Nov. 17, 2003

by Lee Pace, Extra Points

Safety? Linebacker? Quarterback? Tailback? No one was quite sure what position best suited Clover High School all-purpose star Ronnie McGill until that playoff game last November against Greer.

"Late in the game, he ran a kick-off back and broke about eight tackles," says Tar Heel running back coach Andre Powell. "I knew then he could be a special player."

Rarely does such an apparently gifted prospect slip under the recruiting radar like McGill, a freshman running back who last week ran for 244 yards against Wake Forest.

At the end of last fall's high school season, McGill didn't have one scholarship offer. He would not be nationally ranked by any recognized recruiting service. He would not make The Charlotte Observer's Top 25 players list for the state of South Carolina. He was passed over for the Sandlapper team in the Shrine Bowl. And as early as January, 2003, the Herald-Sun in Durham would refer to McGill in a recruiting story as a linebacker.

"It was kind of frustrating," McGill says. "I was not getting any attention from colleges."

For his first three years in high school, McGill was a free safety and quarterback. He was certainly an outstanding athlete and caught the eye of Powell, who recruits parts of South Carolina for the Tar Heels, as a defensive player. But the Tar Heel defensive staff didn't think McGill had the skills for man-to-man pass coverage.

By his senior year, McGill had been moved to tailback, but most recruiters weren't aware of that. At the end of the season, Clover coach Marty Woolbright made a highlight tape of McGill's athletic plays--he had 105 tackles and rushed for 1,827 yards as a senior. He made three copies and sent one to Powell, one to South Carolina and one to Clemson.

"I watched it as soon as it came in and was on the telephone," Powell says.

He showed the tape to Tar Heel coach John Bunting, who also noted McGill's blend of speed, power and running instincts.

"I said, 'This guy's special,'" Bunting says. "I knew we had found 'the guy.'"

McGill played in the South Carolina North-South All-Star Game in Myrtle Beach in December and was named Most Valuable Player for his 119-yard, three-TD performance. That brought more interest, including an in-home visit from Gamecock coach Lou Holtz.

"But it was too late," McGill says. "Coach Powell and Carolina were the first school to show any real interest in me. When you're getting no attention, a little means a lot."

McGill told Bunting and Powell in December that he would sign with them but still wanted to make an official visit. He came in with a group of recruits the weekend of Jan. 10-12 and confirmed his decision to be a Tar Heel. Since he'd already graduated from high school, McGill drove home on Sunday, packed and returned on Monday, Jan. 13.

It didn't take long to impress his teammates and the Tar Heel strength and conditioning staff with his speed, cheery demeanor and work habits. He entered training camp in August as a candidate to grab significant playing time from amid a quartet that also included Willie Parker, Jacque Lewis and Chad Scott. But McGill was set back by a mysterious cramping problem that at one point sent him to the hospital for tests. Now that autumn has brought cooler temperatures, the cramping hasn't been the issue it was earlier in the year, but it's a situation that will warrant attention in the future.

"I think the sky's the limit for that young man," Bunting says. "When we get everything under control in terms of the cramping and repetitions and the experience factor, I think he's going to be a great player."

"He's a powerful runner," safety Mahlon Carey says. "He runs with intensity. He always fights for that extra yard."

McGill is a modest and humble young man and is wary of all the attention he's getting, particularly when older teammates labeled him "The Franchise."

"It feels good that I have a nickname like that, but to me, it shows how much faith the team has in me," McGill says. "I'll take it, but I might change it because I don't want that much pressure on me.

"I'm not a superstar," he adds. "It was one good game."

Actually, it is now two good games following Saturday's game at Georgia Tech. McGill rushed for 95 yards on 19 carries (including a 35-yard gain), and caught two passes for 24 yards.

"Nobody thought we could run the ball when the year started," McGill said. "I'm just glad to see us running the ball well."

Particularly with an ex-quarterback/safety/linebacker leading the way.