Note: This is the seventh installment of a
season-long diary by McDonogh’s Notre Dame-bound Lane Clelland, which is submitted
weekly to DigitalSports.
His
entries deal with his experiences as Maryland’s No. 1 rated offensive
lineman recruit, on a McDonogh team that entered the season with high expectations. This week, we removed the camera and tape recorder from in front of Clelland ‘s face and ask him to use his fingers on the keyboard of his home computer.
The resulting Q&A was a refreshing change of pace, allowing Clelland to be more pensive as he shed light on some of his more personal feelings.
Among them are thoughts on his own progress as a player; the decision made by his older brother, Lance, not to coach Lane as a McDonogh assistant this season, and Lane’s decision to return to competiton on what may be the Eagles’ best-ever wrestling team, as a heavyweight this coming winter.
All the while, Clelland is focused on Saturday’s game at rival Calvert Hall, which, like McDonogh, is one of four league teams with 1-1 records in the conference.
The
6-foot-5, 270-pound Clelland believes the Eagles can win their remaining games if their dedication remains intact.
by Lane Clelland
as told to DigitalSports
DS: Lane, can you assess how you believe youâ??ve done, in general, this season as far as your preseason expectations and what actually has happened?
LC: I’ve done well, I have been consistently getting better each week and honestly that is all anyone can ever ask for.”
Do you believe that you have achieved your goals, personally, as a player, from a standpoint of technique, results, statistically (pancakes, etc?)
No, and I don’t expect or think I’ll ever reach my goal…which is a perfect game. Though I doubt any player has ever had a 100% perfect game, I can always be getting as close to it as i can.
Do you feel that you have been the leader that you have wanted to be?
I’m not much of a rah rah guy, but I can sometimes be the leader and other times, I honestly do not know what to tell the team — especially after a game like Malvern Prep’s [46-7 loss] or even Loyola’s [9-6 overtime looss]. It’s hard. As a lineman also I think the best way I know how to lead
is just through actions and just doing my job. I truly believe that actions speak louder than any of my words would.
How taxing were the last two games mentally, and, physically, against Loyola and Mount St. Joseph?
More mentally for me I think it was hard to bear the fact that we lost in such a close game to Loyola. We were right there and couldn’t pull it through. That game was very frustrating but we just went back to work on Monday as always and prepared for the next win.
Were there any aches and pains to overcome the next morning?
Always, there are always aches and pains after games. I expect them and there’s nothing you can do except run some distance and take it easy. Honestly, the pain wasn’t physical. When you pour everything you can into a game like Loyola’s, it hurts a lot deeper to lose than it does to feel pain on the surface.
What chance do you believe you have as a team of someone else beating Loyola, and then, you guys winning out and sharing the title?
Well, hopefully, someone can see that Loyola is a beatable team. But the chances? I have no clue. I just want to go through and not lose another game. We have to beat Gilman most of all. If we do all of that, then the rest will take care of itself.
What do you recall about some of the most recent conversations you had with Lance, who is now at Dartmouth, and not coaching you, as he did as a McDonogh assistant for your previous years at the school.
Well, they can involve anything from school, to family, and of course football. On the football note though, we talk a lot about how I can improve on the little film he is able to see. And he tries to help me in any way he can. I usually have a few questions on any aspect of the game which I ask, and which he is able to answer. But other than that, we just talk like brothers.
Do you believe you would have handled any of the situations this year differently if Lance were here to counsel you?
Yes, of course. But I need to find my own true sense of perspectives and ideas on things. With him hear, it would have made it harder in college, knowing that, when I’m college, I’ll have to be without his help. Now that he is not here, that will make the transition to college easier.
You remained committed to wrestling your final year of high school when many top football recruits elect to take off from other sports as seniors. What do your football coaches think about you wrestling?
Well I know specifically that the majority of the coaches I have talked to in that past about my wrestling background love it. The reason is simple: One, for my motor, as they call it, which is my tempo and intensity on the field. The motor of any player must be high on the field. And for lineman, wrestling is the best combination for that high motor. Also the fact that wrestling deals with many of the same techniques that offensive and defensive line-play does. So my coaches really like and respect the fact that I wrestle. In fact, they expect me to do well.
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