Mar’Keise “Bucky” Irving has a message for his new fans in the Sunshine State.
Be ready for a show.
Irving, a 5-foot-9, 192-pound running back who graduated from Hillcrest before going on to star in college at Minnesota and Oregon, was taken Saturday by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 125th overall pick in the fourth round of the NFL draft.
In a press conference following the selection, Irving spoke about how he’s constantly trying to prove himself as an undersized back.
“I’m a smaller guy and I always have people talking about my size, so I pretty much always have a chip on my shoulder,” Irving said. “I’m not going to let the person bring me down is the mindset I’ve got when I’ve got the ball in my hands.
“I’m trying to always make the crowd go crazy, so I’m trying to make someone miss every time I’ve got the ball in my hands.”
Irving, a 2021 Hillcrest graduate and the Daily Southtown Football Player of the Year as a senior, ran for 1,180 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns last fall for Oregon.
After spending his freshman year at Minnesota, Irving ran for 2,238 yards and 16 TDs in two seasons with the Ducks and added 87 catches for 712 yards and five TDs.
Irving was the sixth running back selected in the draft.
“It was emotional,” he said. “It’s something you work for your whole life. You see other guys get picked before you and you pretty much get a chip on your shoulder. Pretty much all the other teams who passed up on me and picked other guys, they’re going to find out.”
Morgan Weaver, who coached Irving at Hillcrest, saw Saturday’s big moment coming a long time ago.
“I definitely knew this was a possibility for him,” Weaver said. “Just seeing him put in the work and stay focused and take care of things off the field to put himself in the right position to have this chance. The kid just always wins.
“I’m definitely proud to see him get there. I’ve been watching his journey, seeing him make all the sacrifices and put in the work to make this dream come true.”
Minnesota running back Mar’Keise Irving, right, scores a touchdown past Northwestern’s Chris Bergin and Coco Azema during the second half Saturday in Evanston on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021. (Nam Y. Huh/ AP)
Saturday was also a big day for one of Irving’s former teammates. Corey Crooms, a 2019 Hillcrest graduate, signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Dallas Cowboys.
Crooms, a wide receiver, had 28 catches for 376 yards last fall at Minnesota after spending four seasons at Western Michigan, where he piled up 115 catches for 1,766 yards and 12 TDs.
“We’ve talked about this since we were on the same team,” Crooms said of himself and Irving. “We always stay in contact. On draft night, when he got drafted and I got picked up, he called me and we just said, ‘Two for two.’
“Coming from Hillcrest, a lot of people counted us out and said we couldn’t do it. We just wanted to prove everybody wrong.”
When they were in high school, and even before, Crooms expected big things were ahead for Irving.
Hillcrest’s Mar’Keise Irving (2) picks up a first down against Tinley Park during the first quarter of a South Suburban Blue game on Friday, April 2, 2021. (Brian O’Mahoney / Daily Southtown)
“I knew he was going to be special,” Crooms said. “Obviously, he’s younger than me, but we played on the same Little League team together. I knew what type of guy he was.
“He always wanted to play with the older guys and be that dominant factor.”
Irving fought through adversity and family tragedy, including the deaths of his father and younger brother, on the way to the NFL.
He said he wants to be a role model for the youth of the Southland.
“Growing up, seeing the things that I saw and the things I’ve been through, I had a mental focus on my goal and what I wanted to do in life” Irving said. “I just wanted to be the guy from the South Side of Chicago to set the example for the kids back home and show them what they’re capable of if they put their mind to it.”
