PHILADELPHIA — Millions of kids grow up dreaming of playing in the NFL. None of those kids grow up dreaming of playing special teams in the NFL. But then, in his athletic career, Zech McPhearson already has gotten accustomed to adjusting.
When he enrolled in Penn State in 2016, he hoped to play cornerback on the football team and center field on the baseball team, having starred in both sports, at both positions, at Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro, Md. “That’s what I committed for,” he said. Only James Franklin, Penn State’s head coach, oh-so gently suggested that he tweak that plan.
“My first summer there, I was at practice,” McPhearson, who is one of the Eagles’ backup cornerbacks and who might be the best special-teams player in the NFL this season, said Thursday afternoon at the NovaCare Complex. “And Coach Franklin came up and was like, ‘Hey, we see a lot of talent in you. We think you should be focused on football. If you do this this year and maintain this grade-point average, we’ll let you play baseball the following year.’ You know how that goes.”
