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McDonald finds motivation from comparison
Go ahead and tell Mike McDonald he's Anthony Spencer's replacement at defensive end on the Purdue football team.
He likes that.
"It fuels me to work harder," McDonald said. "I'm not him and people are going to underestimate me."
If the 6-foot-2, 250 pound McDonald can duplicate half of Spencer's numbers, the Boilermakers will take it.
Spencer, who was a first-round selection by the Dallas Cowboys, made 93 tackles, including a nation-best 26.5 for losses. Spencer recorded 10.5 sacks last season.
"It keeps me going," McDonald said. "I'm just going to work hard and try to contribute."
The transfer from Tyler (Texas) Junior College was set to contribute last year, starting three games. McDonald did appear in all 14 games but was relegated to a backup role for most of the season.
McDonald said he learned a lot watching Spencer perform last season.
"Just keep going no matter how tired you are," McDonald said. "He had to go hard on a lot of plays. He still made big plays when he was tired."
The Gatesville, Texas, native realizes watching and learning last season turned out to be the best situation.
"Everything was so much faster than junior college," McDonald said. "I got that first year out of the way and now I feel more comfortable to play in this league."
With 18 returning starters, the Boilermakers have few holes to fill. One of those positions is defensive end, and Purdue coach Joe Tiller said McDonald appears more comfortable this season.
"He sees things better today than he did before," Tiller said. "If he keeps playing at a high energy level, he'll be a contributor. He's on track."
But even Tiller doesn't expect McDonald, or any other player, to produce Spencer's numbers.
"I don't think you replace an Anthony Spencer," Tiller said. "What you do is look for productivity out of the position.
"If we had X number of sacks last year out of the defensive ends or we got X number of this or that, you don't ask one player to give you that. You ask the group to give that to you."
Go ahead and tell Mike McDonald he's Anthony Spencer's replacement at defensive end on the Purdue football team.
He likes that.
"It fuels me to work harder," McDonald said. "I'm not him and people are going to underestimate me."
If the 6-foot-2, 250 pound McDonald can duplicate half of Spencer's numbers, the Boilermakers will take it.
Spencer, who was a first-round selection by the Dallas Cowboys, made 93 tackles, including a nation-best 26.5 for losses. Spencer recorded 10.5 sacks last season.
"It keeps me going," McDonald said. "I'm just going to work hard and try to contribute."
The transfer from Tyler (Texas) Junior College was set to contribute last year, starting three games. McDonald did appear in all 14 games but was relegated to a backup role for most of the season.
McDonald said he learned a lot watching Spencer perform last season.
"Just keep going no matter how tired you are," McDonald said. "He had to go hard on a lot of plays. He still made big plays when he was tired."
The Gatesville, Texas, native realizes watching and learning last season turned out to be the best situation.
"Everything was so much faster than junior college," McDonald said. "I got that first year out of the way and now I feel more comfortable to play in this league."
With 18 returning starters, the Boilermakers have few holes to fill. One of those positions is defensive end, and Purdue coach Joe Tiller said McDonald appears more comfortable this season.
"He sees things better today than he did before," Tiller said. "If he keeps playing at a high energy level, he'll be a contributor. He's on track."
But even Tiller doesn't expect McDonald, or any other player, to produce Spencer's numbers.
"I don't think you replace an Anthony Spencer," Tiller said. "What you do is look for productivity out of the position.
"If we had X number of sacks last year out of the defensive ends or we got X number of this or that, you don't ask one player to give you that. You ask the group to give that to you."