MORGANTOWN —
You look at the face and you see it, it being the resemblance.
West Virginia University freshman wide receiver Ivan “Sticks” McCartney looks a bit like his cousin.
Certainly, the Mountaineers hope he plays like him, for his cousin is a football player you may have heard of — Chad Ochocinco of the Cincinnati Bengals.
If there is a physical resemblance and there is an athletic resemblance, McCartney being one of the highest touted receivers to come into the school in some time, a high school All-American who was ranked the nation’s 12th best receiver by Scout.com, there is no resemblance in the way their mouths run.
Not that McCartney is a shy, retiring type. He just seems far more reserved, more down-to-earth, less boastful.
One can only imagine what cousin Ochocinco would answer when asked if there was pressure on him, but it surely would not mimic McCartney’s answer on the day he first was allowed to talk with the media.
“No pressure at all. I feel like I’m just another kid coming in from high school learning the ropes and trying to play.”
This is not to say that he does not have Ochocinco’s playful side. To understand this, you need go back no further than signing day at Miramar High. The local media had him leaning toward Miami, staying at home and helping the Hurricanes as they regained their national prominence.
As he was preparing to make the announcement, his sister, Tianka, came running on stage screaming “Wait, wait!”
He turned, look at her and accepted the hat she would hand him.
It was a West Virginia hat.
He laughed and told the assembly and his teammates that he was getting on that West Virginia train that had brought his high school coach, Damon Cogdell, and quarterback Geno Smith and wide receiver Stedman Bailey and defensive lineman Josh Taylor to Morgantown in the past.
The decision, he said at the time, was “because I wanted to try something new.” But there was the draw of the former high school teammates, many of whom were not there with him when he caught the pass that won the school’s first state championship during his senior year.
But trying something new wasn’t the only reason he came to WVU, nor was his ties to former teammates.
Receiver coach Lonnie Galloway had been important in his recruitment and had sold him on opportunity at WVU.
“I had the opportunity to play early at WVU. Coach (Lonnie) Galloway showed me the depth chart and that there was a need for some receivers,” he said. “All were great, quality receivers, but I knew that wherever I chose I would have to compete to get on to the field. The depth was very low and I could possibly be on the field early this year.”
Make no doubt that he will play and play a lot, maybe even challenge for a starting spot before it is over.
He is supposed to be that good and already has a great catch to his credit in the first scrimmage of the year, using his size and his speed to get loose deep.
The transition from high school to college isn’t easy, he admits, but he’s only been at it a couple of weeks.
“The speed is different, the play calling is different, but you just have to learn it and go along,” he said. “Everything is new to me.”
Everything is different except for the man throwing him the ball. Smith and he were one of high school football’s most dangerous combos and could well continue along that vein this year.
They are currently working on getting their timing down.
“We work on timing a lot when we go out and the receivers run their routes and right now, the timing is down with all of the receivers,” Smith said. “I think that is going to be the key to our offense. Getting to each receiver is something you get a feel for. When we’re on the field and everything is moving so fast, you just have to go with what you know.”
If there is one difference McCartney notices in Smith after a year in the program it is in the area of timing.
“Not much has changed,” he said, “but his timing has changed tremendously. He gets you the ball faster.”
Which means you have to run your routes faster, more precisely, to be in the right spot at the right time as Smith delivers.
E-mail Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com.
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