Blue White Illustrated

Playing time might be limited, but Shane McGregor is making an impact at Penn State DREAM WEAVING MATT hERB | M A T T@B L U E WH I T E O N L I N E . C O M January can be a bleak month in Ebensburg, Pa. The snow is heavy and the wind is fierce as it blows through the Alleghenies, forming drifts along Route 22. For Shane McGregor, January 2008 was even bleaker still. Signing day was only a few weeks away, and the quar- terback from Central Cambria High had nowhere to go. He had tried with- out success to get major-college coaches to pay attention to him, and as he sat in the family car with his mother, Beth, a feeling of hopelessness swept over him like a gathering snow- drift. He'd received some interest from schools in the lower divisions, but he didn't want that. Beth asked him what he did want. He began to cry. "It's a pretty emotional time when you're staring the death of your dream right in the face," McGregor said. "I was pretty much doing that. My mom is pretty reserved, a peaceful woman. But she steps out and says, 'Shane, we're going to take your highlight tape and we're going to send it to everyone you want. And if we get nothing back, we're going to send it again. And if we get nothing there, we're going to call. We're going to keep doing something until something happens.' " Eventually, something did happen. Penn State showed interest, and soon McGregor found himself visiting the school, checking out the football facil- ities, as well as the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism. The Lions weren't offering a scholarship, but they were willing to bring him aboard as a walk-on. "I knew after that," he said, "that I couldn't turn down this offer." McGregor tells the story of his re- cruitment with a writerly flair that one doesn't often hear in the Beaver Sta- dium media room, artfully juxtaposing narrative drive with bits of illuminat- ing detail. Maybe that's because the senior is a writer himself, a Dean's List student in the School of Communica- tions. During the past year, he's been on both sides of the press box glass. Only days after Penn State wrapped up its 2011 season in the TicketCity Bowl, he was in New Orleans covering the BCS Championship Game be- tween Alabama and LSU. On Saturday he will be on the side- line when Penn State faces Indiana. Listed as the Nittany Lions' third-team quarterback, the fifth-year senior probably won't get into the game against the Hoosiers. Indeed, coach Bill O'Brien has seemed reluctant to play second-teamer Steven Bench, even in games that the Lions have had well in hand by the fourth quarter. But McGregor has contributed to the team in ways that don't show up on the stat sheet. He's provided leader- ship and been one of its most visible members on campus, taking part in a variety of student groups and nearly winning the title of Homecoming King a few weeks ago. He has danced in THON. He has written profiles of Penn State athletes for the Centre Daily Times. He was one of the players who spoke to the crowd at Old Main in Jan- uary the night of Joe Paterno's death. McGregor said he sees his role as being no different from that of a N O V E M B E R 1 4 , 2 0 1 2 11 BIG MAN ON CAMPUS Though McGregor has only attempted one ca- reer pass, he's one of the most visible football players on Penn State's campus. John Beale starter. Here's how he explains it: "Do your job as best you can every day, whether it's writing plays on a board to signal them in to Matt [McGloin] during the game or impersonating the other team's quarterback in practice. I just want to do that as best I can. If you have a whole team of guys doing that, your team is going to be special." McGregor has attempted one pass in his career, which he completed, and he's scored one touchdown, a 3-yard run against Indiana State last season. But he has fulfilled his dream of play- ing for a big-time program, and he is satisfied he made the right decision. "I knew coming here that the odds would be against me as far as playing time goes, but I wanted to take that chance anyway," he said. "And I would never go back and do it again differently. The experiences I've had here off the field, on the field, the things that I've learned, the things I've been exposed to that have helped me grow as a person have been phenom- enal. The education I've gotten – not just in the classroom but in life – has been a big part of that. It's been great. If I get into a game, it would be awe- some, but we'll see how that goes." B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M

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