BY TOM GROESCHEN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Freshman DeMarco McCleskey might start at halfback for the University of Cincinnati football team this Saturday, following his sensational college debut against Tulane.
"He may end up starting, but I don't know that today," coach Rick Minter said Monday. "But let me tell you, he's the real deal."
McCleskey rushed 11 times for 98 yards (8.9 average) and two touchdowns in UC's 52-34 defeat. His rushing yardage was the second highest total by a Bearcat in his first college game, behind Harry Andreadis' 142 yards in 1951.
Officially, senior Orlando Smith and junior Robert Cooper remain 1-2 on the halfback depth chart. But Minter might not be able to keep McCleskey sitting, with the mighty Miami Hurricanes (1-0) visting Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
"You want to get the game off to a good start in the first quarter, and maybe not wait till the second quarter to play him," Minter said.
McCleskey is just 18 years old, a freshman straight from high school in Claremore, Okla. But he looks like a senior at a rock-solid 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds. He has massive arms and legs, and a sprinter's speed that thrilled Bearcat fans Saturday.
McCleskey, who entered early in the second quarter, raced 29 yards on his first carry. He gained 17 more on the next play, then scored on a 13-yard run on the next one.
Boom, boom, boom. Three carries, 59 yards, TD.
"He's not a typical freshman in terms of body build, and he's maybe got a little more burst than some of our guys," Minter said.
Yet, Minter is torn. He loves Smith and Cooper, both proven players. Smith, UC's top rusher as a freshman in 1995 before injuries derailed him, rushed four times for 21 yards in the opener -- a solid 5.3 average.
Cooper, UC's leading rusher last year (611 yards), is coming back from a stress fracture in his leg. He was held to 5 yards on five carries Saturday, but has over 1,100 yards rushing in his career. "Orlando and Coop will get their reps," Minter said. "The way we play, we use several guys anyway."
Also watch for Nathan Wize , another true freshman who carried four times for 24 yards in the opener.
McCleskey said Smith and Cooper remain UC's top running backs. "I had some jitters," he said. "I was lucky that coach put me in there."
McCleskey rushed for 1,846 yards and 22 touchdowns last year, making all-state in Oklahoma. How does a preseason Parade All-American slip to a mid-major program such as UC?
"My brother signed here," McCleskey said. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State wooed him, but McCleskey chose UC because older brother Richard, a defensive lineman, signed with the Bearcats last February.
Richard McCleskey, however, did not achieve the credit hours needed to transfer from Northeast Oklahoma Junior College. But DeMarco stayed with UC anyway.
Just one problem.
"I've never been beaten that bad," he said of the Tulane game. "But we have time to get better."
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