On Thursday, May 13, 2021, Mike Darcy, Cam McQueen & Dan Hicks were recognized for committing to play collegiate football.
Mike Darcy – Long Island University (Football)
Major: Accounting
Final list of colleges: Long Island University, Lock, Haven, Millersville, Wagner, Fairmont State, Lake Erie
Reasons for choosing Long Island University: “Long Island is in a really nice area in New York. It’s one of the top schools for business in the northeast.”
What have you gained through your sports experience at North Penn and what is your favorite memory? “Something I learned is – if you put in the work, anything is possible. If you really put into it, you can make yourself into the player you want to be.
“My favorite memory was our CB South game. It was our last game, it was Senior night, and I felt like I played my best football.”
Coach Dick Beck says: “I wish when he was a sophomore we would have taken a before and after picture of Mike Darcy. As a sophomore, I would say he was like 5-10 and 145 pounds, and he wanted to play tight end. I kept saying to myself, ‘How is he going to play tight end? He’s so small.’ Now he’s 6-3 plus, 220 pounds. Obviously, nature made him taller, but he’s one of the hardest workers you’ve ever met. I play golf a lot, and there’s an indoor facility over at Keystone where I would go hit every once in a while. Every single time I was in there this past winter, Mike was in the gym running speed drills, change of direction, weight lifting, catching the ball – whatever he could do to get better. Working out never stops for him, and he’s made himself into a heck of a player. He’s going to play at Long Island U. He was a second team all-league tight end. Everyone else got to give statistics – these guys are all blockers, so they don’t have a lot of statistics. He was also one of our team MVPs and one of the hardest workers we’ve ever had.”
Dan Hicks – West Chester University (Football)
Major: Business
Final list of colleges: West Chester, Lincoln University, Fairmont State, Shippensburg, Millersville, Kutztown
Reasons for choosing West Chester: “I chose West Chester because my first visit there it already felt like home. The coaches seemed like they really wanted me.”
What have you gained through your sports experience at North Penn and what is your favorite memory? “At North Penn, I gained confidence - coach Beck helped me express myself on the field and stuff like that. I gained confidence and leadership, and I’m definitely more outgoing than I used to be.
“My favorite memory was the Central Dauphin scrimmage my junior year. (A senior) was starting over me, and I told (coach) Beck I wanted to play defense. He said I would never play defense unless I started at offense, so I talked to my lineman coach and asked him if I could get one play. He finally let me in the game for one play – it was a tackle for a loss, and boom, I was the second string D-end.”
Coach Dick Beck says: “Dan was a starter this year at left tackle and played two ways – he played defensive tackle and defensive end. Dan has great size and he has great athletic ability for an offensive lineman. He was heavily recruited and with his size and athletic ability became quite a commodity with the (PSAC) coaches. I would say every single coach called me up about him, and almost everyone offered a scholarship. There seemed to be a bidding war at the end. We’ve had great success with players going to West Chester from North Penn. We’ve had at least four captains since I’ve been here that played at West Chester. Dan felt comfortable there with the recruiting coach, and I think it’s a great opportunity for him to further his education plus he’s going to get to play great football.”
Camden McQueen – Long Island University (Football)
Major: Computer Science
Final list of colleges: Long Island, Millersville, West Chester, King’s, Widener
Reasons for choosing Long Island: “When I visited Long Island, it really felt like home, and I liked all the coaches. They also have a great computer science program.”
What have you gained through your sports experience at North Penn and what is your favorite memory? “I gained how to be a leader and how to achieve goals as a team. My special memory is chasing Coach Beck down at CB East with the water.”
Coach Dick Beck says: “Cam is very quiet – this guy is first team all-league quiet. Cam went in reverse, and what I mean by reverse, he was 275 as a sophomore, he was 235 as a junior and he was 250 as a senior. Now he’s starting to go back up. He was a first team all-league offensive lineman for the last two years. Over those two years, he’s been absolutely our highest graded out offensive lineman game in and game out. He never missed a start in two years. He was one of our team captains. He’s a quiet leader, he leads by example. I tried the best I could all season to talk to him, but he doesn’t like to talk too much. He does a lot of smiling. He’s going to attend Long Island U where he’s rooming with Mike Darcy. They’ll be both positive influences on each other. I’m so proud of him.”
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