Loyalty has as much to do with how you’re raised as it does with how you live, according to Mason McCormick. At least, that’s what the Pittsburgh Steelers’ fourth-round draft pick credits for his own sense of loyalty.
An FCS football player out of the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s South Dakota State Jackrabbits, McCormick faced the same challenges as any small-school prospect. No matter how well you dominate your competition, you’re always asked, who did you beat? Such questions often cap their potential to the middle rounds of the draft.
A lot of times, NFL-worthy prospects from small schools must answer those questions in Bowl games and practices.