Story
Ray 'Coach Mac' McCartney's push into Palm Beach County pans out for Wake Forest
Monday, January 30, 2012
by
Jeff Greer
When Ray McCartney first started recruiting area high school football players as a college assistant coach in the late 1980s, he kept hearing about a well-known recruiter who went by the name "Doc."
Once McCartney learned more about Doc Holliday, a legendary West Virginia, Florida and North Carolina State recruiter who is now the head coach at Marshall, he made a fateful decision.
"I needed a nickname," he said.
Fast-forward 20 years and meet "Coach Mac," Wake Forest's now-prolific recruiting coordinator who is the main reason the North Carolina school has established a Palm Beach County pipeline, with six players currently on its roster and three more likely joining the 2012 team.
Former Jupiter quarterback Tyler Cameron, who once verbally committed to South Florida, has already enrolled at Wake Forest. Glades Central star athlete Dominique Gibson and Royal Palm Beach linebacker Teddy Matthews are expected to sign national letters of intent Wednesday, making Wake one of the big winners in this area's recruiting lottery.
"We're really proud of the kids we've gotten out of Palm Beach County," McCartney said, "and we want to keep that going."
Local coaches and players who know Coach Mac say it's his warm personality and honesty that win recruits and their families over. And, of course, the nickname helps.
"If you said his real name, I wouldn't know it," Gibson joked. "But really, he's a great guy. There's no one else like him."
It all started in 2004 in Pahokee, where Coach Mac pulled off his first of many recruiting coups .
Wake Forest was desperately chasing Pahokee standouts Alphonso Smith, DJ Boldin and Antonio Wilson, plus Glades Day's Stanley Arnoux. McCartney put on the full-court press, visiting the area frequently, and got all but Smith to verbally commit a week before national signing day.
The three commits tirelessly fought to convince Smith to join them in North Carolina. The night before signing day, Smith received 20 hand-written notes from Coach Mac and Wake Forest.
Smith signed with Wake.
After that, McCartney said, "Everyone at (Pahokee) knew me - custodians, secretaries, teachers, everyone. It's paid off."
Five of those 16 players from that 2004 recruiting class played in the NFL, including Smith (Detroit Lions) and Arnoux (formerly of the New Orleans Saints), and all four of the Palm Beach County kids got bachelor's degrees.
"They look for specific kinds of kids and they do their due diligence on them," said Willie Bueno, Matthews' head coach at Royal Palm who has known McCartney for 20 years. "(McCartney) never misleads anybody. Coaches and players really respect that."
One of the more recent "Wake Forest kids" was former Pahokee defensive back Merrill Noel, who as a redshirt freshman cornerback last season was named the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year and a Freshman All-America.
Lake Worth alum Joe Looney was another All-ACC selection, as a senior guard last season. Redshirt freshmen Zach Allen and Antonio Ford, both Pahokee grads, are expected to play more as sophomores this season. And Park Vista product Cody Preble, a freshman, is finally healthy.
"We haven't had a single kid from Palm Beach County who's been a bust," McCartney said. "Those are some of the toughest kids in the country."
The Demon Deacons appear to be at it again this year.
Cameron, at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, is a dual-threat quarterback. Glades Central's Gibson (5-10, 203) is widely revered as one of the best all-around players in the area. Matthews, a ferocious pass rusher off the edge, is a late bloomer whose standout play last fall exacerbated his recruiting process.
And when they're asked why they chose Wake over their other options, they have a quick, simple answer.
"Coach Mac."
Turns out nicknames do help.
- + +
Current Wake Forest players from Palm Beach County
Zachary Allen, LB, Pahokee, Redshirt Fr.
Antonio Ford, OT, Pahokee, Reshirt Fr.
Joe Looney, OG, Lake Worth, Sr.
Merrill Noel, CB, Pahokee, Redshirt Fr.
Brandon Pendergrass, RB, Royal Palm Beach, Sr.
Cody Preble, OT, Park Vista, Fr.
Incoming Palm Beach County players
Tyler Cameron, QB, Jupiter (already enrolled)
Dominique Gibson, S/RB, Glades Central
Teddy Matthews, LB, Royal Palm Beach
User Comments:
FAU.....GET THE POINT commented on January 30, 2012 at 10:15 p.m.: report abuse
Come on FAU snatch up all the local talent you can and let's do this! Time to put a local school on the map with local players! Probably like most other South Floridians, I am getting damn tired waiting for this to happen! Back in the late 80's & early 90's we beat this drum for local baseball players.
Hal commented on January 31, 2012 at 8:15 a.m.: report abuse
No question that one of the key reasons Wake Forest has risen into a strong program has been the players out of Florida. Wake has more Florida players than any team outside of the Sunshine State.
Excellent kids, terrific school and education and a strong Florida following.
Dr. Football commented on January 31, 2012 at 9:34 a.m.: report abuse
It appears to me that Wake Forest is picking up the players that are passed over by the major schools, Florida, FSU and Miami. Were these players recruited by the aforementioned schools?
Jimmy commented on January 31, 2012 at 11:22 a.m.: report abuse
Wake has picked up plenty of players that FSU has offered. Alphonso Smith and Merrill Noel to name two.
S. C. P commented on February 1, 2012 at 3:38 p.m.: report abuse
Coach Mac is an incredible person, just a genuine man that has the students very best intentions at heart. He gives a sense of trust when you meet him (looks you in the eye and gives a hand shake of confidence). I appreciate him and what he does for the student athletes, honestly he should write a book to help other recruiters because I've met with some good ones and some bad ones and he could give a few pointers to those that are a little rough around the edges. Coach Mac by far is the best in the game!
Own commented on February 19, 2012 at 7:58 a.m.: report abuse
F*ckin' tenrmedous issues here. I am very satisfied to peer your post. Thank you a lot and i'm looking forward to contact you. Will you kindly drop me a e-mail?
graphic design commented on April 18, 2012 at 12:07 p.m.: report abuse
YXC3Xw Looking forward to reading more. Great article. Really Cool.
Bristol Airport Hotels commented on April 18, 2012 at 4:37 p.m.: report abuse
x7i2yW Thanks again for the article.Really thank you! Really Great.
Add Your Comment:
We'd like your thoughts on this topic. I appreciate your willingness to share them. We want to avoid comments that are obscene, hateful, racist or otherwise inappropriate. If you post offensive comments, we will delete them as soon as we can. If you see such comments, please flag them to notify us. -- Tim Burke, Publisher and Executive Editor, The Palm Beach Post