COLUMN: Macik will make NFL

From Jed Walentas's "Two Minute Warning," Fall '95 Ironically, nobody who has ever been associated with Bagnoli's Quakers has successfully made the jump to the next level. In no way does that diminish Bagnoli, his accomplishments or his coaching philosophy. We are an Ivy League school, and the football program is not designed to prepare people for the NFL. I just find it kind of interesting, considering two Ivy League contemporaries of the Quakers' dominance currently suit up every Sunday -- Princeton alum Keith Elias with the Giants and former Dartmouth quarterback Jay Fiedler with the Eagles. The Quakers have had their share of individual stars -- Pat Goodwillie, Pup Turner, Terrance Stokes, Jimmy McGeehan. The list goes on and on. Today they all work nine to five. The last football player to make it from Franklin Field to the NFL, however, was Joe Valerio, a second-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs. Touchdown Joe, as it were, scored two touchdowns from the real Touchdown Joe last season out of the Chiefs' heavy-jumbo set down around the goal-line. The time has come for another Quaker to make it in the NFL. Miles Macik will be that Quaker. And unlike Elias or Fiedler, Macik will be an impact player at the professional level. First, he's got the physical tools to do it. The Marlboro, N.J., native stands at 6 feet, 4 inches tall. He leaps like a gazelle and is a strong and wiry 200 pounds. Given the recent trend towards short cornerbacks in the NFL, the fade pass that the Quakers have tried to patent over the past several seasons will be just as successful Sunday afternoons as it is Saturdays. It just doesn't matter what kind of position a defensive back has -- Macik will catch a properly thrown ball regardless of who covers him. Second, Macik has one of the best pairs of hands in football at any level. Watch him in practice. Watch him in games. Watch him anywhere. The kid never drops the football. Anything he can touch he will catch. And his quarterbacks know it. Jimmy McGeehan knew it. Mark DeRosa knows it. When Penn's signal callers are in trouble, they loft the ball in Miles' general direction and good things normally happen. From talking with coaches, scouts and fans alike, the one knock on Macik is his speed -- that 40-yard dash time that scouts live and die by. Obviously, he's not a deep threat like James Jett. He's rarely going to take a five-yard slant 80 yards for a score as we've all become so accustomed to Jerry Rice doing in a properly executed West Coast offense [pay attention Ray Rhodes]. Speedy or not, Miles Macik is always open. He runs proper and precise routs. He knows how to free himself from physical bump and run coverage. He makes adjustments to attack his defenders' weaknesses. He comes back to his quarterback when a heavy pass rush necessitates that. Miles Macik has all the traits of a consummate professional, and by season's end he will hold nearly every receiving record in the history of the Ivy League. None of this is an accident. A little bit of Macik's success has to do with talent, but it is mostly due to work ethic and desire. Those two traits, more than anything else, will get him to the NFL. Macik knows what it's like to play in pain. He does it ten times a year. He has no qualms about going across the middle. Unlike Ricky Watters and his multi-million dollar contract, you won't see him short-arming balls because he hears footsteps. Macik won't be a star. He doesn't have the flair, the speed, the showboat personality or the doo-rag. He will be a solid possession receiver who will have the trust of his quarterback on third and seven. To Macik, that is most important.