Rock Hill’s Nick McCloud overcame injury at NC State. He’s now headed to Notre Dame.
The first game of Nick McCloud’s senior season — and the last game he’d ever play for N.C. State — changed his life.
McCloud, the former two-time state champion at South Pointe High School and Wolfpack defensive back, now is headed to Notre Dame, a football program peerless in tradition and rich in NFL alumni. He’ll be eligible to play as a graduate transfer this fall, after he graduates with a business administration degree from N.C. State this summer.
Early in a tune-up game against East Carolina nine months ago, though, McCloud didn’t have any of this in his plans.
The team captain, and 6-1, 190-pound senior, was just trying to make a tackle.
“Going into my senior year, that was the best I’ve ever been feeling in my life,” McCloud later told The Herald. “And then, the first game of the season, I was running to go make a tackle, and one of my teammates had slung the ball carrier into my knee.
“I went to get it checked out, and it was a grade 2 MCL sprain. I had to sit out my whole senior season.”
McCloud’s father, Nakia, and mother, Jonetta, were in the stadium that day. They saw their son’s knee buckle. Nakia said they were exiting when they received a phone call.
“When I saw how his knee buckled, of course it was scary,” Nakia said. “As we were walking, they called us back so that we could see him. We knew it was serious.”
Nick got treatment and was given crutches. He said even when he didn’t put pressure on the knee, the pain was “unbearable.”
Once the parking lot and game day hubbub cleared, the three of them made their way to their car.
“At that point, that’s when it really hit me,” Nick said. “It was just kind of disappointing, being a captain, being a senior, sitting on the sideline and not being able to do anything to help your team win.
“I was going to get back by any means.”
A unique path to Notre Dame
McCloud said he entered the transfer portal in January, right after the end of what should have been his last season playing football. He said he saw his transfer as a chance for a fresh start.
Within minutes of entering, dozens of coaches had called him. One of those coaches was Terry Joseph, Notre Dame’s defensive backs coach, who’d previously coached at North Carolina under Larry Fedora.
The timing of McCloud’s transfer has put him in a bit of a limbo. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, he wasn’t able to take any school visits or watch any spring practices.
“I committed to Notre Dame, and I really haven’t been there for a visit,” McCloud said. “I mean, we played up there two years ago, while I was at N.C. State. So that’s the only time I’ve ever been up there in my life.”
And how was the experience in South Bend, Ind., for McCloud? The man who lived all his life in the South laughed: “That was probably the coldest game I’ve ever played in. But it was definitely a great atmosphere to be a part of.”
McCloud grew up in Lancaster and moved to Rock Hill where he played football at South Pointe when his father got a job at the school. (Nakia, now better known as “Coach McCloud,” helps coach the Stallions.)
McCloud, who played basketball and football, started on South Pointe’s ninth grade football team. As a sophomore and junior — despite wanting to play defense for the school that bred some of the best defenders the state has ever seen, from Jadeveon Clowney to Stephon Gilmore to DeVonte Holloman — McCloud was asked to play wide receiver.
“Nick always wanted to play defense, and one thing you learn as a high school coach is: If you want to win, you have to be very selective in how you put guys on the field,” said Strait Herron, McCloud’s head coach at South Pointe. “And just looking at our roster, we said, ‘Man, who would be the guy who we could put out there, who would know what to do and has the athletic ability?’ And it was Nick. He was the only guy we had. …
“We said, ‘We know you want to play defense, but we need to put you on offense because we want to win.’”
McCloud didn’t second-guess or defy his coaches. He played wide receiver.
And as a senior, when a cornerback slot opened because another player graduated, McCloud got the chance to play defense. He was later recruited by NCSU as a defensive back.
“When I was at South Pointe, I was a late-bloomer,” McCloud said. “We won two state championships, which were two highlights of not only my South Pointe career, but my entire career. Period.
“I just felt like those teams taught me how to win, and how you have to be with your teammates in order to win.”
With or without football, ‘Nick’s going to be fine’
There are plenty of other things you should know about McCloud, who’ll soon be the second person from Rock Hill to play football at Notre Dame — after Northwestern’s Jeff Burris.
You should know he’s excited to play a full season, and maybe compete for a national championship next year.
You should know that he and NFL defensive player of the year and former South Pointe cornerback, Gilmore, are close and work out together a few times a week.
You should know that McCloud and his parents are grateful for the opportunities N.C. State gave him. In his college career so far, the cornerback has notched 106 tackles, 18 pass breakups, three interceptions and a fumble recovery.
And you also should know that while Notre Dame brings him closer to his NFL dreams, the people who know McCloud agree that he doesn’t need football to have a good, successful life.
When asked if he’d heard about McCloud’s injury on Aug. 31, 2019 — the one that ultimately changed his path — Herron recalled a few words McCloud’s mother said to him while McCloud was at South Pointe.
Her words applied then. And they appear to mean a lot now.
“I remember having a conversation with his mom, back when he was in school,” Herron said. “And one of things she said that was so poignant was this:
“She said, ‘You know, it doesn’t matter what happens with football. Nick’s going to be fine.’”
This story was originally published May 26, 2020 at 10:32 AM.
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