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A little more than two weeks ago, Bourne-McFarlane was practicing with NDSU, the No. 1 ranked team in the Division I-Football Championship Subdivision coaches’ poll.
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Winona's Hakeem Bourne-McFarlane catches a touchdown pass over Northern's Tony Falk on Saturday in Winona. (Photo by Paul Solberg/Winona Daily News) |
On the third play of the Warriors’ 39-14 victory over Northern State, about 375 miles from Fargo at WSU’s Maxwell Field, Bourne-McFarlane caught a 40-yard pass from Greg Preston for his first collegiate reception.
Bourne-McFarlane finished with three receptions for 53 yards and a touchdown, scoring over a defender on an 8-yard fade route to put WSU ahead 20-7 late in the second quarter.
He even aborted a reverse on a two-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter to throw a pass — which, to no consequence, was intercepted.
“I had confidence, of course, but it was my first college game,” Bourne-McFarlane said. “I haven’t played a football game (since high school). I’m not conditioned at all, I’ve been out so long.
“I was all right up until we started walking down (to the field). I was like ‘all right, just a football game.’ Then I got in here, felt the vibe with the team. Yeah, I was nervous. After I caught that first pass, I just said, ‘all right, time to go.’ ”
The strong debut capped a whirlwind Winona welcome for the 6-foot-2, 215-pound receiver from Bloomington Kennedy High School, where Bourne-McFarlane played three seasons with WSU freshman quarterback Evan Aber (younger brother of Drew Aber, WSU’s second all-time leading passer).
Bourne-McFarlane was recruited by the Warriors coming out of high school. He attended individual skills camps at WSU his sophomore and junior years, but accepted a full scholarship at NDSU.
“What he does best is when he’s in the air,” WSU coach Tom Sawyer said. “He has great athletic ability when he’s off the ground and you saw it today on that fade route. He’s got great hands and he’s a great athlete.”
Bourne-McFarlane spent this past summer practicing at NDSU and completed training camp with the Bison this fall. Still, he wasn’t happy in Fargo. He was put off by coaches and teammates. Reggie Moore, an NDSU assistant who recruited Bourne-McFarlane, took a job at UCLA.
One week before the Bison’s opener Aug. 28, Bourne-McFarlane requested his release. He left for WSU with his family that day to pursue a transfer.
Completing paperwork and awaiting clearance, Bourne-McFarlane could only watch practice his first week at WSU. He missed two days of classes awaiting registration.
“It took a while,” he said. “It seemed like everything that could go wrong went wrong.”
Before position meetings, Bourne-McFarlane would watch film with receivers coach Carson Walch. During practice he’d listen to play calls and terminology. After practice, he studied the playbook, or was quizzed by Evan Aber on routes and formations.
“I was into the playbook pretty hard,” Bourne-McFarlane said. “Just hoping I’d have a chance to play.”
He was cleared to practice with the Warriors a week ago last Thursday, on NDSU’s opening game day.
“He’s a talented player,” Preston said. “We just had to get him up to speed with everyone else before we put him in a game situation. But I think he proved out here today that he’s definitely capable of making plays for us. It was impressive to see.”
