Deonta McMahon: Path To The NFL Draft

By Jack Brentnall

Deonta McMahon hasn’t had your typical path to the NFL Draft. He started out playing both sides of the ball in high school. He then took the JUCO route, travelling over 2,000 miles from his native Florida to attend Butte College in California, the college that helped produce NFL greats Larry Allen and Aaron Rodgers.

After transferring to McNeese State and wowing fans with his electric performances at running back and as a kick returner, he is now preparing for the next chapter of his career. He sat down with Jack Brentnall to discuss his path to the NFL Draft.

The Early Years

McMahon has loved the game of football for as long as he can remember. His uncle Travis was a big influence on him growing up and he says that he helped him get to where he is today. “My love of the game definitely came from my uncle. He had me and my cousin out in the yard and said I was going to be the running back and my cousin was going to be the wide receiver. Sure enough, here I am today playing running back and loving it.”

Family was clearly an important part of McMahon’s upbringing. He was brought up by his grandmother, and he notes that he is a little bit old fashioned as a result. “I had an abundant amount of help growing up. I had multiple people who came in and helped me at certain times of my life and it paid off in the most beneficial way because a lot of people would say my character is second to none.”

High School Standout

Credit: Roy Fuoco (The Ledger)

He began to make a name for himself on the gridiron in high school. McMahon attended Frostproof High School in Florida. Whilst it is a small town (the population is less than 3,000), it has produced some notable NFL talent, including two-time Super Bowl winning Cowboys receiver Alvin Harper, Pro Bowl running back Travis Henry, and most recently Bills and Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman.

McMahon racked up over 5,000 rushing yards throughout his high school career, but his production wasn’t limited to running back. “I just about played every position on the field! Coming from a small school you’ve got to make do with what you’ve got. You’ve got to have your best athletes out there on the field and making plays is what I was based around.”

McMahon says his experience playing other sports helped him acclimate to the different positions he was asked to play on the football field. “It definitely wasn’t a problem for me. I played basketball, I did weight lifting, I ran track, and I played baseball. I wanted to play soccer too, but basketball got in the way of that”.

Heading To California

Credit: Matt Bates (Enterprise Record)

Whilst he was a standout performer for Frostproof High School, McMahon didn’t garner a tonne of interest as a recruit. “I didn’t really have any big D-I offers coming out of high school. I didn’t really want to go D-II and my mentors said that my best opportunity to try and get up to that D-I level would be to go to JUCO. That’s what I did, I took a risk and made the best of it”.

McMahon made the decision to move across the country to Butte College in California, over 2,000 miles away from his native Florida. The decision was a tough one, not least because McMahon had recently become a father. He says that his daughter provided added motivation though. “It was a blessing to have her, even though most might say that having a kid at such a young age can steer you this way or steer you that way. I had the mindset that I wanted to go to college and continue my dream so in order for that to happen I had to make a big sacrifice and that was being away from her.

“My mindset was to do this for her. Down the road I want to make sure she doesn’t need anything – being financially, emotionally, and spiritually stable. She added to that chip on my shoulder and it just made me want to go harder.”

Once he arrived at Butte College, McMahon became an immediate star. In his first season he racked up 1,124 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns. Both these of these marks led the team and his 15 touchdowns ranked second across the CCCAA. McMahon says that he knew that making an immediate impact would be vital. “I had to. My uncle Travis had a little chat with me before I left for Butte and he let me know that once I made this decision there is no turning back. He told me that once I got there I had to tear it up and leave no crumbs at all. I had that chip on my shoulder from not going DI. Being a smaller guy and coming from where I’m from it was instilled in me to be great.”

Arrival At McNeese State

McMahon spent two seasons at Butte. Over that period he averaged 107.8 rushing yards per game and earned All-American honours. His impressive form didn’t go unnoticed. It wasn’t long before he piqued the interest of D-I programs. “Originally I had an offer from New Mexico after my first year at Butte, but the coach ended up being fired there. Then Missouri State, Northern Colorado, and McNeese State came along.

McMahon speaks very highly of the coaching staff at McNeese State and the extra effort they made in trying to bring him on board. “At the time, Frank Wilson was recruiting me. He is a great guy and an amazing recruiter and I don’t know what it was but I just knew I’d feel at home there.” The Cowboys subsequently offered McMahon a full scholarship and he made the move over to Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Moving to a new town always comes with its challenges, but in this case there were some unexpected ones. Shortly after McMahon’s arrival, Lake Charles was hit by Hurricane Laura. The storm left plenty of devastation in its wake and was followed six weeks later by Hurricane Delta. The local community was understandably reeling from the damage done, and the football team was no different. To make matters worse, this all took place in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, with McNeese State and the rest of the FCS making the difficult decision to postpone their fall season.

It would be easy to lose focus in this situation. About a dozen players even made the decision to transfer after the devastation caused by the Hurricanes. McMahon was undeterred: “I spent the first semester getting acclimated, and the second semester we had a spring season. I was just training and trying to get a starting spot and I ended up doing that”. Whilst there were certainly some differences from Butte, McMahon said that in many ways it was surprisingly similar. “I definitely had to acclimate to the culture and the programme but I managed fit in pretty well. It wasn’t anything different. Coming from JUCO I was expecting it to be totally different, but it was actually much easier than I expected.”

The Road To FCS Stardom

McMahon continued to work hard to establish a role for himself on the team. He played in five games in McNeese State’s spring season, rushing for 189 yards and a touchdown at an average of 5.1 per carry. His breakout game came against Nicholls, where his 111 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries led the Cowboys to an upset win.

He built on this further with an impressive fall season. McMahon led the team with 558 rushing yards and scored eight touchdowns, whilst also chipping in with 232 yards on his 27 catches. His crowning achievement was his 2022 season, that saw him put up over 1,600 scrimmage yards on the way to earning the Southland Conference OPOY Award.

This was a big achievement for McMahon, but he won’t let it distract him from his bigger goal. “Honestly it means a lot, but at the end of the day I’m still hungry. I can’t let up now. Being where I am now I feel like it has been a great opportunity to go through everything I did in order to have the season that I had. I can’t thank the coaching staff, the strength staff, and the program enough. I’m still grinding and on track, trying to get to where I want to go and reach my goal.”

When you watch McMahon play you’ll notice his versatility. He’s a true three-down back who can also add value as a kick returner. His ability to do it all is what makes him such an exciting prospect, but he does have a favourite play. “I would definitely say Counter. Counter was a big play for me this year and it gave me a lot of big runs”. He also loves being used as a receiver in the screen game. “It’s kind of like being in the backfield as you’ve got blockers set up and you’ve just got to find and hit the hole. The best part is that I’m in space, so I can make a move with my skillset, I can do what I do.”

The Importance Of Hard Work

Credit: Kirk Meche (Special to the American Press)

A big reason for McMahon’s success is his dedication off the field, specifically in the film room. “There’s definitely a lot of film. I’ll stay after hours to try and dissect every little piece of information I can to help spot tendencies”. He’s detail oriented when scouting his opponents too. “I really focus on the linebackers and the flow of the box. A lot of teams like to run the same stuff, so I will look for their key reads. Our running back coach provided a sheet where we can write down their favourite fronts, blitzes, and coverages. This all helped to prepare me for the games ahead.”

McMahon is keen to keep on improving his game and puts a lot of effort into self-scouting. “As well as scouting tendencies I also like to watch and see certain things I could have done differently. It could be seeing a hole here, that I could have made a read there, or that I could have had this or that cutback. I just try to visualise these things as much as possible.”

He also likes to watch the NFL and learn from the very best. If you watch his tape it should not come as a surprise who he models his game after. “I would definitely say Alvin Kamara, but even before him I would say Barry Sanders. I was a big Barry Sanders fan and growing up I used to watch documentaries about him. I kind of feel like in a sense I’m similar in that we are both humble, caring, and generous people. Like those guys I can catch, I can make a move, and I can run through a guy if I need to.”

Preparing For The NFL Draft

The NFL Draft is on the horizon, but there is plenty of work to be done before then. For McMahon, there is one date in particular that looms large. On March 16th he will be having his pro day, giving him the opportunity to catch the eyes of NFL scouts. For an electric back like McMahon, it should come as no surprise that he’s doing plenty of work on his 40-yard dash. The numbers he mentioned in our conversation are certainly intriguing too.

“Originally when I first started training I was with my speed guy and we were working on my 40. Out of the gate we got the lasers set up and I did a time. I was thinking maybe low 4.4s or high 4.4s, maybe a 4.5, but I surprised myself honestly. I ran a 4.33 and the second time I ran a 4.36. It was a blessing and I was really astonished. Obviously I was putting in the work but to be able to come out before I have started training for the draft it was amazing to run that 4.3, and I’ve been training ever since. I’m trying to get it down even more now and hopefully God blesses me with that.”

Showing off his strength profile will also be important, and is something McMahon has been working on extensively over recent weeks. “As far as my weight training goes, on my first day there they had me do the 225 lbs bench press and I did it about 12 times. I’ve made so much progress since. We’ve been working with weights and just going up from 275 lbs to 295 lbs and to 315 lbs. Now I’m getting at least five reps on the 315 lbs. I’m hoping to get at least 20 reps on the 225 lbs when all is said and done.”

For McMahon, this is all a part of working towards his biggest goal – playing in the NFL. He makes no secret about just how much it would mean to hear his name called in the draft. “I’ve been dying for this my entire life, it’s been a dream. I said I when I was a little kid that one day I want to play in the NFL, and I’m on course to make that dream come true.”

With that kind of drive and determination and a highlight reel as long as your arm, it is easy to see why an NFL team will fall in love with McMahon.

Feature Image Credit: Richard Martin (McNeese State Athletics)

Jack Brentnall

Guest Writer

Jack is the founder of The Jet Sweep and a Scouting Academy alumnus. He has been covering the NFL Draft since 2020. You can find him on Twitter at @Jack_Brentnall

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A huge thank you to Deonta for taking the time to talk to us. Everyone at The Touchdown wishes him well in his future career.