Mackendy Cheridor touches the black necklace every time he leaves his room.
It bears the names of his father and mother: Antione and Julienne.
Julienne, who lives in Atlanta, will be at Cheridor’s games this fall when he will be a starting defensive end for Georgia State. Antione died last year, Cheridor says, from complications from diabetes in their native country of Haiti.
This was the year that Antione was going to get to see his son play football for the first time and his absence pains Cheridor. After more than 10 years of being apart, his dad was finally going to watch his son. Cheridor wants to use that hurt to help Georgia State win the Sun Belt and for him to finish with the most sacks in the conference. It would be his way to honor his father.
“He drives me,” Cheridor said. “I know he’s looking from above.”
Cheridor’s goals may seem lofty. Georgia State has yet to win a Sun Belt game in two years. Cheridor has just two sacks in his first two years.
But the soft and determined tone with which he speaks of the goals makes it seem he isn’t just hoping. He believes it will happen.
After opening last season making disruptive plays at outside linebacker, he suffered a season-ending knee injury against Washington in the fourth game. Georgia State’s defense, already thin and out-manned, never recovered. The squad gave up more than 200 rushing yards only once with Cheridor on the field. It gave up at least 200 yards in each of its last seven games and at least 321 in six of those.
“It affected us tremendously,” coach Trent Miles said. “He’s a force to be reckoned with. He’s an NFL body. He has potential. He hasn’t reached it yet, but is working toward it.”
During the offseason, Miles and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter watched Cheridor rehab and put on weight, going from 220 pounds when he enrolled three years ago to 265 pounds thanks to weightlifting and a steady diet of his mom’s Haitian cooking. (Rice, mashed black beans and chicken is his favorite). The coaches also decided it was time for Cheridor to move from outside linebacker to defensive end. It was the position he played Columbia High School and the one where he is most comfortable.
“When we first brought him in, we thought that evolution would happen,” Minter said. “We didn’t know how long it would take with his body. His body is physically what you want on the defensive line. He’s got height, length and a lot of range.”
Cheridor looks different than most everyone else on the field. At 6-foot-5, it appears he could easily put on 20 more pounds and still seem lean. He looks athletic when he runs. His wingspan is vast.
That combination of size and speed make Minter believe he can become an all-conference performer.
“What I target for his position is a guy who can get some sacks, can get some tackles for loss, guy that disrupts the passing game getting to the quarterback,” Minter said.
Cheridor said he gets that size and toughness from his father, who was 6-4 and a sheriff in Haiti. His dad’s brother was 6-7.
Cheridor smiles when he talks about his dad. Antione couldn’t accompany his family to Atlanta when they moved from Haiti when Mackendy was 5. Cheridor was in 11th grade before his father was finally allowed to come to the U.S. He worked construction for a few months before, Cheridor said, his heath began to deteriorate.
Antione returned to Haiti, where he died last Dec. 22. A close friend of Mackendy’s made the necklace a few days later.
Cheridor will touch that necklace the morning of Sept. 4, when the Panthers host Charlotte in the season-opener at the Georgia Dome. He knows he is playing for more than just himself.
“It was hard for me,” Cheridor said. “But I take it one day at a time.”
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