University of North Carolina Athletics
Countdown to Kickoff: McGill Tries Coaching
August 15, 2005 | Football
Aug. 15, 2005
By Adam Lucas
Carolina's newest assistant coach stormed into the Kenan Football Center after Sunday night's practice, crumpling his practice plan as he walked.
But it wasn't Tommy Thigpen or Dave Brock. It was junior tailback Ronnie McGill, who has been trying to assist the running backs during his rehabilitation from a freak chest injury suffered over the summer. And McGill's constantly chipper demeanor didn't allow him to maintain his scowl for long.
"I'll tell you what, it's hard to get everybody's attention and have them do the right thing," he said with an exaggerated exhausted sigh that was quickly followed by his trademark smile. "It's hard to keep them on the right track. I thought coaching was pretty easy but I've got to give the coaches credit, it's harder than I thought."
While the Tar Heels appreciate McGill's dedication and effort to help the other tailbacks, they'd like to end his coaching career as soon as possible. The first four players getting practice repetitions at tailback--in no particular order, they are Cooter Arnold, Richie Rich, Antwain Carey, and Barrington Edwards--have a combined total of 41 college carries, and all of them belong to Edwards during his one-year stay at LSU. McGill, meanwhile, has to stand on the sidelines with his 207 career carries.
Exactly how long he'll be there remains undetermined.
"I don't really have a timeline," he said. "Mainly I just want to make sure I play this year. I don't want to redshirt.
"Right now I'm doing a lot of work in the pool. I've got my motion back and now I'm working on resistance stuff so I'll be able to lift a little more. I've been doing some jogging to get my arm swing back in form."
Much of that jogging has come around the perimeter of the practice field, as he's joined fellow practice absentees Jacoby Watkins and Khalif Mitchell on their circuits of the field in the early parts of practice. Once the more intensive work begins, however, McGill finds his way to the tailbacks.
He's a valuable resource, because he played in 12 games (starting eight) as a true freshman. That's a role at least one other rookie is likely to have this season. But it's what McGill has learned off the field that he thinks will be most helpful for his tailback counterparts.
"It sounds simple, but I'm just trying to get them used to paying attention to what is going on on the field," he said. "In high school they were always on the field, but here they are going to be on the sideline some. They've got all new plays and an all new system, and they have to make sure that even when they're not getting physical repetitions, they're getting mental reps. I don't want to look over there at them and see that they're not paying attention to what is going on."
With that, McGill jammed his practice plan into his pocket and headed toward the locker room. He fell into step beside John Bunting and offered his take on his first three days in the coaching profession.
"Coach," McGill said, "I don't know how much longer I'm going to be in coaching."
After 20 years in the business, there was only one thing for Bunting to do: he laughed.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. He is the coauthor of the official book of the 2005 championship season, Led By Their Dreams, and his book on Roy Williams's first season at Carolina, Going Home Again, is now available in bookstores. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly or learn more about Going Home Again, click here.
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