McMahan prepares for golden opportunity during final year

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Kevin McMahan, a junior wide receiver for the University of Maine football team, has a long road of recovery and preparation ahead of him before the Black Bears’ season opener Sept. 3 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

McMahan suffered a season ending knee injury last fall against the University of Massachussetts, resulting in a grade two tear of his medial collateral ligament.

“It was a 50-yard catch, I ran a little after and a group of people came to tackle me, one fell awkwardly on the side of my leg,” said McMahan.

With the departure of senior wide receiver Christian Pereira who is graduating in May, McMahan is expected to compete for the number one receiving position alongside Ryan Waller, also entering his senior season.

From the start, McMahan has been contributing to the Black Bear offense, stepping in for injured players his freshman season, a task many are not asked to do. Due to his experience on the field and his maturity off the field,, Jack Cosgrove, head coach of the football team, is looking for him to step up and guide the younger players.

While at Aquinas Institute in Rochester, N.Y, McMahan was able to harness his athletic ability to help the team to a state championship and at the same time, earn Most Valuable Player in the championship game.

The individual awards for McMahan his senior year include being named All-State and All-City selection, Aquinas Student-Athlete of the Year, and received the team’s Go-To Player Award.”

Cosgrove expects McMahan to be fully recovered from his injury by the start of the season.

Outside of the weight room, McMahan spends hours studying video of opponents, breaking down their weaknesses, looking at what routes they have trouble covering, and studying techniques with hopes to take advantage of them on the field.

After a rough junior season that saw limited output, McMahan’s statistics weren’t enough to catch the attention of NFL scouts, but not all is lost. During UMaine’s spring practices, scouts will be in attendance to look at members of the team. Players who perform well will be put on the watch list for the upcoming season.

“Because Kevin wasn’t able to put up terrific numbers this year, I expect him to be put on this list with a good spring session,” Cosgrove said.

However, McMahan’s dreams of playing in the NFL are on hold until after the 2005 season.

“My number one goal for the team is to able to finish and win games, and after that things will fall into place,” McMahan said..

This entry was posted on Monday, February 14th, 2005, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.