of guy. He's that type of guy, go get it no matter what. I
was like, 'What should I do? Should I leave him alone,
let him do his own thing and he turns out this way? Or
will I be the big brother who is like, hey, you need to
wake up real quick.' I'm like, 'You have so much talent.
You have a gift, and you're not supposed to just be sitting in the classroom.'
"He didn't have to listen to me. All those times. But
thank God we had that tight of a bond that he did. I'm
so happy. I'm happier than I can ever imagine right
now.
"I just believed in the kid and I still believe in him
with all my heart."
Dolapo Macarthy moved back to Merrillville and contacted coaches about walking on. He called Michigan
State, Iowa and Purdue. Former Boilermaker and Merrillville native Mike Neal provided Danny Hope's number. Hope told Macarthy he'd give him a fresh start as
a walk on in West Lafayette, assuming Macarthy was
accepted to the school.
"I was terrified again when he said that, (thinking),
Tom Campbell
Macarthy's path to Purdue wasn't one without obstacles. He
made stops in Virginia, Kansas and Oregon before finding
his football home in his home state.
'I hope I don't get rejected,' " Macarthy said. "So I applied to school. I prayed about it a lot. I really just gave
it all to God because I knew it was not in my control
anymore and if this is what he wanted for me, then
this is what I'll do.
"Then I got admitted."
More obstacles
Macarthy arrived at Purdue in January 2011 and
participated in spring ball, working at quarterback.
He struggled a bit getting accustomed to the speed,
like most freshmen quarterbacks do. But, by the end of
spring, Macarthy thought he'd responded fairly well.
So he was surprised to hear Hope and offensive coordinator Gary Nord tell him in an exit interview that
they were switching him to receiver.
Didn't they know how long it'd taken him to get this
opportunity?
Gold & Black IllustrateD • volume 23, issue 5com
