For Cameron McDondle, football has always been a family affair.
“Columbine… those were the good old days,” he says with a smile. “Playing with my brothers. I got to play with my older brother the first two years, then Bernard transferred in my last two years. Had a lot of fun with those guys. Knew many of them since little league football, so it was pretty much our same team, just grown up a little bit.”
After leading Columbine High School to a state title in 2011, Cameron decided to play college ball in his second home, Pueblo.
“First off was my grandma and mom, are from down here, so I didn’t feel like I was leaving home,” he says from the Colorado State University – Pueblo campus.
During his four seasons in Pueblo, Cameron helped the ThunderWolves to four conference titles, four appearances in the national tournament and the school’s first-ever national championship.
“There was something about that team, we’d just been through it the first few years, winning RMACs back to back, we needed to get that next step. It was a big chip you had on your shoulders.”
The school’s all-time leader in yards and touchdowns also ranks eighth in Division II history thanks to his 2,235 yards this past season.
But none of those rank as his top football memory.
“I think it was 8 year old football,” he says. “I scored like 9 touchdowns in this football game and our little league coach pulled me out and then the other team ended up getting a first down and he put me back in.”
With the NFL Draft at the end of this week, Cameron has been working towards his goal of playing professional football, while also finishing up his degree.
“It has been exciting. Still dealing with school, I’ve got to go home and type out a few papers, but then I get to get up in the morning and go work out to possibly get a chance in the NFL… can’t beat that.”
While he’s spoken with several teams, his lone workout was with the Denver Broncos, a dream come true for a Colorado kid.
“I got out there, I knew a lot of the guys that were out there. Got really comfortable and it relaxed all of us.
“It was actually really cool, my mom, even with them being the fans they are, how cool would it be to play with them.”
There is one big question mark every team has: At 5-foot-7, can he survive in a league of giants?
“Everybody wants to dock me on size, but you can’t measure heart and it’s worked out so far.”