The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1506671
TRACKING THE PACK 20 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Home is where the howl is. Join today at go.ncsu.edu/AAMembership #HowlBack Just after preseason camp ended, Matt McCabe was sitting in a team meeting when Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren pointed to the offensive lineman's physi- cal transformation at NC State as visual evidence of the power of perseverance. That was not the first time Doeren had used before-and-after pics to make a point, and not the first time McCabe's example was shown. He had no reason to be suspicious. He arrived at NC State as a 6-foot-6, 250-pound defensive line walk-on from Panther Creek High in the Raleigh suburb of Cary. He is now a 6-6, 302-pound offensive tackle through an impres- sive transformation that included patiently adding the weight. That included getting known by name by the servers at Chi- potle and lots of trips to Case Dining Hall. "After you eat that much for a long period of time, you really don't crave food that much," McCabe confessed. "You just have to force yourself to eat." Doeren went point-by-point through the slide highlighting McCabe's perseverance. When the coach reached a segment that noted how after three years on the scout team as a walk-on, McCabe was now on the two-deep for NC State and starting on the punt and field goal teams, McCabe sensed something may be up. "Up until then, I actually had no idea," he insisted. The next segment read, "Now on full scholarship." McCabe followed an unusual path from walk-on to scholarship player. He did not start playing football until his senior year in high school, and that was practically by mistake. The star pitcher for Panther Creek joined summer workouts with the football team just to get in shape for his senior year on the diamond. However, McCabe started to like football, so he figured he would try the sport that fall. Everything was going well until he ran into a two-way lineman at rival Cary High named Davin Vann, a four-star NC State commit. Vann was a pulling guard on offense when he blocked McCabe while the defender was going for a tackle, break - ing McCabe's wrist and seemingly ending his brief football career. Elbow issues made McCabe realize he probably did not have a future in college baseball, and the brief film he did have in football helped him pick up full rides from VMI and Campbell, plus a partial scholarship from North Carolina Central. With grades good enough to potentially land at an Ivy League school, McCabe decided that he would walk on at NC State. During his freshman year, he struggled to stay motivated while simultaneously meeting the demands of school and enjoying the social life. Then came a realization that if he was going to play football, he had to get "locked in," just as one of his inspirations, former NC State receiver Thayer Thomas, had done. Thomas had started as a walk-on and was now in the training camp for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings. How McCabe ended up as a 300-pound offensive tackle is another happenstance. A shorthanded scout team needed help on the offensive line. Mc - Cabe, then a freshman who had spent much of his time getting manhandled by current Carolina Panthers starting left tackle Ikem Ekwonu, was switched over to offense. McCabe sensed the payoff when he was dressing out on the travel squad last season and gaining experience on special teams. He qualified to make the ACC honor roll because he played enough games to do so. His goal this season is to be a rotational player while working toward graduation in May with a degree in finance. "I'm going to do whatever I can to help us out," McCabe noted, "in whatever package they need." — Matt Carter STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE MONTH FOOTBALL REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE OFFENSIVE TACKLE MATT MCCABE PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS