“Wherever Water Is At You’ll Find Me”

PHILADELPHIA — Riding the waves that inevitably accompany an NFL season, Mac McWilliams has taken everything in stride, controlling what he can and honing in on his intangibles. It’s been a relatively quiet past two week for McWilliams, who was inactive in consecutive losses to the Broncos and Giants, but the rookie fifth-round pick has been working diligently behind the scenes.

The reality of a marathon season is that your number can be called at any moment, so preparation and continuous improvement is paramount, even absent of live reps on game days.

Earlier in the week, before the Eagles had even practiced, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio offered an update on McWilliams’ progress, which became notable at the time in light of Quinyon Mitchell’s hamstring injury. Even with Mitchell being full-go Sunday in Minnesota, Fangio’s words are worth filing away.

“Potentially could get involved,” he said. “We’ve been trying to focus him at one point on learning the nickel spot to be the backup nickel. Then we shifted our focus to try and get him to learn corner and be a viable option if we had issues out there. So, he’s kind of been going back and forth.”

As part of a season-long Inside The Birds “Rookie Diary” series, I’ll be checking in with Mac McWilliams every week, learning more about the first-year cornerback and chronicling his rookie campaign.

On Thursday, we chatted for our sixth installment.

Andrew: That Future song that you told me about, (Fly S–t Only), that was good. What else do you have for me? I gotta add something to the playlist.

Mac: Um … I’d probably say … I don’t know, man. I listen to a lot of newer guys nowadays. Like, ones who just came up and things like that.

Andrew: Anything on the playlist recently?

Mac: To me, I listen to the same things every day. So, if it was a song, I’d probably say — matter fact — I’m gonna give you an album; The Future album, it’s called ‘Evol,’ like Love spelled backwards. Just go to that album. I like all them songs.

Andrew: Vic Fangio mentioned earlier this week that you’d been focusing on nickel, but lately have been cross-training outside. How’s that been for you?

Mac: It’s going great. Wherever the teams needs me to provide, if it’s scout team or anything like that, I’m gonna be for it. I’m a passionate guy, I love my teammates, and I’m willing to do anything.

Andrew: Aside from watching horror movies, which we’ve talked about, what are some other passions of yours?

Mac: I like video games, I like the gym, I like working out and things like that. I like running. Just some of the normal stuff. I’m a normal guy, I don’t do nothing out the way or something that’s too much special.

Andrew: The northeast is known for having for some really good restaurants. Have you had a chance to try any?

Mac: I’d say South Flavors. I’ve been to South Flavors one time. It’s a chicken spot, I like wings, so very excited when I walked in. They already knew I was an Eagles [player]. I don’t know how they knew, but once I walked in, they told me everything was on them, and I loved it.

Andrew: Do you cook at home?

Mac: No, I do not.

Andrew: What’s your favorite meal back home?

Mac: Probably some fried chicken, mashed potatoes and sweet peas.

Andrew: Any place in particular?

Mac: Nah, I have my mom cook it.

Andrew: What’s your ideal Sunday without football?

Mac: Probably say going out to the beach and getting in some water. I like water, so wherever water’s at, you’ll find me.

Andrew: Who was your favorite athlete growing up?

Mac: Cam Newton.

Andrew: Did you ever have the chance to meet him?

Mac: Yes, I’ve met him a couple times. I was in at AAU tournament, I think I was 11 or 12 [years old] and he had came around, and I met him there. And then, when I transferred to UCF, he had came to a game against Colorado. Everybody was in the locker room. There was a whole bunch of celebrities there. It was one of my dreams to finally meet him, and I did.

Andrew: Did he give you any advice?

Mac: No, he didn’t. We really were just talking about the steps on me progressing to the next level, to the college level, and things like that. It really wasn’t motivational and things like that. He was just telling me how he went about his ways.

Andrew: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Mac: Keep your head down and keep working.

Andrew: Have you ever traveled outside the country?

Mac: Yes. I’d done been to the Bahamas before.

Andrew: What’d you think?!

Mac: I loved it, man. The water was clean, the scenery was great, it was a lot of great people there. I didn’t understand their language for a few days, but once I got the hang of it, it was all good.

Andrew: What’s next on your list?

Mac: Probably, in the offseason, I wanna go to Dubai. But if not, probably Mexico.

Andrew: Where in Mexico?

Mac: Probably Cancun. That’s one of them, as well. I can’t think of them right now.

Andrew: Cancun is good. Playa Del Carmen, I recommend.

Andrew: Who is the biggest character in the [defensive back] room?

Mac: [Thinking] We really don’t have any out the way funny guys, but everything they do is funny. If anything, I’d probably say Q [Quinyon Mitchell]. Even though he probably doesn’t talk media-wise and things like that, but once you really understand who he is, everything he does is just hilarious.

Andrew: Do have any nicknames, or have you been given any nicknames since you’ve been here?

Mac: Nah, I haven’t. I just go by Mac.

Andrew: Not Mac-22 or anything?

Mac: Well, they call me Mac-22. Drew [Mukuba] calls me Mac-11. It’s a couple of them, but it ain’t stuck to me yet.

Andrew: Are you a car person?

Mac: Not really, but I do have a nice car, though.

Andrew: Do you have a dream car?

Mac: Probably a Urus Lamborghini.

Andrew: What’s been your area of focus this week?

Mac: Like every day … I really feel like, when it comes to going about my week, I try to focus on my mental. Making sure my mental’s right. As long as my mental’s right, I feel like I can go through a day of ups and downs. It really doesn’t matter. As long as I’ve got the right state of mind, I’m all good.

Andrew: Where does that come from? It’s easier said than done. Sounds like it’s something that’s ingrained in someone.

Mac: I think I got it from mom. Just growing up at a young age, I’ve always seen her stable. You never seen her up and you never seen her down. You’ve never seen her out the way, or nothing like that. She always made sure she kept her mental right. Even on her worst days, coming home late at night and things like that and not wanting to get up in the morning, but she still kept the same mindset. So, just learning from her and just taking everything that she taught me.

Andrew: What’s one thing you’ve worked on this week that you’re hoping carries over to Sunday?

Mac: I’d say my technique. I feel like sometimes I step out of my technique sometimes, here and there. But as long as I got my technique and my mental.

Andrew: What it does it mean for someone like Vic to add more to your plate. How does that make you feel?

Mac: It makes me feel great. Vic, he’s been in the game a long time. He’s saw a lot of things. His teams played a lot of great ball, he won the Super Bowl. So, anything he says it’s gonna be powerful, just coming from who he is. So, I’m taking it all in and I’m blessed with the opportunity to be on this defense.

— Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com