University of Albany FCS Football All-American Plans On Career In U.S. Marine Corps - UAlbany Sports 2009

ALBANY — David McCarty, First Team All-American.

David McCarty, United States Marine.

“I’d love to be both,” University at Albany’s battering ram running back said at the Great Danes’ Media Day earlier this week.

If it’s a choice of one?

“No contest,” the former La Salle Institute two-way star said. “Being in the military is something I’ve wanted to do all my life. I’m a big history buff and a big military buff and I’ve been anxious to serve my country ever since 9/11.”

First, though, is the 2009 season.

McCarty is among 14 starters back from last season’s team that won all seven Northeast Conference games, went 9-3 overall and routed Jacksonville (28-0) in the Gridiron Classic.

McCarty rushed for a school-record 1,852 yards and 13 touchdowns and set another mark with 2,208 all-purpose yards. His 357 carries was four short of a 30-carry per game average. His rushing total breaks down to 154.3 yards per contest. He was second on the team in receiving with 27 catches for 356 yards and four TDs.

“Just an amazing season,” UAlbany coach Bob Ford said.

McCarty’s humility always precedes him.

He capped off his standout junior season with one of the best individual performances of the college football season — all divisions. He carried the ball 33 times for 271 yards and scored all four touchdowns on runs of 16, 1, 3 and 77 yards in the Gridiron Classic.

His reaction?

“It just felt good to make a contribution to my team’s victory,” he said.

Ford says McCarty “has been an interesting commodity at UAlbany.

“When we recruited him, he was a 167-pound, two-time runner-up in the state wrestling title,” Ford said. “He was just a real good high school back with great determination, average speed, good balance, great vision.

“Now he’s a 217-pounder with those same qualities,” Ford added. “Still above average speed, but not blazing speed. But a very, very tough kid. He’s a horse by coach’s terminology. He gets better as the game goes along, he has great endurance. So, he’s been a pleasure to have here.”

The Great Danes are a unanimous choice of Northeast Conference coaches to win the league championship again this season. That puts pressure on the team to win and McCarty knows much of that pressure is squarely on his shoulders.

“It is,” he said. “Because I take winning very seriously. I’ve been raised to be a very competitive person. When we lose, it sucks. When I lose, it sucks. I get down on myself (but) I try to figure out what we have to do to come back and win. Since I was a little kid, I’ve always been competitive. Playing anything. I just hate losing. I don’t take it very well. So, I do take winning this season, I do put it on my shoulders.”

McCarty is one of the Great Danes’ four captains; a quiet one.

“I’m not one to start yelling at kids to step it up,” he said. “I take in myself to do it (be example) and (expect) it of the other captains. They know what they have to do. I liked seeing my teammates picking me as a leader. That’s more of an honor to me to be a captain on this football team that any record, or any other award. These are my peers, my family, my friends. I’m more excited about that than anything else.”

McCarty doesn’t like talking about individual achievements, doesn’t think much about them. And he doesn’t have any numerical goals for his final collegiate season.

Has anyone mentioned “2000 yards” to him, he was asked.

“When I got interviewed by channel 9 or channel 23, they said, ‘is 2,000 in view?’ I told them the same thing I tell everybody:

“I don’t care about numbers,” he said. “I really don’t, as long as win and we get another ring, I couldn’t care less. I could get 200 yards in all 11 games, I don’t care. I just want to win.”

McCarty, a three-time All-American wrestler at La Salle Institute, was a Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly 1-AA) Third Team All-American last season.

Would he like to hear “First Team” this season.

“It’s always a good thing,” he said. “But as I said, it really doesn’t matter. I just want to win football games.”

In recent pictures, McCarty looks as much like a body-builder as a football player. How much bigger is he?

“Last year at this time, I was right around 200 (pounds),” he said. “Right now, I’m about 215 (217, Ford says). This summer I had an opportunity to work out every day and run every day, so I’ve been training pretty hard. I didn’t stop after the season ended. I was still lifting, still working out. All spring, same thing. It’s been a non-stop thing.”

Will his mobility be affected by the ripped upper body, some might ask, if he had to make an open-field tackle on an interception, or on a difficult pass reception.

“Not at all, not at all,” he laughed. “Am I gonna fall over, is that what you’re asking? I’ll be fine.”

McCarty has good speed for a college football running back. That kind of speed, despite his great balance and strength, means he’d likely be just a special teams player for a National Football League team. He could possibly be asked to carry the ball for a Canadian Football League team, which could delay his trip to Parris Island, S.C. — where the Marine Recruit Depot is located.

“If it comes down to it, yeah. I know times are hard right now, the economy is the lowest it’s ever been. When I graduate, that’s going to have to be one of the main concerns; am I going to be able to provide for a family down the road. If the money’s there, I’m going to take it. Nobody’s going to turn down money. We’ll see.”

That said, McCarty says it’s about “90 percent sure I’m going into the Marines. It’s not set in stone but that’s something I’ve always wanted.”

McCarty will leave as the Great Danes best offensive player ever.

He wouldn’t word it that way, though.

“My main goal when I first came in here was to put UAlbany on the map athletically and I think by the end of this season, hopefully, I’ve done that.”

By Ed Weaver
The Record