f o o t b a l l
f e a t u r e :
d o l a p o
m a c a r t h y
Road Less Traveled
Macarthy strengthened by journey
BY STACY CLARDIE
SClardie@GoldandBlack.com
D
eji Macarthy didn't exactly make the
best alarm.
But there was no other option: Excitement could not be contained watching his
younger brother, Dolapo, play for Purdue.
So Deji Macarthy was yapping, yelling
and clapping at his TV, watching games
from inside his apartment in Oregon at 9
a.m. on Saturdays, the time zone difference ruining the mornings for neighbors
with intentions of sleeping in.
But they didn't know what it meant,
Dolapo Macarthy suited up and on the
field for the Boilermakers.
They didn't know this wasn't the storybook top-recruit-direct-to-Big-Ten.
They didn't know Dolapo Macarthy almost didn't make it, that his beamingwith-pride brother almost wasn't able to
watch the TV bursting with so much emotion that he drew complaints.
They don't know without Deji Macarthy, Dolapo would have given up football,
Tom Campbell
preventing Purdue fans from seeing the Dolapo Macarthy may only be in his second year as a receiver, but he's
impressive rise of a player packed with quickly emerging as one of Purdue's best at the position and is projected
to start in 2013.
potential.
More than once, Dolapo Macarthy heard
rudeness, came quickly in football.
from big brother Deji, "There's no way I'm going to let
He didn't start playing until he was a sophomore at
you not play football. You're too talented. You have too
Merrillville, and coaches quickly moved him from remuch potential. The sky is the limit for you."
ceiver to quarterback after they saw him whip a ball 50
"I think that was God speaking through him beyards during one practice. With the starting quartercause (God) knew this is what you need to be doing,
back nursing a knee injury, coaches wanted to groom
you still need to pursue this," Dolapo Macarthy said.
a replacement. It was only the third week of the sea"Deji didn't let me stop."
son when Macarthy made his debut, the starting QB
Even if there seemed to be plenty of times it made
tweaking the knee.
sense.
And the self-described scrawny 6-foot-4, 180-pounder was not ready.
Late start, long road
"I was so terrified," Macarthy said. "I played so bad,
Dolapo Macarthy's awakening, full-fledged in its
Gold & Black IllustrateD • volume 23, issue 5com
