Tackle KC McDermott said there were times last year he didn't enjoy being part of this team. Now he says that's completely changed.
"I'm not going to lie, sometimes I felt I didn't really want to be here right now, I'm tired," McDermott said. "Now every day I wake up with a fat smile on my face because I want to come here (to practice). We're all happy, we're all one big team. We're all happy to be here, excited to go out (and practice). You see us dancing before we run on the field because we're all happy. We're ready to hit somebody. The amount we're hanging out - yesterday I had an hour-and-a-half before a student-athlete barbecue and I came to the players' lounge because I didn't want to drive home. I came to the lounge and almost everybody was there. We were all hanging out together, watching TV together - everything we do is together."
Asked why he thinks things are different this year attitude-wise, McDermott said, "Because we as a team took an oath to watch over each other. And people appreciate when you get pushed by someone that's doing the same thing you do. So when your teammate is telling you `Hey, you need to work harder,' he's doing it because he loves you, cares about you."
McDermott says the tighter team bond is in part because "we watched the top teams in the country last year and said, `Okay, they were all teams last year, they played as a team, that's what we have to do. We realized we have too much talent not to play as a team."
McDermott adds "We're the tightest team that I've been around - high school, Pee Wee. The camaraderie we have is amazing. I've never seen kids in the time I've been here, as many kids happy to here than now."
Will the togetherness help translate into wins?
"It'll make a huge difference," McDermott said. "There's only way to play this sport, and that's as a team."
"I'm not going to lie, sometimes I felt I didn't really want to be here right now, I'm tired," McDermott said. "Now every day I wake up with a fat smile on my face because I want to come here (to practice). We're all happy, we're all one big team. We're all happy to be here, excited to go out (and practice). You see us dancing before we run on the field because we're all happy. We're ready to hit somebody. The amount we're hanging out - yesterday I had an hour-and-a-half before a student-athlete barbecue and I came to the players' lounge because I didn't want to drive home. I came to the lounge and almost everybody was there. We were all hanging out together, watching TV together - everything we do is together."
Asked why he thinks things are different this year attitude-wise, McDermott said, "Because we as a team took an oath to watch over each other. And people appreciate when you get pushed by someone that's doing the same thing you do. So when your teammate is telling you `Hey, you need to work harder,' he's doing it because he loves you, cares about you."
McDermott says the tighter team bond is in part because "we watched the top teams in the country last year and said, `Okay, they were all teams last year, they played as a team, that's what we have to do. We realized we have too much talent not to play as a team."
McDermott adds "We're the tightest team that I've been around - high school, Pee Wee. The camaraderie we have is amazing. I've never seen kids in the time I've been here, as many kids happy to here than now."
Will the togetherness help translate into wins?
"It'll make a huge difference," McDermott said. "There's only way to play this sport, and that's as a team."
