INDIANAPOLIS — Could another “Big Play Willie Gay” be entering the NFL?
Possibly, but he won’t have any connection to the former cornerback who played two terms in Pittsburgh and won one Super Bowl with the Steelers. That was William Gay, a fifth-round Steelers draft pick in 2007 out of Louisville who earned his local nickname by scoring five defensive touchdowns over 10 seasons with the franchise.
Willie Gay Jr. is a linebacker prospect from Mississippi State who likely helped himself immensely based on what he did last week at the NFL combine. Gay Jr. ran the 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds, second only to surefire high first-rounder Isaiah Simmons from Clemson among linebackers. He also cranked out the longest broad jump (136 inches), second-highest vertical leap (39.5 inches) and fifth-best bench press (21 reps) at his position group. Just don’t expect NFL bloodlines to factor into his draft stock.
“Coming up in high school, a lot of people would ask me, ‘Bro, you know there’s a William Gay that plays with the Steelers?’ ” Gay Jr. recalled. “And I’d be like, ‘Yeah, I know, but I don’t know him. He’s not my cousin, though.’ ”
It took a while for Gay Jr. himself to understand that. He was 16 when William Gay led the NFL and set a Steelers record with three pick-sixes in 2014. By then, Gay Jr. had figured out there was no relation between a proud Mississippi boy and a pro football player from Tallahassee, Fla.
“I thought that was my cousin growing up,” Gay Jr. said with a laugh. “But that’s when I was real young, so I didn’t know anything about anything.”
He knows now that if he does make it to the next level, his name will probably ring some bells to NFL fans, especially those in Western Pennsylvania. But one thing Gay Jr. would like to point out is that, technically, he and the Steelers’ William Gay don’t share a first name at all.
“A lot of people ask me if my real name is William,” Gay Jr. said. “Nah, man, it’s Willie. Just Willie.”
There’s also a William “Musty” Gay from San Francisco who played defensive end for USC, then the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings. But that seemed like a little too much information to throw at a 6-foot-1, 243-pound linebacker who’s trying to prove his worth to NFL teams after a bumpy road at Mississippi State.
Gay Jr. left Starkville after a junior year in which he had a pick-six and two fumble recoveries but played only five games because of an NCAA academic violation that also sidelined nine teammates. He also faced questions about a practice incident with freshman quarterback Garrett Shrader, who was set to start in the Music City Bowl but reportedly missed the game with an eye injury. But Gay Jr. played and had a forced fumble, a splash play typical of a top-75 recruit who notched five sacks, two interceptions and a fumble recovery as a sophomore.
“Gay has to answer for his off-field concerns, but we’ve seen enough at this point to know he has NFL coverage ability,” is what Pro Football Focus wrote in projecting him as a third-round pick. “It’s not only his athleticism, but also his instincts as well.”
Viewed mostly as a 3-4 inside linebacker or 4-3 outside linebacker, Gay Jr. wouldn’t fill one of the Steelers’ biggest needs, but he could assume the “Big Play Will Gay” mantle. After serving as a coaching intern last year for the Steelers, his pseudo-namesake is now the defensive backs coach at Missouri State. Not Mississippi State — that would be confusing.
Oh, Canada
Speaking of draft candidates who are often mistaken for having NFL relatives, Maryland running back Anthony McFarland Jr. is not to be confused with Anthony “Booger” McFarland, the former LSU and Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman who’s now ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” color analyst.
“I get that a lot,” McFarland Jr. said. “I always have to tell people that’s not my dad. I’ve got to make my own name.”
A Hyattsville, Md., native and product of prep powerhouse DeMatha Catholic, McFarland Jr. averaged 6.7 yards per carry in two seasons at Maryland after redshirting as a freshman. He left school after rushing for 614 yards as a sophomore on the same team as Mike Tomlin’s son, Dino.
But as a freshman, McFarland Jr. broke out with 1,034 yards rushing, including 298 in an overtime loss to No. 10 Ohio State. His offensive coordinator at the time? New Steelers quarterbacks coach Matt Canada, who additionally served as Maryland’s interim head coach that year after D.J. Durkin was suspended, then fired midseason.
“He was a players’ coach,” McFarland Jr. said of Canada. “He cared about us a lot, and that made us want to play for him even more, because of how he took over that job. I knew it was tough for him deep down inside, but the way he handled it, I’ve always got respect for Matt Canada, always got love for him.”
McFarland Jr. bumped into Canada in Indianapolis during his first combine with the Steelers. Though it wasn’t a formal interview with the team, McFarland Jr. said he gave Canada “a big hug, because that’s still the type of love I got for him, just with what we went through in college, how he stepped in.”
Canada already has coached two running backs on the Steelers roster and worked with second-year position coach Eddie Faulkner. He coordinated Pitt’s record-setting offense in 2016 featuring James Conner, and before that used Jaylen Samuels in a multitude of ways at N.C. State.
At 5-8, 208 pounds, McFarland Jr. was one of the smaller backs at the combine, but he ran the fourth-fastest 40 at his position with a 4.44 time. It’s no secret the Steelers could use a speed back, and they now have a coach on staff who worked wonders with one at Maryland.
“I know he’s a quarterbacks coach, but I feel like his schemes are going to translate good, because they’re hard to stop,” McFarland Jr. said of Canada. “You see against Ohio State, it was a hard scheme to stop, really, so I feel like that can translate a little bit to the NFL.”
Conner comps
Another running back who opened eyes thanks to his athletic testing was Boston College bellcow A.J. Dillon, who ran a 4.53 in the 40 at 247 pounds. He also had the best vertical and broad jumps among ball-carriers, hinting at a bit more explosiveness than might’ve been expected from such a bruising runner.
Just don’t try to liken the 6-foot Dillon to a similarly sized ACC legend who was a late third-round pick three years ago. Even if NFL.com’s “comparison” line in Dillon’s profile puts it right there: James Conner.
“Obviously, he’s had a great college career, a great NFL career, what he’s still doing,” Dillon said. “I haven’t had the chance to meet the guy, but I’m sure he’s a stand-up guy, as well. I don’t like to compare myself to people. … I don’t like to do that because I’m my own man at the end of the day and I feel like I bring a lot to the table, and it’s a lot different from case to case.”
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: March 2, 2020, 5:04 p.m.
