Taking His Game to Different Level : Football: Mac McKinnie, who played eight-man football at Chadwick, has earned a scholarship to Southern Methodist University.

There is every reason to be skeptical of Southern Methodist University offering Mac McKinnie a football scholarship.

He goes to a school, Chadwick, that has 278 high school students and plays a curious form of football, eight-man, that would worry most recruiters.

But when the 6-foot-5, 220-pound McKinnie stands up and offers a muscular right hand, the idea no longer seems absurd.

McKinnie made Chadwick history last week, becoming the first student from the Palos Verdes school to receive a Division I-A football scholarship. It was somewhat of a minor miracle, considering the relative obscurity of eight-man football.

But SMU, a Southwest Conference school in Dallas with a troubled past, gambled on McKinnie, knowing that what he may lack in 11-man football experience he makes up for in size, athleticism and determination.

“I feel I can compete on a Division I level,” said McKinnie, a four-year varsity starter in football and a member of the basketball and baseball teams at Chadwick.

“I told my dad at the beginning of the year that my goal was (to make) a Division I team, even if it was as a walk-on. My coach even said it was going to be tough. . . . But this is a dream come true.”

McKinnie chose the Mustangs, who have played only three seasons after becoming the first school to have its program disbanded by the NCAA for rules violations, over offers from Oregon and Wake Forest. Merely overcoming the stigma attached to eight-man football took some savvy on the part of McKinnie and his father--they wrote to several schools and embarked on a 20-school East Coast trip last year.

Some schools took a look at McKinnie’s size and his ability on videotapes and didn’t care what type of football Chadwick played. But McKinnie also ran into closed doors.

“Some places said, ‘We’ve never heard of eight-man football,’ or ‘We don’t touch that kind of thing.’ But some places placed more value on my ability, my technique and my footwork,” he said. “We got the whole range, from closed doors to open minds.”

Among those with an open mind was SMU assistant Billy Kidd.

“What you look for is simply his athletic ability, how he performs on the field,” Kidd said. “Seeing Mac, with his ability and size and what he can do on the field, I was sold. The biggest thing that stands out about Mac is his range, how much field he can cover.”

Chadwick Coach Sid Grant agrees that McKinnie’s athleticism transcends his lack of experience in the 11-man game.

“It won’t be that big of an adjustment,” Grant said. “No matter what kind of football it is, it’s still played between the stripes.”

Although McKinnie played offense and defense--mostly inside linebacker on defense and guard on offense--Kidd and SMU Coach Tom Rossley envision him strictly as an inside linebacker. Kidd said McKinnie will have to gain some weight, but doesn’t expect McKinnie to be a “project player” simply because he doesn’t have 11-man experience.

“Very rarely do you get a freshman who’s going to play anyway,” Kidd said.

SMU is still rebuilding, struggling to records of 2-9, 1-10 and 1-10 after the NCAA issued its death penalty, shutting down the program for two years in 1987. McKinnie said competing for a struggling program should enhance his chances of playing sooner than at either Wake Forest or Oregon.

“That was my gut feeling,” he said.

But there were other factors in his decision to choose the Mustangs.

“It seems like their program is going in the right direction,” he said. “After the death penalty, they have to, I guess, since they’ll always be under close observation. They won’t even look at anyone under 900 on the (Scholastic Aptitude Test).”

McKinnie said he scored over 1,000 on the SAT.

Meanwhile, McKinnie’s accomplishment has been cause for celebration around Chadwick, which stands to benefit from the publicity McKinnie is receiving.

“What it says to me--and what I hope it says to some athletes--is that coming to Chadwick doesn’t rule out playing football in college,” said Jeff Moredock, Chadwick’s headmaster. “My hope is that there are some good athletes in the South Bay looking for a challenging academic program, and we would welcome them.”

But there are the skeptics, including some of McKinnie’s friends.

“My friends are excited for me, but a little apprehensive for me,” he said. “I went to public school until seventh grade and when I came to Chadwick, some of my friends would tease me and say, ‘You should’ve come here.’ But I have no regrets about going to Chadwick. I got my education and the scholarship and I’m getting to play football in college.”

There are sure to be more skeptics at SMU, including teammates who have never heard of eight-man football. But McKinnie already knows how he will explain the game.

“It’s the same game, just not as many people,” he said.