Sept. 28, 2006
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Being raised in a military family, moving was somewhat commonplace for Calvin McCarty.
As a seventh grader, McCarty moved from Muskogee, Okla., to Surrey, B.C. Now, the junior running back is happy to call Western Washington University home after attending three schools in as many years.
"It's a perfect fit," said the hard-running McCarty, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 215 pounds. "We've got a great group of guys and all we want to do is work hard and win. (The past few years) were tough, but I'm real happy with where I ended up."
After graduating from St. Thomas More Collegiate in Burnaby, B.C., McCarty went to play for NCAA Division I-A Boise State in 2003. Following a redshirt season, he ran for 104 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, as the Broncos went 11-1, won the Western Athletic Conference championship and ranked No.12 in the final Associated Press Poll after losing 44-40 to Louisville in the Liberty Bowl.
Disappointed by the lack of touches, McCarty transferred to Reedley College (Calif.). As a sophomore there, he accumulated 1,120 yards of total offense and scored 14 touchdowns for the Tigers, helping them to a 10-1 ledger, the Valley Conference title and a No.5 ranking in the final national poll.
Western assistant Kefense' Hynson, who had been on the Boise State staff when McCarty was there, kept track of the big running back and was able to recruit him to Bellingham.
In McCarty, the Vikings' have found a talented, driven and humble person for a football team in need of an identity.
McCarty has impressed from the start, running for 139 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries in Western's season-opening 28-23 loss at Humboldt State. He followed that with 150 yards of total offense in a 16-13 upset of No.15 Washburn.
"He's a physically strong person, and you see that when he runs," said first-year Western head coach Robin Ross. "He's tough to tackle and he's got good balance. He's one of those backs that you can't arm tackle, you've got to wrap up and get a lot of plastic on him or he's not going to go down. He's a fun guy to watch."
McCarty's biggest fans are his parents, who both were collegiate athletes. His father, Orlando, played basketball at Bacone Junior College and Southeastern Oklahoma State, the same NAIA school that produced Dennis Rodman. His mother, Jackie Conway, was a standout softball player at Northeast Oklahoma A&M.
McCarty spent most of his early childhood in Muskogee before his family moved to British Columbia.
He made the best of his new situation as a four-year starter at St. Thomas More Collegiate. As a senior, he ran for 2,400 yards and 33 touchdowns in just nine games, an average of 266.7 yards and 3.67 touchdowns per contest, wrapping up his high school career with a school-record 84 touchdowns.
"I remember people crowding around me when I first moved to Canada wanting to listen to the way I talked," McCarty said. "I've always liked this area and I'm glad to be back here with my family and friends close by."
