Admit it, that's kind of exciting news, isn't it? Coach Mac, coming out of retirement not to coach the Orange but to suit up and show these young whipper-snappers what's what. Alas, it's not what you think. It's Richard "Macky" McPherson who will playing for the Orange next season, Coach Mac's grandson. For Macky, it's a long time coming:
Richard "Macky" MacPherson, a junior center and long snapper at Christian Brothers Academy in DeWitt, was offered a scholarship by head coach Doug Marrone on Thursday. MacPherson accepted on the spot.
"[My grandfather] just said he was extremely proud of me," said Macky, who will sign with Syracuse in 2010. "He said congratulations and all that stuff. He was very happy for me."
"It left me speechless," MacPherson said. "Deep in my heart, I knew I wanted to go to Syracuse. Syracuse has pretty much been my whole life. I was a ball boy when Coach Paul Pasqualoni was here. I got to see everything and how it worked. I fell in love with the place."
The 6-foot-3, 265-pound MacPherson has been playing at nearby CBA, where a certain former quarterback who-may-or-may-not be visiting Syracuse this weekend also played. It's a feel-good story and I know we should appreciate the lineage that Little Mac represents. But, yeah I'll say it...was this strictly a courtesy recruit and will he ever actually play for the Orange? I mean, he's not rated by Rivals and we were the only offer he's received:
“I went up to talk to Coach Marrone and they offered. That was my first offer,” Christian Brothers center Macky MacPherson said. “I committed and I don’t think the coaches were too surprised. I’ve always loved Syracuse so much and it’s been a dream of mine to play there since I’ve been walking."
Still, Marrone seems to think that Little Mac will have a shot at getting some PT, at least as a long snapper:
“I actually talked to Coach Marrone about that. He said I’ll be able to potentially make an immediate impact as a long snapper. As a center, I’ll be in the hunt to compete for the position. He said he likes my technique.”
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Litte Mac is the third commitment for the Orange this off-season and at the very least, represents a respect for our traditions here at Syracuse. Given how much he's wanted to play for the Orange, I have a feeling Coach Marrone saw a little bit of himself in Macky and I think we can be assured that he's going to pour his heart into representing the jersey, however that turns out. Given the rate we're losing guys who don't seem to want to be here, it's appreciated.