CORAL GABLES – Zach McCloud will forever be remembered as part of the famed linebacker trio that came to Miami in 2016.
The Santaluces High School alum came in as an early enrollee with fellow standouts and Preseason All-Americans Shaquille Quartermann and Michael Pinckney.
Together, the three of them worked to help Miami become one of the nation’s very best defenses for several years.
After this season ends, college football is over for McCloud, Quartermann, and Pinckney. Their next respective career moves will almost certainly land them in the NFL next spring.
One thing is certain: their group dynamic will go down as legendary in many respects.
“Anything is motivating,” McCloud told media members in this evening’s post practice interview. “If I had been the front-runner and everything like that, with my name all over the place, I would have said, ‘Now somebody is chasing me.’ I think, whatever situation you give any one of us, we’re all going to hard because of that. We’re going to find a way to twist it around in our heads to make it like we need to go harder. I like that about this group. And they just push me further, too. That’s really all that it is.”
For now, it’s all about building upon a senior year to remember. McCloud wants to go out on top, and nothing less than that will be acceptable to him.
In three seasons at linebacker (36 games played; 31 starts), McCloud has recorded 129 tackles and 12.5 tackles for loss. He had 44 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss last season.
While the “nice guy” has been highly productive on the field, it’s his work off the field that arguably stands out more.
On Thursday, July 25, McCloud was selected as a recipient of the Wuerfell Trophy Watch List, a community service-based honor that focuses on a player’s off-the-field work.
An active member of the Miami’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), McCloud has played an important role in organizing and orchestrating community services events for Miami student-athletes across all sports.
In 2018-19, he served as the community service & campus engagement coordinator for the SAAC.
And earlier this summer, McCloud was actively involved in the Miami Hurricanes summer youth camp on Wednesday, June 5 at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach. He assisted other Hurricane locals such as defensive end Jonathan Garvin (Lake Worth alum), safety Amari Carter (Palm Beach Gardens alum), and defensive tackle Pat Bethel (Vero Beach alum) in their outreach efforts.
In all, more than 150 youngsters attended the morning camp, which was led by head coach Manny Diaz & some of his coaching staff.
With all that said, McCloud’s endless quest for positive balance on and off the field is something to treasure. His recovery from a wrist injury he suffered in the spring is something to treasure as well.
The senior linebacker’s experience, athleticism, and football smarts will be very much needed throughout the season. He’s at or near 100 percent from both a physical and mental standpoint.
“It feels the best that it’s felt since the day that I broke it,” McCloud said of his wrist injury. “I’m ready to go. I’m just bracing it up, protecting it, doing anything I need to.”
