Colin McCarthy's high school coach would be surprised if Miami booster allegations pan out

Colin McCarthy, a Clearwater Central Catholic graduate, was among  65 former University of Miami players who allegedly received improper benefits from a booster, according to an investigation by Yahoo! Sports.

Mike Jalazo coached the Marauders when McCarthy was there and said Wednesday he would be surprised if the allegations were true.
"Colin just doesn't seem like the guy who would do that," said Jalazo, who is now the coach at Northeast. "He comes from a great family. He was never a big partier in high school, and he was one of the most responsible kids we had on that team."

McCarthy, a linebacker who was selected by the Titans in the fourth round round of this year's NFL draft, was alleged to have received multiple benefits from Miami booster Nevin Shapiro, including food, drinks and playing pool for cash at Shapiro's $6-million mansion, as well as VIP access and drinks at nightclubs that were provided by Shapiro.

"(McCarthy) was at my house maybe three or four times," Shapiro told Yahoo! Sports. "Maybe more than that. He went to the clubs with us one or two times, but he was involved in that pool tournament for cash at my house."
McCarthy did not respond to a Facebook message seeking comment. According to the Associated Press, McCarthy wore an orange Hurricanes' T-shirt when reporters talked to him after practice Tuesday night. He responded "no comment" to four questions.

McCarthy played for CCC from 2002-05. He was ranked by Rivals as the 24th best linebacker in the 2006 class.

Another CCC standout, A.J. Trump, was an offensive lineman for the Hurricanes from 2005-09. He was not one of the players mentioned who received extra benefits, though Shapiro does say in a audio outtake on yahoo.com that Trump was present at his mansion when Armwood grad and current Florida player Matt Patchan came on a recruiting visit.

"The linemen didn't get a lot of fanfare," said Trump, now an assistant coach at East Lake. "We were more country boys who did things on our own. So I didn't really see a lot of the stuff that supposedly went on."

Trump and McCarthy played three seasons together at CCC and three more at Miami.

"I've known Colin for a long time, but we kind of hung out with our group of friends once we got to Miami," Trump said. "It would come as a surprise to me if he did those things because he is a pretty good guy."



(tampabay.com)