New Tider
Nautyn McKay-Loescher

Nickname: Chief
Birthday: 12-9-80
High School: Central Tech
HS Mascot: Blue Devils
HS Coach: Chuck Wakefield
HS Position: DE, TE
HS Number: 56
AL Number: 56
Official Visits: Alabama, Michigan State, Ohio State, Michigan, Arizona
Second Choice: Michigan State
Host During Alabama Visit: Kenny King and Brandon Miree
Committed: 1-31-1999

McKay-Loescher is considered the top player in Canada. He has great pass rushing skills. In 10 games this season he had 55 tackles and 16 sacks and deflected five passes.

McKay-Loescher was a SuperPrep National 50 prospect and earned All-America honors. He was rated the No. 2 defensive end prospect in the nation by Rivals 100 and was rated the 25th-best overall prospect by The Sporting News.

What Experts Say about Nautyn McKay-Loescher

Allen Wallace: "Our top defensive prospect from Canada. Excellent motor with great quickness. Pass rusher deluxe."

Tom Lemming: "Great athlete with a bright future."

Q&A with Nautyn McKay-Loescher

TI: Alabama didn't begin recruiting you until the week before signing day. Supposedly, the main reason you gave them consideration that late was that you grew up an Alabama fan. Is that true?

NML: Actually, I didn't start watching college football until 1990 -- the year Colorado and Georgia Tech shared the national championship. At that time I was a big Michigan fan. But mainly I've always been a big fan of college football and tradition. I always had this image of Alabama and Bear Bryant. I always pictured that houndstooth hat he used to wear. The 1993 Sugar Bowl between Alabama and Miami is the most exciting game I've ever seen. I remember after the game seeing the Alabama players run around the field carrying that big red Alabama flag. After that game I really started following Alabama. Plus, I remember all the great players like Derrick Thomas and Cornelius Bennett. I never saw them play for Alabama, but I watched their highlights and I saw them in the pros. They were big guys, but they were fast too. I always wanted to be like them.

TI: So Alabama's tradition was attractive to you?

NML: Yeah, I've always been this big fan of tradition. My high school coach told me that if I wanted to go somewhere with tradition that Alabama and Notre Dame have the best traditions of all. But I never really liked Notre Dame.

One thing I like about Alabama is that they've never changed. Other schools try all these marketing ideas by changing their logos on their uniforms and things like that, but Alabama has always been the same. I love the numbers on the side of the helmet. I love the Crimson uniform. They're simple and plain, but they look good. That's part of the tradition that I love.

TI: You mentioned being a big fan of Michigan. Why didn't you go there?

NML: I didn't like their theory on the defensive line. Their defensive front never gets the publicity they deserve and that's because they always publicize their defensive backs. You look at Michigan and you think of guys like Charles Woodson and guys on offense like their running backs and receivers like Desmond Howard. It's always the skill people you hear about. At Alabama all the players get the recognition they deserve. Coach DuBose, Coach [Ellis] Johnson and Coach [Lance] Thompson let the defensive linemen pin their ears back and go after the offense.

TI: You were committed to Michigan State. Then you went on a trip to Hawaii as a part of the Rivals All-American team. While in Hawaii you met Mac Tyler. As the story goes, he convinced you to visit Alabama.

NML: Yeah, I was already going to Michigan State and I thought that that wasn't going to change. It's close to home and everything and I felt like my family, my mom and my son, could come watch me play. But when I went to Hawaii there were a bunch of the other All-Americans out there talking about playing on defenses like Tennessee that had speed. They were telling me that Michigan State wasn't known for great speed on defense. I told Mac that I wanted to play for a defense known for its speed. He told me I should go to Alabama with him.

I remembered watching Alabama on TV a lot this past season and guys like Saleem Rasheed, Jarret Johnson and Kenny King. All of those guys were fast and they were only freshmen. I knew that I wanted to play with a guy like Rasheed backing me up at linebacker. If I get taken out by a fullback or something, I can trust Rasheed to back me up and make the tackle. Michigan State doesn't have that kind of linebacker.

After I thought about it, I told Mac to give me the phone number to Alabama. He gave me Coach Thompson's number and it went from there.

TI: What did Coach Thompson say when you called him?

NML: [Laughing] I told him I was interested in visiting Alabama. He talked to me a little while and then gave me to Coach [Ivy] Williams. Coach Williams asked me for a tape. Since it was so late, it was like the Wednesday before signing day, I told him I could bring one with me on a visit. So that's what happened.

TI: What happened once you got to Alabama?

NML: At first they were very business-like. It was like they were real skeptical because they hadn't seen me play. They probably had some doubts, you know. I remember when I got there that Coach Cottrell and Coach Thompson took my tape to watch it. They left me with a couple of grad assistants. I was thinking at that time that I probably shouldn't have visited. I thought I was wasting my time because they didn't seem interested in me.

When Coach Cottrell and Coach Thompson came back from watching my tape, they told that the tape was blank, that it didn't have anything on it. I was thinking to myself that this visit was a disaster. Then they both started laughing and told me they were joking. That's when they told me that they had to have me. They said they loved my speed coming off the corner.

TI: Is that when they offered you a scholarship?

NML: No, actually Coach DuBose offered me. They took me to Coach DuBose's office on Saturday afternoon after he had watched my tape. He gave me the best speech I've ever heard. He told me that Coach Bryant used to say that he could look at a guy for three plays and tell whether or not he could play. Coach DuBose said he knew I could play after watching only one play. He said that I could go to Florida State, Nebraska, USC, or any school in the country and probably start or play a lot as a freshman. He said that's the kind of player he wants at Alabama. He said they only want the best. The next morning he told that they had offered a scholarship to another defensive lineman in Mobile [Marcus White], but that they would rather have me. He said that I could take as long as I wanted to think it over. I told him that I couldn't pass up an opportunity to play at a place like Alabama. I committed to Coach right then.

Coach told me that only one school has won more national championships than Alabama and that's Notre Dame. They've won 13 and we've won 12. Someday I want to play Notre Dame to see which team will be the first to win 14 national championships.

TI: Talk about the rest of your visit to Alabama. I understand that your visit to the Bryant Museum was emotional.

NML: I got choked up listening to the speeches by Coach Bryant. He always took the blame when Alabama lost and gave credit to the coaches and players when they won. He never took any credit himself. I remember wishing while I was standing there that Coach Bryant had not died. I wish he were still alive so I could make him proud. Bryant Museum was the highlight of all my visits. Places like Michigan and Ohio State have a lot of tradition, but they don't have anything that compares to that.

TI: I understand that you and Brandon Miree hit if off pretty well during your visit. Supposedly both of you went out to Denny Chimes at five o'clock one morning to look at the hand and cleat prints of the former captains.

NML: [Laughing] Yes, that happened. We went over there and looked at all the guys who had left their mark at Alabama. I told Brandon that in four years our prints could be there. That's when I really felt that Alabama was the place for me. It was neat.

TI: What was the response from your family in Canada when you told them of your decision?

NML: My mom was distraught at first because it's so far away. I have a nine-month-old son, Markcus, and he's my pride and joy. My mom worried maybe that I would be too far from him. But I told her that I was going to Alabama for Markcus. I want him to be able to say that his dad plays for Alabama. When I'm 55 years old I want my grandkids to be able to say that I played for Alabama. The main reason I visited Alabama was to be able to say that they recruited me. I didn't know I was going to fall in love.

TI: What did the Michigan State coaches say when you told them you had a change of heart?

NML: That was real hard. I was nervous about telling them because we were all real close. But when they called I told them that I wanted to go to Alabama. They were shocked about me changing. They didn't yell or anything, but they were upset about it. I had to go to Alabama. I couldn't go anywhere else and have my number on the side of my helmet.

TI: When was the first time you played football?

NML: When I was in the ninth grade. I remember that I wanted to be a safety because I was so fast. My coach told me that I should play defensive end. He said I could be a good defensive end someday. At first I didn't trust him on that. I was about six-foot, 175 pounds and I couldn't see myself playing the same position as Reggie White. I mean his biceps were the size of my entire body at that time. But I ended up having a good season my first year. By my third season I realized that I could use my speed and explosiveness to blow past offensive tackles. I knew I could be good because I was beating offensive tackles that were being recruited by Miami and places like that.

TI: Do you expect to play defensive end at Alabama?

NML: I feel like that's my natural position. I'll play outside linebacker if they want too. I could be just as good there. But I prefer defensive end. Coach [Lance] Thompson told me that if I get up to 265 that I might slide over and play inside at tackle. That wouldn't bother me because I don't think offensive guards could handle my quickness. I played some tackle in high school and I was just too quick for them.

TI: What is your best asset?

NML: My number one asset is my intensity. Football is a war. When I go on the field I don't shake hands with my opponents before the game. I go out there with the idea of beating him. We can shake hands later.

Defensive end is an intense position. You go against offensive tackles and running backs trying to block you. You set up holes for the linebackers to come through and make plays. You come off the edge and get after the quarterback. If you get in the right position, you can really get a good shot on the quarterback. I like that.

TI: What do you need to work on?

NML: Probably the main thing is shedding blocks. I'm not the biggest guy at 240 pounds, so I can't let big offensive tackles get into me. I know that I have to get better playing against the run to be an every-down player. I know in the SEC that teams like Mississippi State like to run the ball. Mississippi State recruits all these big junior college offensive linemen so they can run the ball. And with Coach [Nick] Saban coming in at LSU, they're going to be a team that likes to run it up the gut. I've got to be ready. One thing though is that I'll be practicing against some great offensive tackles like Dante Ellington. I'll make him a better pass blocker and he'll make me better against the run.

TI: Will it be a big adjustment going from Canadian to American football?

NML: There's going to be a big adjustment. The game is going to be a lot faster. I'm fast, but those guys are just as fast. I must also be mentally prepared. There will be a lot of schemes to learn. Also, it will be a big adjustment playing in front of 85,000 fans. I'm used to playing in front of 50 to 100 fans a game. It's going to be weird making a sack and having 85,000 fans in Crimson cheering for you.

TI: What about the heat factor?

NML: It gets very hot in Toronto, but it's dry heat. I know that the heat down in Alabama is muggy. That's going to be tough at first. That's why I plan on going down there in July and work every day in the heat. I want to be ready for it by the time two-a-days start.

TI: Are you already thinking about that first game against UCLA in the Rose Bowl?

NML: Justin Smiley called me the other day. He had me on a three-way conversation with Mac Tyler. He brought up the UCLA game. I told him that just want to get back to the Orange Bowl. That's what I think about. I know that I have to take it one game at a time though.

What I'm looking forward to most is playing at Bryant-Denny Stadium. I want to play in front of my fans. I've been to California before and it's no big deal. I want to run out of that tunnel in Tuscaloosa and see what it feels like. I hear that after the games in Tuscaloosa that little kids hang over the entrance to the tunnel and the players give them their wrist bands. That's what I want to do. Kids love that. I'm looking forward to that.