Billy McCrary packed his belongings in a Mustang and headed back to Texas from the University of California with his brother during the 2017 Christmas break.

He already had cut ties with the Golden Bears fooball program after three seasons and began the long drive home to Temple unsure what future, if any, he had left.

Fortunately for McCrary, he made a stop at Abilene Christian on the way, and he soon resurrected his career in a move that benefited both him and the Wildcats football program.

Cal Blues

McCrary, a standout quarterback at Leader Rouse, had played sparingly at Cal.

He was even moved to linebacker his freshman year in 2015, playing in only one game, before moving back to running back. He tore the labrum in his shoulder during fall camp in 2016 and tried to gut it out during the season, getting just 39 yards on six carries.

McCrary, who mainly played special teams, had surgery during the offseason and sat out the entire 2017 season with a medical redshirt.

It wasn’t good timing, either. Cal had just hired a new head coach, Justin Wilcox, who brought in a whole new staff. McCrary, who couldn’t even have contact during a nine-month stretch, knew the Golden Bears have moved on without him.

“I got buried in the depth chart, and, being far away from home, I wasn’t my happiest,” McCrary said.

Beau Baldwin, the team’s new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, confirmed McCrary’s suspicions.

Then after talking things over with his dad, McCrary made the decision to leave Cal and look for a team that would give him another chance, preferably something closer to home. He had to do all the legwork, though, sending emails to some FBS schools and several FCS schools in the Southland Conference.

He had gotten a nibble before he left Cal, getting a call from ACU running backs coach J.W. Walsh. So, McCrary made a detour – stopping at ACU in what turned out to be something of a Christmas miracle.

“I had a visit, talked to (starting quarterback) Luke (Anthony) and I ended up committing after that,” McCrary said.

Adam Dorrel, who had just finished his first season as the Wildcats head coach, knew he was taking a gamble on McCrary.

“There just wasn’t film from the University of California,” Dorrel said. “He just didn’t play. We went back and watched his high school film. He did a lot of quarterback, wildcat stuff. So, we saw a kid who was very dynamic in high school. But it had been a couple of years since he had played.

"So, obviously, I’d be lying to you if I said I was expecting him to be that good in the first year.”

Fast start, big year

McCrary made a splash right away, running for a game-high 141 yards on six carries, including a 75-yarder for a TD, in a 55-27 loss at Baylor in the season opener. He also had a catch for 4 yards.

Not a bad homecoming for a guy who hadn’t played in a game since 2016.

“It built my confidence quickly, especially after being out of football for so long,” McCrary said. “I hadn’t played a real football game in three years, other than special teams.”

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound McCrary ended up providing a nice 1-2 punch with Tracy James in the ACU backfield, running for 724 yards and eight TDs on 88 carries. He also had 28 catches for 191 yards and two TDs and shared Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year honors with Lamar running back Jordan Hoy.

“He did some really good things,” Dorrel said. “He’s awesome, killing it in the classroom, too. He’s just a really good student-athlete.”

Together with James (176-764, 6 TDs), McCrary helped boost an ACU running game – the worst in the Southland Conference the previous three seasons – to No. 4 in the league. The Wildcats averaged 160.9 yards per game on the ground after running for a meager 86.8 average the year before.

The boost in the running game helped an already good passing game, one of the best in the league, and ACU finished third in the conference in total offense (439.3) and fifth in scoring offense (30.1) – the latter up from 19.0 and next-to-last in 2017. The total offensive numbers were a little more than 100 yards better on average.

“As a head coach, when you get those drop-down guys, you worry about how they’re going to be in the locker room and how they’re going to conduct themselves,” Dorrel said. “Billy’s been a real professional, a good teammate. He’s a difference-maker. I think him and Tracy complement each other well.”

McCrary, who returns this season, along with fellow senior James and sophomore Tyrese White (23-176, 2 TDs), said he felt more comfortable at ACU – and it showed in his play.

“I always felt like I had the talent,” McCrary said. “I wasn’t really the happiest at Cal. I’m a lot happier here, and I think it shows in my play.”

One last run

Now McCrary, a first-team all-conference preseason pick, hopes to go out with a bang. Dorrel hopes to get him more involved in the passing game, too.

“One thing we’ve challenged Billy on this year is to be more dynamic with his skill set, being able to catch the football out of the backfield, run screens, track the ball on deep balls,” Dorrel said. “We’re doing a lot of stuff with him formationally to get him split out and trying to get him matched up. We feel if we can get him matched up with a linebacker, he can be a difference-maker. He’s gotten a lot better at that this year.”

For his part, McCrary isn’t worried about his numbers. He just wants to win, starting with ACU's season opener Aug. 31 against North Texas in Denton.

“If I have the same year that I did last year, great – as long as we win,” McCrary said. “If we win, and I have a little less, I’ll be happy, too. As long as we win, I’ll be happy either way.”

And McCrary would like to finish his college career in the postseason – something ACU hasn’t done as a Division I-FCS team. The Wildcats' last playoff berth came in 2011 as a Division II team.

They came close last year, going 6-5 overall and 5-4 in conference – good for a tie for fourth with Central Arkansas. It was their best finish since playing a Southland schedule in 2014, and all three teams ahead of ACU made the playoffs.

“As a team, we’re trying to take the next step,” McCrary said. “That’s our motto. We took that step last year, and now it’s taking that next one and improve on that. We want to make the playoffs. That’s what we think we can do. We have the talent for it.”