Not this time, nope. If I am being selfish, I mourn the departure of a fantastic defensive lineman to the NFL just at the time the Portland Thunder needed all their high octane weapons to stop the three time AFL champion Arizona Rattlers. Instead I am just happy for a good football player and a good guy.
After watching Jake McDonough play and seeing the heart and soul all of these young men put into this league, I will simply applaud and wish Jake all the luck in the world. The odds may still be stacked against McDonough making the Washington Redskins’ final 53 man roster but if they want to hear about talent, heart, hustle and a good community guy, then I can fill their ears full.
Early in the Thunder season, I spent a good amount of time talking music and recording with Jake and just getting to know the young man. I found him to be a good guy who loved football and enjoyed the AFL. In fact, while decrying one or two of the drawbacks of playing in the Arena league, he stopped to emphasize how he enjoyed what he was doing in Portland “…but hey man, I’ll be honest … it’s fun football.”
The hit the Thunder take on defense is considerable but not a game breaker as the rotation, including K.C. Obi, just gets a bit shorter. Obi laid the hit on Aaron Garcia a few weeks back that put the finishing touches on the game and seemingly Garcia’s interest in it.
Part of the Thunder’s success this year has been a result of depth and personnel choices made by front office and coaching staff. In a number of areas, including two or three players from open tryouts, Coach Sauk, Meadow Lemon, and their respective staff have hit paydirt where other football organizations had taken a pass or hit on layers who were on no one’s radar. Brandon Lockheart has started at three critical positions, two in wins in Florida and Brandon Tett has been a stalwart most of the season, just to name a few.
McDonough went undrafted out of Iowa State but NFL draft experts said of him that he’s extremely active, tough to handle in 1-on-1 situations, and could fit as a 5-technique end. This seems to be where the Redskins will try him.
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