Mac Hereford is an athlete that could have played elsewhere if he wanted to, but chose to walk on at the school he admired since he was a…
Former Alabama wide receiver Mac Hereford entered the NCAA Transfer Portal in early January in hopes that he would be able to find a new program in which he could call home. His search has experienced some bumps in the road which have turned an already challenging process into one that may be that most difficult thing the receiver has had to face in his athletic career.
Big-name players at any position rarely spend too much time in the transfer portal, this is largely due to the fact that they have the ‘star factor’ and most likely a lot of film and tape to be watched by coaches and recruiters.
However, Hereford’s journey in the portal requires more than just picking a program.
After three seasons with the Crimson Tide he has plenty of stories to tell and memorable experiences, along with life lessons he will carry throughout his life.
“My time at Alabama was amazing,” says Hereford. “I could not have asked for a better experience. I got to be a part of some of the best teams in the program’s history and learn and compete with some of the best wide receivers to come through Alabama.
Playing alongside some of he nations best receivers has ultimately hindered his transfer process. He doesn’t have much film to present his skills and abilities to coaches of programs that he could potentially transfer to.
“It was a blessing and a curse to be a part of such an outstanding group of wide receivers at ‘bama,” says Hereford. “I got to learn from the bested compete with them, but it was very difficult to get playing time.
So if teams can’t assess his in-game abilities what can they evaluate him on?
Well, Hereford has done a great job of posting workouts and practice clips on social media to give teams and idea of what he’s capable of.
While he did have some appearances in regular season games, he was not able to record any stats. He was able to reel in three catches during Alabama’s 2018 Spring game – which his team won.
In this A-Day clip from 2018 Hereford had three catches, all of which were made in an open space or with considerable separation from the defensive back.
Hereford understands the lone clip from A-Day won’t be enough to pique coaches’ interests. So before the Coronavirus Pandemic halted everyone’s lives, he was filming workouts with note-worthy quarterbacks to give coaches and recruiters something to consider.
“I would throw with a quarterback almost four times a week,” says Hereford. “I started the year throwing with Mac Jones and Alex Hornibrook and then moved on to throwing consistently with Devlin Hodges.”
This video posted by Hereford shows his one-on-one workout with expected starting quarterback for Alabama, Mac Jones. The clip displays his clean route running on various routes and his ability to adjust to the ball and reel it in from wherever thrown.
In this workout with former Florida State quarterback Alex Hornibrook, Hereford displays extremely quick feet and ability to abruptly stop while running full speed, a skill few receivers possess in college.
Herford has had the opportunity to workout with Pittsburgh Steeler’s quarterback Devlin Hodges a couple of times. However this clip shows Hereford’s ability to extend his arms on balls thrown too far in front or above him. He also shows, once again, he can adjust to any ball, as there were multiple passes thrown behind him.
If coaches have any qualms about what he does off the field, Hereford made it clear he is always looking to stay in shape.
“Before the virus hit us fully, I had been lifting three times a week and doing some sort of exercise everyday,” Hereford tells me.
“It has made the process very hard and a lot slower than I’ve expected,” the wide receiver admits. “[Coaches] are trying to figure out of we are having a season next year and still discovering ways to make sure their current guys are in shape. This being the case, they have less time available to look at guys in the portal or guys they need to recruit.”
The transfer portal has been seen as a meme to many, or as a way for players to act as free agents if their original program didn’t give them the playing time they were promised. Once hearing Mac’s story and all that he has done within the last five months, you soon realize none of the preconceived notions about players in the portal fly out of the window.
Mac Hereford is an athlete that could have played elsewhere if he wanted to, but chose to walk on at the school he admired since he was a child. After graduating from the University of Alabama and being apart of Crimson Tide football for three years, he looks to turn his last year of eligibility into a memorable one and help out the team he lands on. This is just a bump in the road.
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