COLLEGES Christian MacDonald knows enough about the Winston-Salem State-N.C. A&T rivalry not to make a fashion faux pas while walking around campus.
MacDonald, a wide receiver for the Rams, spent the last two seasons in Guilford County playing for the Aggies. He's now one of quarterback Daylin Lee's top targets for the Rams. "Oh no, I gave all that Aggie stuff to my older brother because he still goes there," MacDonald said.
"I had a lot of gear, but I just gave it all to him." MacDonald is all about Rams' red these days. "With the rivalry we have with (N.
C. A&T) you can't be wearing gold and blue around here," he said. It's been a good transition for MacDonald, a sophomore who is from Charlotte, as he came to WSSU looking for more playing time.
Over his two seasons with the Aggies, he played in just six games. People are also reading..
. "Every day, I'm grateful I made this decision," MacDonald said about being one of 37 transfers on the roster. "I came here this summer with a lot of transfers, and we bonded and they all welcomed me with open arms and we don't even talk about my previous school.
" The Rams are 3-1 for the first time since 2014 after they rallied for a 15-14 win at Virginia State in their CIAA opener on Saturday. Lee has the luxury of throwing to eight quality receivers who rotate in and out of the offense. MacDonald has eight catches for 135 yards, which is third best on the team.
Coach Robert Massey said getting MacDonald filled a need for a tall receiver they needed after the graduation of R.J. Mobley.
"He's a quiet, hard worker," Massey said. "And he's got three years (of eligibility) left so he's been a big factor for us." Massey said MacDonald has improved each week.
His best catch was a 37-yard gain in the overtime win over Ohio Dominican two weeks ago. "Our plan was to get a guy like that who is 6-foot-3, 6-foot-4 like R.J.
Mobley and let him make some plays," Massey said. "And he's starting to show it, and he made some good catches against his former teammates at A&T and that boosted his confidence." As MacDonald was looking to transfer, one thing he liked about WSSU was offensive coordinator Glenn Reese, who is a former assistant at A&T.
"It was the best opportunity knowing that coming here I would be with Coach Reese who was my wide receivers coach when I first got to A&T," MacDonald said. "He was there my freshman year at A&T, so it was a no-brainer coming here." Thanks to an influx of $60,000 to the program from playing N.
C. Central last season, Massey could afford around 40 players coming to summer school. And MacDonald was one of those players who was on campus working with strength coach Kerry Harbor and getting to know his new teammates.
"Daylin definitely has trust in us as receivers and that comes from the time we spent this summer together working out and getting to know each other," MacDonald said. "We did those 7-on-7 drills this summer and it's almost like second nature now on the connection with Daylin." Massey said having that money to get those players on campus this past summer is a big factor in the start to the season.
"And (MacDonald) was one of those guys here this summer and you can see how that has helped us as a team." When MacDonald was coming out of high school, he was being recruited by A&T and Western Carolina. He decided on the HBCU experience and while he liked being at A&T, he wanted more playing time.
"It's really about Ramily now," MacDonald said. As the Rams head into the meat of their CIAA schedule and will have a home game on Saturday at 1 p.m.
against Bowie State, MacDonald is excited about the offense. He's even more excited about his experience at WSSU off the field as well. "It's just really a family environment and the coaches really care about you and your teammates really care about you," MacDonald said.
"Football is hard but it's easier when you are one big family and that's what sticks out for me." [email protected] 336-727-4081 @johndellWSJ CIAA Football Update Saturday's Scores WSSU 15, Virginia State 14 Shaw 48, Lincoln (Pa.
) 14 Fay. State 31, Eliz. City State 7 Bowie State 31, Livingstone 17 J.
C. Smith 21, Va. Union 16 Get local news delivered to your inbox!.
