says Brosch.

His production on the field helped McClelland fulfill a lifelong dream. In early March he signed a scholarship letter to play football in college at Trinity University in San Antonio. It was a year that changed his life, and has also given him a new outlook for the future. 

“Having a near-death experience definitely opens your eyes and has you appreciate life a little more,” McClelland said. “Definitely changed the whole perspective I have. Definitely cherish sports more.”

As McClelland gets ready to head off to college in the summer, the family is still rebuilding. They are in the process of building a new home, mainly by themselves, in which all of the family members can live on the property.