Six years before George McDonald became Syracuse’s play-calling offensive coordinator, he was Minnesota’s wide receivers coach.

It was his sixth stop of nine along the way to SU, and one his former players look back on fondly. They remember him as demanding and sharp. An offensive genius.

But most of all, a good person.

“Number one, he’s an intelligent guy. But it doesn’t start and end with the X’s and O’s,” said Derek Lewis, the former tight ends coach at Minnesota. “He’s a people person – just a really quality human being. … He gets it. He gets the whole deal about life.”

Those from Minnesota say it’s the man beneath the football persona that makes McDonald special. After stops in Cleveland and Miami as the Browns’ and Hurricanes’ receivers coach, McDonald is in his first year as the offensive coordinator at Syracuse. And on Friday in Houston, McDonald’s current team will face one of his former in the Texas Bowl at Reliant Stadium.

While McDonald’s talent as a recruiter is well documented, it’s the all-around personality that has gotten him to Syracuse. It’s the hours spent after practice with players like Eric Decker (Minnesota) and Greg Jennings (Western Michigan). It’s the Sunday afternoons he spent with players checking on their academics.

At Minnesota, McDonald coached future NFL receivers Decker, a young star in the making, and free agent wide receiver Ernie Wheelright. But in 2007, six of the 12 Minnesota receivers were freshmen. In 2008, five of eight were freshmen. Yet despite the youthfulness, the Golden Gophers went from 1-11 to 7-6.

McDonald turned high school athletes into Big Ten receivers – making sure they were physical enough to not be pushed around at the line of scrimmage.

“We used to do a release drill and he would have two shields on his arms,” said Xzavian Brandon, a freshman receiver with Minnesota in 2008. “He would beat us up with those shields.”

Brodrick Smith, another Minnesota freshman in 2008, played only one year of receiver at Garden City High School in Kansas. But after playing mostly quarterback in high school, McDonald saw potential in Smith as a wideout, and was willing to work with him so he could reach it. Sometimes that meant staying in the film room up to an hour each night to ensure each freshman understood the plays.

McDonald told Smith to set goals and plan for the future on the field, but also regarding his newborn son, Blake.

“He said, you know, you only have your kid one time in your life, you never get that opportunity back, cherish every moment and make sure your kid knows you love them,” Smith said. “And just be the best father that you can be.”

After one season at Minnesota, Smith transferred to Kansas State to be closer to Blake.

Brandon echoed that story, saying that everything McDonald did was “out of love.”

Brandon first met McDonald at a Nike skills camp in Athens, Ga., before his senior year at Northview High School (Ga.). Brandon will be the first to admit he didn’t play his best that day in Athens, but the first thing McDonald said to him when he stepped off the field was: “When we offer you, be ready to commit.”

Brandon said the image McDonald had for the product he wanted on the field was obvious. And when it came to the field, Brandon said McDonald’s vision was better than anyone else’s.

“He’s like an offensive genius,” Brandon said. “ … He closes his eyes and is saying, ‘This guy is going to do this, this guy is going to do this, and this is going to be wide open.’ And then it would happen on the field.”

In the coaching offices, it was the much of the same. Lewis, who now coaches tight ends at the University of Florida, still uses the techniques McDonald used regarding how receivers should block in space.

But while spending late nights in the coaching offices at Minnesota, Lewis became fond of his friend “G-Mac” the person.

“At the end of the day,” Lewis said, “when we walked out of the room, we could agree to disagree, or be in agreement, and then we’d go have a beer and some wings and laugh about it.”

While McDonald coached at Minnesota for only two years, those around him could tell he was destined for greener pastures, and see an even brighter future for him should he move on from Syracuse.

“There’s no saying in how far he’s going to bring that team,” Brandon said. “I can definitely see him being a head coach in the next five years.”

Published on December 26, 2013 at 9:00 am

Contact Josh: jmhyber@syr.edu