University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: McGill Learns Leadership Lessons
August 23, 2006 | Football
Aug. 23, 2006
By Adam Lucas
Ronnie McGill has been learning lessons in leadership ever since his arrival on the Carolina campus.
His first neighbor in the Tar Heel locker room was Dexter Reid. McGill was jersey number-25, Reid was number-24. That was the extent of their similarities.
Reid was defense, McGill offense. Reid was a senior, McGill a freshman. Reid usually greeted the world with a stern expression. McGill prefers a smile.
But the inquisitive native of Clover, SC, didn't let the differences stop him.
"It was a great experience to see how you're supposed to push yourself," McGill says. "I was young and Dex molded me into what I've become now."
He also cites the influences of Jason Brown and Darian Durant during his Carolina career. And with an expected marquee role during his senior season, he decided to take his leadership studies off-campus.
McGill applied and was selected for the NCAA Leadership Conference held in Orlando from May 28-June 1. Simply being chosen is a prestigious honor; applicants must submit an essay focused on leadership to be eligible and only one student-athlete from each school is chosen.
"I wrote mine about a former coach of mine, David Adams," McGill says. "He made a big difference in my life and I've tried to learn from that and have the same impact on some other kids."
Adams did more than just make a big difference. At one point, he held McGill's football future in his hands.
The constantly smiling tailback didn't start playing football until age nine, and he didn't immediately flash the talent that has him penciled in as Carolina's primary ground threat in 2006. Early in his career, when McGill was still a free safety, Adams had a decision to make: keep McGill on the roster or cut him to make room for another player with good potential as a strong safety.
It was a difficult choice. So difficult that Adams could find only one way to make the decision--he flipped a coin.
"I won the coin flip," McGill says. "If I hadn't won that coin flip, I might still be in Clover right now. I'd probably be hanging out with some friends, not doing much of anything."
Instead, he's the essential piece of the promised downhill running game new offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti plans to implement at Carolina. During the rest of McGill's Carolina career, a productive ground game has been a luxury. If the rushing game isn't working, the Tar Heels have just turned to a series of strong-armed quarterbacks to bail out the offense.
But quarterback is a position with some question marks in 2006. Behind Mark Weber's offensive line and a trio of promising fullbacks in Nick Starcevic, Joey Bozich, and Bobby Rome, Carolina has to have a more consistent running game than they had last season. The Tar Heels were the only team in the Atlantic Coast Conference to average less than 3.0 yards per rush in 2005, when 403 carries produced just 1,116 yards.
Recovery from a torn pectoral muscle limited McGill to just seven games last season, when he still amassed 530 yards and was the most dynamic Tar Heel tailback. But the injury highlighted a persistent question mark about his college career: can he stay healthy enough to contribute for a full season in the grueling ACC?
His healthiest season was his first in the league, when he started the final seven games and led the team in rushing with 654 yards and averaged 5.1 yards per carry. A nagging ankle injury caused him to miss five games in 2004, and he has also experienced periodic cramping problems.
"The reality of the situation, particularly early in the season, is that we need someone to share the load with Ronnie," John Bunting says. "We need Barrington (Edwards) to do the right thing so he can play or we need a freshman to step up or we need Justin Warren to contribute."
Richie Rich has had a productive training camp, and the Tar Heels have intentionally lightened McGill's repetition load in an attempt to keep him physically fresh for the season opener.
The lighter load hasn't lessened his impact in the locker room, however. He's consistently been one of the leaders of a senior class that Bunting has regularly praised, and he's also tried to exhibit some leadership outside the locker room.
He's put what he learned from Adams into motion with a younger cousin, Antwan Cobb. The teenager occasionally found himself in trouble before McGill saw him headed down a dangerous path and intervened. The most important difference he can make in Adams's life, McGill says, is one of the simplest--yet sometimes hardest--things to do: "It's amazing how much of a difference you can make by just being around."
The life of a college student-athlete isn't always filled with blocks of unscheduled time to "be around." So McGill has brought Cobb to him, offering tickets to games and counseling him on choosing friends wisely.
"It feels really good to have someone look at you that way," McGill says. "When I was growing up, I wasn't even one of the most popular people. But then I got into football and noticed people were wanting to do things the way I did them."
He'll try to carry that philosophy over to this year's Tar Heels, as he's making more of an effort to be a vocal leader. And a lesson he learned in Orlando has shaped the way he relates to his teammates.
"One of the big things we talked about was how everyone on the team has an important position," McGill says. "No matter how low on the hierarchy they might seem, they're not here for no reason. If you push them to the curb, that could eventually bring the team down. I want to bring everybody together and find out what it is that brought everybody here. And that will make us a better team."
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.
