1st and Now | Mackie Embraces ‘Savvy Veteran Role’
He will have gone from a youngster looking to prove himself to a savvy veteran in the running back room, seemingly in the time it takes to snap your finger. For a guy with only 28 games under his belt, that’s certainly saying something.
David Mackie is ready to embrace those responsibilities. Less than two weeks after he signed a contract extension to remain in orange, Mackie joined 1st and Now, presented by iA Financial Group, to talk football and how he kept himself occupied for the last year or so as he rode out the COVID-19 storm at home in London, Ontario. Being the savvy vet is certainly something he will embrace.
“I very much look forward to it and I take pride in that,” said Mackie.
“I had a lot of great leadership when I first got to BC in Rolly (Lumbala), Travis Lulay and a bunch of other guys that were in that room still. To this day, I still have great relationships with those guys and it’s weird to say that I’ll be a veteran there. It feels like it was not that long ago that I was just showing up to the facility in Surrey. It’s been something that I look forward to, but I think kind of giving these young guys coming in a little bit of a lesson to make sure they understand what’s available to them.”
Coming off a year of lost football, Mackie also understands helping some of the younger players involves a little more detail than usual. At the end of the day, making a living is another important element to it all, as well as striving for a Grey Cup.
“The guys who were willing to get through this year-and-a-half offseason, not retire and come back, they’re going to want it that much more because we understand what was taken away from us,” he explained.
“Young guys coming in are going to think it’s much more of a privilege but they’re going to have to fight that much harder to keep up with those guys returning.”
And when you factor in Mackie’s 2019 season ended seven weeks early due to a torn ACL, his hunger to get back on the field is only amplified.
Always a force on special teams, he chipped in with 49 receiving yards on six catches out of the backfield before heading to the injured list. That versatility was a big reason Wally Buono and the brass were high on him at the 2018 CFL Combine in Winnipeg.
Savvy Advice From The Coaching Legend
You have to credit Buono and company for knowing they would eventually need to replace the ageless Lumbala at the fullback position. All eyes were on Mackie at the 2018 national combine. Although at the time, the player would tell you he didn’t think they were interested in drafting him.
“There was a drill that he (Wally) pulled me out of because I had this stinger in my shoulder,” recalls Mackie.
“I was furious at the time because I thought he’s not going to let me run these drills for the rest of the day. He was like ‘hey Dave, sit down. We don’t want you getting more hurt. You’ve proved yourself.’
I think that was Wally’s genius thing saying ‘I think we want to draft this guy and we don’t want to show anyone else what he can do.’ Sure enough, they called me about a month later (on draft night) and I was like ‘damn, that Wally guy’s a genius.'”
Mackie’s first CFL season was, of course, Wally’s last. He will always look back fondly on his time with the CFL’s all-time wins leader.
“I pulled a t-shirt out of my closet that said ‘Wally’s Army.’ It’s like wow, this is going to make me look old when we get to camp.”
That will be one way to demonstrate he’s a savvy vet.
Lions fullback David Mackie has quickly gone from promising rookie to savvy veteran. Mackie talks about life during COVID and more on 1st and Now.
Productive Pandemic Times
There are indeed pros and cons to the world we have lived for the last year. For Mackie, it was the chance to grow his business and client base in his off-field career as a personal trainer.
“It’s been a crazy year. I think that’s for a lack of a better term,” said Mackie.
“As much as everyone has kind of lost jobs and lost income, despite being a professional athlete we’re not immune to that either. This year was pretty big for a lot of guys when they rely so much on that identity as a football player. Going into my rookie year, I started taking some time developing my own business as a strength and conditioning coach. It was something I was doing in my offseasons but it’s hard to develop a client base when you have to go back to football after four months.”
Mackie now has developed a wide base of clients from youth athletes to even a few of his CFL peers, including teammate Mario Villamizar. A majority of his clients are young prospects getting ready for this year’s CFL Draft.
“I’m happy that I didn’t wait long enough that I was stuck without an identity.”
And now he can’t wait to get back to the west coast and show his teammates and opponents what his football identity is all about.