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Vandebilt Catholic graduate and football standout Elijah McGuire popped NCAA Football 14 into his video game console this past week with a clear mission in mind.
With the game’s main screen open, McGuire pressed start and then navigated his way to the prestigious game’s roster page.
The search was on.
Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, UCF – the quarterback glided through alphabetized list of teams with ease.
But the scrolling stopped when the roster shifted to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.
With a quick flick of the finger, McGuire shifted his main page from the Ragin’ Cajuns’ quarterbacks to running backs.
When he did, he immediately knew it was real – he was officially a college athlete.
After a dominant football and basketball career at Vandebilt, the explosive Terriers’ standout signed a National Letter of Intent this past spring to play football with the Ragin’ Cajuns.
McGuire has already moved to Lafayette and is working out with his new team before the season starts.
Seeing a virtual copy of himself brought everything full-circle and made him realize that it’s all real, and it’s not just a dream.
“For me growing up, I never thought that I would see myself on an NCAA Football video game – or any kind of video game for that matter,” McGuire said this week. “When NCAA came out, the very first thing I did was I went to UL and I checked the rosters. When I saw myself on there, it was like a dream come true. I couldn’t believe that it was real and that I was there.”
McGuire’s ascent to the college ranks comes after a dynamic prep career at Vandebilt Catholic.
The slippery, elusive Terrier rushed for 2,094 yards with 26 touchdowns as a senior as Vandebilt’s quarterback.
His ascent was a statistical leap forward, but McGuire was long the most talented player at Vandebilt.
McGuire battled injuries for the majority of his junior season, which limited the amount of time he could spend on the field.
“He’s elusive and he’s got moves that I haven’t seen in 25 years of coaching,” Vandebilt coach Brad Villavaso said of McGuire last season. “I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that he’s the best high school football player that I’ve ever seen.”
With an offense that heavily featured McGuire’s legs, the Terriers advanced to the Class 4A State Quarterfinals in the 2012 season.
For his efforts, the 5-foot, 11-inch, 180-pound athlete earned a three-star ranking by recruiting website Rivals.com.
He landed at UL-Lafayette after fielding interest from several regional colleges like Southern Miss, Mississippi State, McNeese State and Nicholls.
Some colleges steered clear of the Terrier because of his injury history and small size for a ball carrier.
“I know what they are saying,” Villavaso said during McGuire’s recruitment. “But whoever gets him is getting a hell of a football player – I’ll say that.”
Commitment to academics gets it done
McGuire wasn’t always a shoe-in to qualify for Division I collegiate competition.
The shifty and talented football star made his first impact on the gridiron in the 2010 season.
The school’s athletic program listed McGuire as a freshman during that season.
But athletically, he was a sophomore because he was 15 at the time, and could only legally play sports for two more seasons.
With college firmly entrenched in his mind, McGuire hit the books hard throughout the entire back-half of his prep career.
He did additional coursework to get to the proper grade for a young man his age.
By the time the 2011 year hit, the school readjusted McGuire’s status and listed him as a junior.
“Back in my early days, I really didn’t understand what it took to get the school side of it down,” McGuire said. “I would always procrastinate or try to just wing it without doing the work. When I really looked at it like I did my sports and said to myself, ‘Yo, Elijah, you have to work at this to be good at it,’ that is when I got the results I wanted.”
McGuire entered his senior season still with a bit of work to do to get academically qualified. He finished his senior season needing to beef up his mark on the ACT.
He said he took the test late in the spring after taking a lot of preparatory classes.
When he got his results, McGuire said he immediately stopped in his tracks and thanked God.
“I made a 22,” McGuire said. “Which was unbelievable to me. … I just thank God so much for giving me all of the blessings that I have in my life. Throughout my whole time at Vandebilt, I had so many people who just always had my back no matter what. I’ve had so many people who just did everything they could to make sure that I stayed on the right track. … For the rest of my life, I’ll stay grateful to those people for what they did to me.”
In Lafayette ready for the
new chapter
McGuire is already in Lafayette awaiting his new challenge.
He said he is taking part in the team’s offseason conditioning program – a regimen that he said is “as hard as I’ve ever done in my life.”
“We do everything,” McGuire said. “Some of the stuff is actually military stuff, because our training coach was in the military. It’s intense. It’s very hard – we’re working very hard.
“But I love it. I’ve gotten so much stronger in the time that I’ve been here.”
McGuire said when he isn’t working out, he is studying the team’s playbook.
ULL runs a complex spread offense that rarely huddles. McGuire said the system is much different than he was used to at Vandebilt, but learning the plays has taken some time.
“It’s definitely a transition for me,” McGuire said. “There’s so many plays and with it being no huddle, it all happens so quick. But I’m catching on. I’m going to get it before the season starts over here.”
The last domino to fall will be McGuire’s collegiate position for the Ragin’ Cajuns.
The Houma native said he is currently preparing to play halfback for the ULL, but he will find out for sure how he will be used when preseason practices begin in a week and a half.
“It’s a dead period right now, so we’re not really allowed to talk to them about stuff like that,” McGuire said. “But when we start practices, we’re all theirs. We will be able to really get busy to try and make our team better.”
McGuire said he also may redshirt his true freshman season to try and better learn the offense and build more muscle on his frame.
No matter how it turns out in 2013-14, it finally all feels real – seeing the video game proved it.
“That did it for me – that was the icing on the cake,” McGuire said. “Now, I just hope that there are other kids from here who see me on there and know that they can do the same thing. I really want people to know that hard work pays off and that people can do things to accomplish their dreams.”
Vandebilt Catholic quarterback Elijah McGuire makes a move during the team’s playoff game last season against Neville. The Terriers’ signal caller signed a scholarship to continue his playing career with UL-Lafayette. The quarterback has already moved to Lafayette and is getting ready for the start of practices later this summer. He said he is excited for his new opportunity.
