Schools

Colts Football Star Commits To Syracuse

Running back Devante McFarlane, a Hills West senior, may be the next Orange legend.

Football star Devante McFarlane hasn’t started his senior year of high school, but he already knows where he will be attending college.

The Colts running back will trade in his red and gold uniform for Orange as one of the newest recruitments to the Syracuse University football team.

McFarlane pushed the Colts to the Long Island Championship during his sophomore year as the most successful tackler and lead in rushing. What got him noticed by the top athletic universities though, was his performance during the Nike Combine at Penn State in May. Syracuse reported that after the game, McFarlane was asked to attend football camps by coaches from the Southeastern Conference, Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conference.

“This past year, Kyle has been on everybody’s radar. Rutgers and Division I schools were coming to see him every day,” football coach Kyle Madden said.

The competition to win McFarlane is over now however, since he has decided to remain in New York and play for Syracuse in the fall of 2012.

Outstanding athletes are nothing new for Hills West. The Colts football team has produced three NFL players: Stephen Bowen, who plays defensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys, Melvin Fowler who played center for the Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings and Cleaveland Browns and Jasen Isom, who played running back for the San Francisco 49ers.

With his excellent skills and field domination, Madden predicts that McFarlane will be the school’s fourth player to go pro.

“I think he could be as good as he wants to be. He’s got all the ability in the world. I think he has the NFL one day if he keeps working,” the coach said.

With so much attention on the high school senior, McFarlane will have to work even harder this year to prove to his future coaches that they made the right decision.

“Imagine being a D-I athelete on your high school team. It’s a big burden,” Madden said. “If we have a race, a 4-yard race, he better be in first because that's where he's expected to be.”

The pressure is on for the legend in the making, but McFarlane has a strong support system to help him along the way.

“Syracuse believes in him, his coaches and teammates believe in him. It's nice challenge to have,” Madden said. “I’m confident he will rise up to any challenge and I’m going to help him in any way that I can.”

With McFarlane leading the team as a senior this year, the Colts are expecting nothing but the best.

“My goal every year is to win the Long Island Championship. There’s no other goal. Our school expects it. There are no days off. We have to make every day that important,” Madden said.

As for McFarlane, the commitment is expected to be the beginning of an incredible journey.

“I'm just real proud of Devante. It's hard work and this is just the first step of hopefully many great things for him,” his coach said.


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