McGahee Pulls Miami To Title Game
Dec 31, 2002
By RICHARD ROSENBLATT
AP Football Writer
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) – For all Miami coach Larry Coker knew, tailback WillisMcGahee pulled trucks last summer to get in shape for the season.
“He did a lot of work at his brother’s gym,” Coker said. “Specializedthings that I couldn’t tell you about.”
Guess what? McGahee was pulling trucks. A small pickup. A few nights a week.For 30 seconds. In a parking lot near his brother’s gym, not far from campus.
“I’d pull the truck for a certain number of yards, running with it, walkingbackward, different types of exercises,” McGahee said. “I had a harness. Theytold me what to do and I just did it.”
Coker learned of McGahee’s unique workout routine only recently. “If that’sthe case, we’ll have ’em all pull trucks at night,” the coach said.
McGahee’s work ethic paid off. He graduated from pulling trucks and went outand carried No. 1 Miami (12-0) through a perfect regular season and intoFriday’s national championship game against No. 2 Ohio State (13-0) in theFiesta Bowl.
“I worked real hard in the weight room and it just carried over fromthere,” McGahee said. “I knew I had it all along in me. It was just a job ofme getting on the field and putting it all together.”
Did he ever. The 6-foot-1, 224-pound sophomore ran for 1,686 yards and 27touchdowns, both school records, and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophyvoting. He also set school marks for total yards (2,036) and 100-yard games(10), and finished second nationally in scoring and fourth in rushing.
“He’s just so strong and so fast and so quick,” Coker said. “Plus he tookit upon himself to make himself a better player.”
Stopping McGahee is Ohio State’s top priority.
“He is probably their premier player,” Buckeyes defensive end DarrionScott said. “Even when the hole’s not there, he finds a way. The key isstopping McGahee because he makes plays regardless. He’s definitely a cutbackguy first. But he runs hard. He’ll put his head down and run through you,too.”
Quarterback Ken Dorsey might be Miami’s most valuable player, but it wasMcGahee who came through whenever the Hurricanes needed big plays.
Against Florida State, he turned a short screen pass into a 68-yard gain tothe 11 that set up the winning touchdown in a 28-27 win. It was McGahee’s69-yard TD run against Pittsburgh that turned the momentum and helped Miami toa 28-21 victory.
And then came the finale against Virginia Tech. He ran 39 times for acareer-high 205 yards and broke a 69-year-old school record with six touchdownsin a 56-45 win.
“Willis is the perfect guy for our offense,” Dorsey said Tuesday. “He’svery unselfish, but when he has an opportunity to make a play, he’s been ableto do that.”
McGahee, who starred in high school at Miami Central, wasn’t even supposedto start this season. After Clinton Portis left for the NFL, Frank Gore wastabbed as the next great Hurricanes’ tailback. But after Gore was sidelinedwith a knee injury in spring practice, McGahee got the call.
“When he went down, the coaches came right to me and told me I had to pickmy game up,” McGahee said. “I took it upon myself to do that.”
Summer workouts followed. A little running here, some lifting there, and theoccasional truck pulling session. By the time fall practice arrived, McGaheewas ready. He hit the weight room and wowed coaches and teammates with hisstrength and stamina.
“He’s the hardest working, strongest guy on the entire team, bar none,”assistant head coach Art Kehoe said. “No one would mess with him. He’s off thecharts. When the NFL tests him, he’ll go off their charts. He’s No. 1 in everycapacity – the short shuttle, 40-yard dash, vertical jump, clean lift. And henever misses a workout. And after every practice he runs like a deer in90-degree heat. He’s a warrior.”
And a team player. Last season, he shared the backup role with Gore, but aknee injury slowed his progress. When he returned, McGahee was needed toreplace injured fullback Najeh Davenport for the national title game againstNebraska in the Rose Bowl.
No problem. He learned a new position in less than three weeks, andMcGahee’s blocking helped Dorsey throw for 362 yards and three touchdowns asMiami won its fifth national title.
Despite all the records this season, running backs coach Don Soldinger stillmarvels at what happened in the Rose Bowl. And whenever NFL scouts comecalling, Soldinger has a story to tell.
“The most incredible thing he’s done is not the records but that in 20 dayshe learned to play fullback,” Soldinger said. “He then started in a game andwe won the national championship. Not just any game, but the nationalchampionship game.
“The kid never lined up for a snap at fullback before and learned the wholeoffense in 20 practices. And did a great job blocking. Who else can do thatunless you have an ‘S’ on your chest?”
