The North Carolina Central football team isn't talked about much in the Richmond area. The Durham, N.C., school just completed its first season as a full member of Division I and doesn't have a player from Richmond on its roster.
But that will change today when four players from the Central Region sign letters of intent with the Eagles: Malcolm Bell of Henrico, Tony Tate of Varina, Darius Spruill of Thomas Dale and Tim Thaniel of Clover Hill.
In charge of recruiting the area for N.C. Central is assistant Mike McGlinchey. He's been at NCCU for three seasons, but he was given the territory just this year. He has plenty of familiarity with Richmond, as he recruited it when he was with Towson for eight seasons.
McGlinchey decided he'd hit Richmond hard, and the initial results have been positive.
"The 804 has been very good to me when I was at Towson, and I was going to make it good for me at North Carolina Central," McGlinchey said. "I think we underserved the area for years. I'm happy that we're getting back there strong."
Thaniel said he didn't know what N.C. Central was before McGlinchey showed up at Varina and started recruiting him.
"(McGlinchey) has driven from Durham to Richmond just to inform me of Tony's situation," Varina coach Stu Brown said. "That means a lot, because he does not do it via email or cell phone message."
McGlinchey has logged a lot of hours in his car traveling the 21/2 hours from his campus to Richmond. He said he's been to almost every school in the Central Region in the past year.
"It's all about having the kids see your face," he said. "It shows how serious you are about them coming to North Carolina Central to play football."
Bell sent an email to the previous head coach, Mose Rison, to try to get recruited. When Rison was fired and a new staff was assembled, Bell didn't expect to hear back. Then McGlinchey showed up to meet him.
"He really knows how to sell the school," Bell said. Tate and Bell plan to work out together before they enroll at school. Tate said he didn't realize so many local players were headed to Durham until they were announced at the All-Metro banquet last week.
Thomas Dale coach Kevin Tucker believes there's an untapped market for football players that N.C. Central has filled. Some students who normally would be recruited by the University of Richmond fall through the cracks because they can't qualify academically. In years past, they would go Division II.
Those are the ones N.C. Central targets. But McGlinchey says this year, he got all honor-roll students.
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