"I wanted to see how good (Greg) Hardy was,
but he did not play, so I watched the other ends to see what they could do,"
added Pernell
McPhee. "I am going to take what they got and add it to what I do."
The
6' 4", 265 pound ICC product said he has not had any contact from Ole Miss.
"I have never gotten anything from them. I am
not really being recruited by Ole Miss, but I hope they notice me this year. I
really liked the atmosphere there. The fans are pumped and you can tell they are
hungry to win. It was kind of crunk up there. They need someone like me waiving
my arms at the crowd. I will get it even more crunker."
The former
Pahokee (FL) standout signed with USM out of high school, but failed to qualify,
and enrolled at ICC.
"I really wanted to sign with Louisville out
of high school. I did not know anything about USM, their defensive schemes, or
anything. I just signed to play football."
And playing football is
an understatement as Pernell led all junior colleges in Mississippi with 19 sacks
as a freshman. He also chipped in 67 total tackles and 17.5 for losses.
"In
high school, I was a 6' 3", 210 pound end, and then I got here, and I just
blew up. I never lifted a weight in my life until I got here. In high school,
we just worked on speed and athletic drills, no weights. When they got me in the
weight program here, I went from 215 pounds to 250 and now I am up to 265. I have
a quick first step and I squat a lot. I have gotten better, technique wise, and
I have a lot more size."
McPhee picked up right where he left off
from last season.
"In our first game, I had 4 sacks against Jones
CC. It looked like they were scared of me because I was so big. They were looking
at me like this kid is pretty big and quick, but I am still the same person, I
am just bigger and stronger."
The preseason NJCAA All-American committed
to MSU in late July.
"I like their coaches. They have a good staff.
They have a good DL coach and a pretty good defensive line too. Coach Croom is
a real good coach."
The commitment has not stopped others from still
pursuing McPhee.
"Georgia, Florida, Vandy, and Ole Miss are the only
four teams in the SEC that are not recruiting me. I have some other schools like
Miami, Michigan, West Virginia, Kansas State, and Oklahoma State who are recruiting
me. All of them have offered me."
Next week Pernell is going to get
a chance to watch the school he is committed to play against some of his former
teammates from ICC.
"I have three of my teammates from last year that
play for S' Eastern LA. I want to go see what they got now (laugh). I do not want
to see the MSU coaches though. I will want to know how they could lose to a team
like La Tech. SEC schools do not do that."
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