Marist Football Star Readies for Next Chapter at Syracuse
Derek McDonald learned to walk and play football at the same time. Well, that may be a bit of a stretch, but not by much. The Atlanta native and recent Marist graduate is the son of Nina and Bruce McDonald and began playing football at the age of 5.
“We signed him up for football in the first grade, and he took to it right away,” says Nina. “He was a truly a natural. He was one of the best tacklers on the team, which a lot of the younger guys have trouble with when they first start playing, but Derek loved it.”
Derek began playing with the Murphy Candler Colts, a youth travel ball team out of Candler Park in Atlanta. According to Derek, he played safety on defense, as well as running back and quarterback on offense at the beginning of his playing days.
As he grew taller and got bigger, his coaches moved him to the line, where he played on both sides of the ball. Derek attended school and played ball for Candler until the seventh grade, before moving on to Marist. His class started off with a successful run beginning in middle school.
“We only lost two games during my middle school team’s seasons in the seventh and eighth grade,” says Derek.
He says that success continued as his class grew into high school.
“We made it to the semifinals during my 10th-grade season, then the third round of the playoffs in my junior season and, fortunately, won it all this past season, which was my final season at Marist,” he says.
Read the rest of his story in Georgia April/May 2021 Magazine for FREE!
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