Too Small? : Arroyo Back Dazzles All but College Coaches : Preps: Darren MacLellan may be small, but he's plenty tough. In eight football games this season, he has rushed for 914 yards and 14 touchdowns in 109 carries.

By MITCH POLIN

Nov. 2, 1989 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

At 5-foot-7 and 175 pounds, Darren MacLellan of Arroyo High in El Monte doesn’t have the size one would associate with a top-flight running back.

But do not allow MacLellan’s size to deceive you.

The 17-year-old has everything else you could want from a football player.

Just ask his coach.

“He is not the biggest guy around, but he’s one tough competitor,” said Coach Don MacKinnon. “He’s a pretty good athlete and his heart is as big as he is.”

Judging by MacLellan’s accomplishments, a big heart can go a long way.

Long enough to rank among the rushing leaders in the San Gabriel Valley for the last two seasons. MacLellan rushed for 933 yards and 19 touchdowns in 157 carries as a junior and has run for 914 yards and 14 touchdowns in 109 carries this season.

MacLellan saved one of the best rushing efforts of his career for last week against El Monte when he ran for 135 yards and six touchdowns in only eight carries. The six touchdowns tied him with six other players for the third most TD runs in a game in CIF Southern Section history.

His offensive success is even more impressive when you consider that throughout his three-year career MacLellan has been a two-way player for the Knights.

“At his size, to be able to do that (on offense) and turn around and play defense, you have to be a pretty good player,” MacKinnon said.

MacLellan has split time primarily as a running back and cornerback, although he started at linebacker for seven games as a junior.

MacKinnon says that only splitting time probably has blocked MacLellan from more impressive rushing statistics.

“I think anyone who was around him always knew that he was going to be a pretty good ballplayer,” MacKinnon said. “I felt that by the time Darren was a senior, if he could just play offense he could be as good as any back we’ve had. The only problem is that he has had to play so much on defense.”

The coach said he has never been afforded the luxury of using MacLellan strictly as a running back. Especially not this season with only 33 players on the roster.

“We’ve tried other guys there (on defense), but Darren’s such a tough player that somehow he always ends up being out there,” MacKinnon said.

“We could probably play him at offensive guard and he’d be one of the best.”

MacLellan’s performance on offense receives most notice.

“Because he’s short he’s developed very strong legs,” MacKinnon explained. “He has very good balance yet he’s a natural runner with natural instincts. He’s such a great competitor. Sometimes he’ll get hit and he just refuses to go down.”

He has also refined his skills as a receiver. MacLellan is the team’s leader in receptions with 11 for 133 yards and two touchdowns.

“He’s got very good hands,” MacKinnon said. “We try to use him a lot. We don’t throw the ball that much but he’s our best receiver.”

For MacLellan, catching the football offers a nice change of pace. “I feel comfortable catching the football,” he said. “I like it when they throw me the football in the flat and I’m one-on-one with the linebacker. I like that kind of challenge.

“I could be a wide receiver but I like playing running back. I could play any position.”

MacKinnon sees him as a player with “good ability for defense. He watches the play develop and pursues the ballcarrier well, and he’s also quite a hitter. He may not have 4.3 or 4.4 speed (in the 40-yard dash, but he makes up for that by being in the right place at the right time.”

And “he’s a lot quicker than last year,” MacKinnon said. “We timed him at 4.58.”

The coach said MacLellan is also stronger this year, adding 10 pounds, mostly from lifting weights.

He adds: “Without a doubt he’s been a terrific team player for us since day one. He’s always given us great effort.

“You would never have to give any pep talks if everyone was like him because he’s ready to play every Friday.”

MacLellan says his attitude has a lot to do with the fact that he is a senior.

“I try to talk a little to get the players up, and I also try to lead by example,” he said. “Being a senior has a lot to do with it. It’s my last year here and I want to go out in a big way.”

The coach credits MacLellan’s parents, John and Wendy: “His parents have done a good job of raising him. They’re good people and they’ve been very supportive of him and their other kids.”

MacKinnon is in a unique position to know about the MacLellan family. He has coached the family’s three sons.

Darren’s brother, Jason, 19, was a standout at running back for the Knights in 1986 and 1987, and the youngest MacLellan, 15-year-old Keith, is starting at outside linebacker for the Knights as a sophomore.

“They’re all great kids and I’ve just been very fortunate to be the coach while they’ve come through Arroyo,” MacKinnon said.

Darren is hoping his career doesn’t end the last time he touches the football this season.

“Football is something I’ve been playing since I was 8 and I’d like to go on after this season.”

However, MacLellan has not received many letters from four-year colleges and realizes it’s because of his size.

“If I don’t get anything from major colleges I’ll probably play for a JC and go from there.”

“That’s probably the route he’ll have to take,” MacKinnon agreed. “He’ll have to prove himself at the JC level.”

The coach has little doubt that MacLellan can play at the college level. “It may not be Division I, but there’s a lot of places where he can play.”

MacKinnon said it’s obvious to him that MacLellan’s size has scared college recruiters, because his grades are more than adequate.

“To be honest, he could have 2,000 yards rushing right now and it wouldn’t make any difference,” he said. “He’ll have to go somewhere and prove himself. He’ll probably have to prove himself everywhere he plays.”

Fortunately for MacLellan, he no longer has to prove himself at the high school level.

MacLellan has let his statistics do the talking.

Darren MacLellan Age: 17 School: Arroyo High, El Monte Measurements: 5-7, 175 Positions: Running back; cornerback Stats: Rushed for 933 yards and 19 touchdowns in 157 carries as a junior; has run for 914 yards and 14 touchdowns in 109 carries so far this season; leads team in receptions with 11 for 133 ya1919185696