Seton Hill LB Ritchie McCormack steps into void left by graduation of star linebacker Jaylen McDuffie

Ritchie McCormack came all the way across the country to play football at Seton Hill, trading the warm desert of his hometown in Tucson, Ariz., for the rolling hills and cold winters of southwestern Pennsylvania.

Straying 2,000 miles from home was no small undertaking, and neither is the role he was tasked with filling in the Griffins defense. All he had to do was step into the gap left by the graduation of linebacker Jaylen McDuffie, one of the best defensive players in Division II last season.

A four-year starter for Seton Hill, McDuffie piled up 21¹⁄₂ sacks and more than 350 tackles in his career, which ended last fall with him raking in a number of honors, including being named an All-American by D2CCA and Don Hansen Football Gazette. He also was a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award, given to the best small-college defensive player in the country.

No pressure, right?

“I heard about him, of course,” McCormack, a sophomore, said. “That was the player I was shown when I was being recruited to this school. ‘This is the position you’re going to be playing. This is the guy you’re going to be filling in for.’ I knew I had very big shoes to fill … but, at the end of the day, I’m just going to end up being who I am and playing my type of football.”

Seton Hill fans aren’t likely to forget about McDuffie anytime soon, but McCormack’s performance certainly is easing the pain of his absence.

Over the first three games, in which the Griffins went 1-2, McCormack had 26 total tackles — 4¹⁄₂ for loss, including a half sack — and two pass breakups. Fifteen of those tackles came in the Griffins’ 28-23 Week 2 win over Shippensburg.

“I don’t know that you replace Jaylen,” coach Dan Day said. “The production that kid had was just incredible. We weren’t necessarily looking to replace Jaylen but bring in somebody who brought their own style to that position. In the short time he has been here, Ritchie is already exceeding the expectations of what we wanted to see that position be able to do.”

McCormack, very similar in size to McDuffie at 6-foot-1, 235 pounds, came to Seton Hill already with some polish. He spent his freshman season playing linebacker at Chadron State, famous for producing former NFL running back Danny Woodhead. In that one season, McCormack played in all 11 games, had 58 tackles (4¹⁄₂ for loss), an interception, a fumble recovery and three passes defended.

Despite his immediate contributions to the Eagles, McCormack said he wasn’t satisfied with the vibe around the program and needed a change of scenery. So, like so many current college athletes, he put his name into the transfer portal to see what popped.

Two days after putting his name in, McCormack got a call at 3 a.m. — “I don’t know why the heck I was up,” he said — from Seton Hill. After chatting with coaches, including defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Kevin May, McCormack decided to make the cross-country trek.

He arrived in December — just in time for that Pennsylvania winter — and immediately began his preparation for the fall. Seton Hill doesn’t run a traditional defense, and the linebacking position McCormack would be playing, called the “flex,” had its own nuances. McCormack said he and fellow linebacker Wyatt Schussler line up like “glorified D-tackles.”

McCormack proved to be a quick study, and his skill set, Day said, enables him to compensate for any missteps he might make while learning on the fly.

“Probably the oddest word I could use is ‘slippery,’ ” Day said when describing McCormack. “He’s very powerful, but as big and powerful as he is, he does a good job of avoiding blocks just by body positioning. That allows him to be as explosive as he is creating some of those plays.

“A lot of guys are strong enough to lock-and-shed, but they’re just kind of slower coming off of that movement, where Ritchie can do it in a way that he can still put his foot in the ground and explode to change direction and bring some physicality through tackles as well.”

Added McCormack: “I like to keep my distance when I’m going up against a guy 300-plus pounds, so I feel like I use more hands and try to keep space and try to get into those small cracks in the offense and try to make plays.”

He has made plenty already, and against Shippensburg, he got to do it with McDuffie watching. McDuffie returned to offer support to his former team, and, while on the sidelines, he shared some tips with his replacement.

McCormack said he was appreciative of an alumnus of McDuffie’s stature taking time to help him. And while he certainly put on a show for his predecessor, McCormack said he still isn’t 100% up to speed with Seton Hill’s defense.

He said his opening game against Wheeling, a 35-24 loss by the Griffins, was not his best. Even against Shippensburg, he said, he felt like he could have played better. He pointed to a deflected pass he thought he should have intercepted.

But he is getting closer, he said, and is anticipating a strong season for himself and the Griffins defense.

“I’m starting to step into a little bit more of a leadership role on the field where I can not just worry about myself but worry about my teammates and communicate better with them so they all know what they’re doing,” he said. “I feel like it’s just a matter of time until everything starts to be completely smooth.

“I feel like we have a great unit. We have a good, young unit across the board. … We have freaks on the D-line all across the board, our DBs are good.”

As for his commitment to bring his game across the country, McCormack said he has no regrets.

“I was welcomed when I first got here,” he said, “and it’s been that way ever since.”