In the summer of 2010, the crowd of young emerging football players at Cathedral High School in Indianapolis, Indiana participated in preseason workouts. A highly touted high school prep program, the Fighting Irish are two seasons removed from winning the Indiana 4A state championship. Hot summer days of training and practicing helps the staff weed out the committed from the merely interested in a large group of high school boys. Like all coaches and leaders, the staff wants to begin the journey with the committed.
In the crowd of committed and interested is a 5’4” 125 lb athlete with no obvious projectability. A fine athlete, and a great young man, but not the type of athletic prowess needed to help Cathedral return to Lucas Oil Stadium for the Indiana 4A state championship run. While a growth spurt is on the horizon for Terry McLaurin, the most projectable traits for this emerging athlete are his intense work ethic and the measure of his heart. The combination of these traits works to create one of the most powerful motors to fight discipline drift the world has ever seen.
Twelve years removed from the summer of 2010 in which his high school career began, Terry McLaurin is one of the best athletes in the world. Compensated with the highest signing bonus for a wide receiver in the history of the NFL ($28 million signing bonus as a part of his 3-year, $71 million dollar deal with the Washington Commanders). Highly respected by his teammates and those around the sporting world, Terry McLaurin is a true professional. His journey from undersized middle schooler to one of the best wide receivers in the world went right through some of the same experiences all emerging transformational leaders feel.
The overcoming and combating of discipline drifting.
In his junior year of high school the breakout began. Terry McLaurin was not an undersized freshman player anymore. In the fall of 2012, McLaurin was beginning to contribute to the powerhouse Cathedral program. State champions in his freshman and sophomore years, McLaurin began to see significant time as a junior on special teams and at multiple positions on defense and offense. A do whatever the team needs type of player, McLaurin began to plug in wherever needed. Buried in obscurity for his first few years of high school, the junior athlete began to emerge. In the state championship game he had a 79 yard receiving touchdown, 41 yard touchdown run, and ran a punt return 66 yards in a 56-29 state championship win for Cathedral.
In the day and age of recruiting rankings, stars, and projections, McLaurin was still a bit of an unknown. Despite helping his team to a third state championship in three years and performing at a high level all year, none of the thoroughbred programs around the country came calling. He took his first official visit to the University of Toledo. A day later he visited Purdue University just a few hours away from home in Lafayette.
In March of 2013, McLaurin received his first scholarship offer. The Toledo Rockets wanted McLaurin in the blue and yellow. The offers began to roll in that spring. Western Kentucky, Ball State, Cincinnati, Western Michigan, and Missouri all sought McLaurin out for his talents. But he had his sights set on more.
A month after receiving his first offer from Toledo, he received a visit from Ohio State University assistant Kerry Coombs. Coach Coombs spent time with McLaurin and his family at their home in Indianapolis. He invited McLaurin to the Ohio State summer camp in June. A big opportunity for the rising senior. Perform well at a camp like this and doors begin to open for you. Perform poorly and perhaps you settle to a lower division of the pecking order in college football.
June is camp month at Ohio State. One of the powerhouse programs in the United States. The Buckeyes staff are not going to be swayed by the likes of Western Kentucky and Toledo. They want to see with their own eyes a prospect to determine if he has what it takes to join one of the most elite collections of talent across the country.
On the day of the camp, McLaurin did not disappoint. He knew this was his moment. Perform well and hop in the car back home with another offer, this time from one of the big boys. He was the fastest kid at the camp and performed exceptional in all of the one-on-one drills. Coming off a phenomenal junior season, third straight state championship, high character leader, and now a great camp at Ohio State. It would be difficult to put a person in a better position than that. And yet it wasn’t enough.
Head Coach Urban Meyer brought McLaurin back up to his office and explained where the Buckeyes Staff stood in relation to the Terry McLaurin recruiting sweepstakes.
“Your ball skills aren’t where we want them to be. Come back and see us again in a few weeks at our next camp.”
It’s at this moment that the rise of Terry McLaurin begins to become explainable. How does a 5’4” 165 lb average athlete become one of the best wide receivers in the NFL over twelve years? Growth spurts of the body can’t close the gap of this size. There must be another factor for this type of growth and transformation. There must be a form of greatness unfound in common neighborhoods. A touch from another galaxy. But what we find is actually available to all of us.
After departing Coach Meyer’s office and wishing Coach Coombs well, the McLaurin family drove back to their home in Indianapolis. Disappointed. Dejected and frustrated. A rising star playing big minutes for a state championship team. Scholarship offers ranging from multiple tiers of NCAA Division I football including one SEC school in Missouri.
Come back again in two weeks? Some would call this a slap in the face. Some athletes would leave and never return to Columbus again unless of course they are playing for another team. McLaurin weighed his options, and navigated the many layers of frustration, disappointment and most importantly, the attack on his ego.
After all the dust settled he got to work. Uncommon commitment to the truth. No blaming, no deflecting, no arguing. The ability to receive criticism and find the truth. He began to transform into the multi-million dollar receiver we see today.
“I went home and caught 200 passes a day.” McLaurin said in an interview in 2019 with Brandon Hall of stack.com. “200 a day, from anyone who would throw them to me. High school teammates, my neighbors, my mom, 200 a day. I remember complaining early on. But I started focusing more and more, the finer details, the intricacies of catching a ball.”
He began to deploy a strategy to improve his skills. For two weeks he caught 200 passes every single day. After two weeks of training he returned to Ohio State for another camp in front of Urban Meyer and his coaching staff. Coach Meyer instantly sees a change and offers Terry McLuarin a scholarship offer on the spot.
Terry McLaurin committed to the Buckeyes one day later.
Where Can You Be In 4-5 Years?
In modern college athletic recruiting there are two types of student athletes. One athlete views the commitment as the end of their journey. The conclusion of a long, difficult journey to their college decision. The other athlete views their commitment as the preface, the introductory chapter opening the door to more work and more development…
