By David Squires, Special to the BCSP
The NFL better get ready to bring “Mac” McCain his money.
Franklin “Mac” McCain III, an All-American defensive back and grandson of a Civil Rights icon, said in an exclusive interview this week that he is forgoing his final two seasons of eligibility at N.C. A&T State University to enter his name in the 2021 NFL Draft.
McCain, who has already earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agriculture business at N.C. A&T, said uncertainty amid the coronavirus pandemic over whether the Aggies would actually have a season in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in the spring or in the Big South in the fall, weighed heavily into this decision.
“I had to make a decision that was best for my career at this point,” McCain said. “There was the risk of coming back another year and risking another injury. There are a lot of questions with COVID, and you just don’t know what could happen.”
McCain said people associated with and knowledgeable about the NFL Draft project that he could be selected in the “middle to late rounds.” By not setting another foot on the playing field, McCain said: “I feel like it will be all up to me with pro days and combines.”
Those activities also might be impacted by the pandemic.
“After talking to guys (Aggies alum) already in the NFL, guys who have been through this experience, I feel there is nothing that can stop me,” McCain said. “The sky is the limit when I have God on my side.”
He said he has fully recovered from an ACL injury that cut into his 2018 and 2019 seasons. McCain burst into the national scene as a freshman in 2017 when he made six interceptions, returning three for touchdowns, including a game-winning pick 6 on the road against Charlotte.
For the remainder of much of his career, opposing offenses rarely threw the football in McCain’s direction. Over three years, he received multiple FCS All-American honors from the Associated Press, Phil Steele Magazine and BoxToRow, among others.
In 2019, profootballnetwork.com called McCain “the next HBCU NFL star.”
McCain said his fondest moments at N.C. A&T include “winning championships every year I played. You can’t beat back-to-back championships.”
His favorite game was an upset win over Div. I BCS member East Carolina that also produced a viral postgame video of Aggies head coach Sam Washington enthusiastically demanding the road opponent’s appearance guarantee, uttering: “Tell them to bring me my money!”
McCain said some people had suggested that he transfer to a bigger school to perhaps enhance his visibility, but that was an option he never seriously pondered.
McCain, who is 6-feet tall and 175 pounds, runs 4.38 in the 40-yard dash, has a 34-inch vertical jump, 87 tackles (66 unassisted), eight interceptions, 16 pass breakups and 24 pass deflections.
He is the grandson of Franklin McCain Sr., one of the famed Greensboro Four, who engineered the February 1, 1960 integration of Woolworth lunch counters in Greensboro, N.C., a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights movement in America.
McCain said his decision comes after several months of discussion with family, friends and a close-knit group of advisers, some of whom include former Aggies in the National Football League, including Chicago Bears running back Tarik Cohen, Las Vegas Raiders offensive lineman Brandon Parker, Detroit Lions cornerback Tony McRae and Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Darryl “DJ” Johnson.
McCain said he plans to sign with Charlotte-based agent Robert Walker, who also represents Johnson. Walker also represented Cohen when the former Aggies star first entered the NFL.
Franklin McCain Jr., the father of “Mac” McCain, said he was proud of his son’s accomplishment, both on the field, in the classroom and in life in general.
McCain Jr. said that since Mac was young, he talked about going to college and playing sports, with aspirations first of playing in the NBA and later in the NFL. “To hear and see him execute on his dream is a proud moment indeed.
“It’s also good to know you have a son who has a good heart and who thinks about others before himself – that it’s not about I or me, it’s about we or us. He’s a gifted athlete who understands it’s good to lead whenever possible.”