Zach McCloud is coming back to Miami, and he will ‘choke’ his teammates out if they don’t
Zach McCloud said he never doubted whether he would return to the Miami Hurricanes for his senior season. Now the linebacker has two more important recruiting missions to carry out in the next few weeks.
After practice Tuesday in Coral Gables, McCloud fielded questions about his future at Miami and spoke candidly. He already knows he’s coming back, and he hopes he can convince Shaquille Quarterman and Michael Pinckney to stick around with him.
“I’m coming,” McCloud said at Greentree Practice Fields, “and if they don’t I’m going to choke them out.”
McCloud, of course, was speaking tongue in cheek even as he kept a straight face. A few moments later, he clarified he doesn’t yet know whether the other two starting linebackers will return and will support any decision they might make.
“They can say one thing one day and then do another. I respect whatever decision they make,” McCloud said. “Those are my brothers, as well. Everybody has to make the moves that they feel is best for their life and I won’t hold it against anybody.”
McCloud’s return alone is a boost for the Hurricanes’ defense already. Miami (7-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast) started four seniors, all of whom won’t be with the team next year, and five other junior starters who could opt to head to the 2019 NFL Draft. Defensive lineman Joe Jackson, and Quarterman, Pinckney and McCloud all seemed like realistic threats to leave early. Now at least one of those will be sticking around, providing stability to a unit which was at risk of losing all three starters.
Even though McCloud hasn’t been as productive as Quarterman or Pinckney, the junior still finished the regular season with 38 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss and a half sack while starting eight games at the Hurricanes’ new striker position. His coverage skills let him thrive as a hybrid between a linebacker and defensive back, but he could also potentially play either of the other two linebacker spots if Quarterman or Pinckney — or both — leave.
“He is an angel,” said co-defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke, who was the outside linebackers coach this season. “An angel that hits really hard on defense.”
McCloud insists this was an easy decision for him, even though his versatility makes him a somewhat intriguing professional prospect, and he’s set to graduate in the spring with a degree in human and social development, plus a minor in business. He likened the decision to his high school days, when he played at Santaluces and people expected him to transfer to a more high-profile program. McCloud, however, stuck by his teammates, wanting to play alongside his “brothers” as long as he could.
At Miami, the situation is the same, not just because of the players he would get to suit up alongside, but also because of the coaches he will play for. Patke and safeties coach Ephraim Banda were promoted to co-defensive coordinators Friday, and McCloud wants to help make their transition smooth.
“All the stuff that comes with going to the league, that’ll still be here for me. If God wants that to happen, then it’ll happen,” McCloud said. “Being here with Coach Patke, Coach Banda for their first year as co-defensive coordinators is a big thing for me because if we were all just to leave, I feel like it’d be like hanging them out to dry. I don’t want to do anything like that, so there’s a lot of things that went into that decision and that thought process. I was never really considering leaving early. This is the place for me right now.”
In the coming weeks, Quarterman and Pinckney will determine whether South Florida is still the place for them.
Outgoing defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, who will take over as the head coach of the Temple Owls following the Pinstripe Bowl against the Wisconsin Badgers on Dec. 27, said both have already submitted their names to the college advisory committee.
He’s also helping his players through the draft process even as he prepares to depart. Each year, the Hurricanes prepare a PowerPoint presentation for their players outlining how much money Miami alumni are making in the NFL and how the league’s contracts are structured.
Whenever players make their NFL choice, the Hurricanes hope they’ve armed them with as much information as possible.
“If it came down to opinion — they only thought we were interested in opinion — they might think selfishly any coach would want them to stay,” McCloud said. “You ask as many questions of our contacts in the National Football League as possible, and they all entered their names into the NFL search that comes back and tells them where they should go. You can only give anybody the best information to make any decision available at any time and that’s what we want to do with those guys. We just want to make sure they don’t go somewhere because somebody’s cousin told someone’s neighbor who told somebody running down the street that you’re going to get drafted here. We want to be as real and concrete as possible, and I think the kids appreciate that.”
This story was originally published December 18, 2018 at 4:42 PM.