FAYETTEVILLE — Long after most Arkansas fans left Reynolds Razorback Stadium fed up and frustrated with a 21-19 loss to Liberty last Saturday, many small-town smiles remained in the northwest corner.
The final score did not matter much to the 150 or more people who donned red T-shirts with “Clarendon” and the school’s logo on the chest, and “McAdoo 24” slapped across the back. It was somewhat secondary.
The pride, joy and emotion experienced during the game for the home-town star spilled over into the postgame. Quincey McAdoo, Arkansas’ freshman receiver-turned-defensive back, was a bright spot on an otherwise bleak and disappointing day for the Razorbacks.
The former Clarendon standout blocked a punt for a safety, broke up a pass into the end zone and intercepted another by Flames quarterback Johnathan Bennett.
McAdoo received a hero’s welcome as he climbed the bleachers and stepped over seats to reach his people.
“For the town, especially for the mothers, the parents and the educators and all of them, it’s living proof that it can be done,” said LaTonya Love Larkin, McAdoo’s mother. “I think it was an inspiration for the kids. Some of the kids, one girl was like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s Quincey McAdoo.’
“She was like, ‘Are you not excited?’ I said, ‘I talk to this boy every day.’ He is a big deal, though. He is a big deal.”
The night was whatever is better than a dream for Larkin. She watched proudly as her son fulfilled every autograph request and took countless pictures.
She, of course, was on the receiving end of a bear hug from McAdoo. But, initially, they missed each other.
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“Normally, he stops to see me first and gives me a hug, but he went straight for the kids,” Larkin said. “I know he did some great things out there on the field and everything, but I think that right there, that was my favorite part. Once he saw the kids and a couple of his favorite teachers in the stands, he was not expecting them.
“To see the teachers there, he was just as overwhelmed as I was. (The hug) was quick. He was running to make sure everybody got one. I saw him after everyone left and I was getting ready to go back home.
“He gave me a hug and said, ‘Thank you, Momma.’ I said, ‘Momma didn’t do this.’”
The Clarendon caravan, which included at least one bus and three vans, met at the elementary school, came together for a pre-trip prayer and left the town after 7 a.m. on game day. It made a stop in Lonoke at McDonald’s for breakfast.
Larkin, who rode to Fayetteville with her parents, was able to take in the Hog Walk hours prior to kickoff. She and the entire group then championed McAdoo’s name during and after the game.
It was a surreal day for McAdoo, who had not played a defensive snap all season prior to Week 10. Though he was hurt by the outcome of the game, the smile on his face was immovable.
“It was just a dream come true for me, really,” McAdoo said. “I come from Clarendon, and we don’t really get people to make it in to college. Not even just football, just make it in to college.
“It was a dream come true for me, for sure. (Those family members and friends), that’s what really pushed me to do good. Coming from a small town, you know, that’s all you’ve got. That’s all my people.
“Everybody in the stands, it just felt like I was back at home again.”
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More than the interception or the special teams play of the game that Razorbacks coordinator Scott Fountain said during game week would make him famous, Larkin walked away from the weekend proudest of the way McAdoo has gracefully handled himself. He has a greater understanding of what can blossom from hard work.
Additionally, Larkin’s son grasps now why she was tough on him growing up.
“There’s so much to be proud of,” she said. “After I split with his daddy, it was me and the four kids — two boys and two girls — and being a single mother, it’s hard. And you’re harder on your group because you don’t want them to turn out a certain way.
“But I think I did pretty good.”
Larkin has heard various accounts of her son’s character and heart for others. She said his teachers in the past have relayed stories about how he has cared for disabled students at his school, and his intolerance for bullying.
His primary concern has been to ensure those around him feel comfortable in their own skin.
“One teacher in particular said she could tell a student was nervous one time about coming into the classroom,” Larkin said. “She said Quincey stood there and told her, ‘Girl, what are you doing? You know you’re supposed to be over here sitting by me.’”
McAdoo has long been a determined soul. He ran track and played basketball in addition to football growing up, and Larkin often told him the day would come when he would have to choose a singular path.
Football was the no-brainer option. When out of season, McAdoo missed no other sport like football, and it was made abundantly clear.
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“I used to have to be at work at 3 and sometimes 4 in the morning, and I’m getting up and getting ready to go to work and my son would be in the garage working out or lifting weights,” Larkin said. “Sometimes I’d come home from work and he’d have his parachute on running the yard and just training. He just wanted it.
“I knew if it wasn’t going to be the Razorbacks — he already told me at a young age he was going to be a Razorback — that he was going somewhere.”
In his first season at his dream school, McAdoo has been described as a natural by Arkansas coach Sam Pittman. The Razorbacks weeks ago moved him to the secondary, and the transition, by all accounts, has been seamless.
Only time will tell what his role will be with the Razorbacks moving forward. But he is off to a stellar start in a defensive backfield in dire need of not only healthy and available bodies, but playmakers.
“He’s a competitor, man,” Pittman said. “He’s a gamer, a freshman. I think he’ll have a great career here. I was proud of him.”
McAdoo believes he will stick in the secondary. But he considers himself just a football player, willing to play at any position of need.
He finished the Liberty game with 3 tackles and, according to Pro Football Focus, the defense’s best overall grade (90.2) in 38 snaps, including 31 at cornerback. He had a coverage grade of 90.6.
Linebacker Bumper Pool was second on the team with an overall defense grade of 83.2.
“Everything was worth it,” said Larkin, who traveled home after the game. “It was worth it. I could see this coming.
“Quincey told me, ‘This is more than what I expected. This is big. This is really, really big.’”