McFadden finally joins Lutes' fold

In the words of longtime staff members and former players – Pacific Lutheran University football isn’t different, it’s uncommon.

The assumption from the outside world about this team-first, gentleman-like brand of football is that all incoming players immediately fall not only into that selfless line of thinking, but also that way of living.

That is far from true.

One of the Lutes’ best players has needed plenty of time – and advice – to acclimate himself to that culture.

Sean McFadden came from the Punahou School in Honolulu – the same high school that produced touted linebacker Manti Te’o – the nation’s consensus No. 1 recruit in 2009, who went to Notre Dame – as well as President Barack Obama. It is regarded as one of the best prep football programs in the country.

The safety not only saw the big time in high school, he also lived it.

As a teammate of Te’o, he saw every notable NCAA Division I coach come watch a practice or a game in which he participated – including the 2008 state championship.

“I got to meet Pete Carroll (while at USC),” McFadden said. “The Boise State staff came to a game. Charlie Weis and his assistants (from Notre Dame) came by. Everybody was there. It made everyone want to play harder.”

Yet, as McFadden visited the likes of PLU, Whitworth and Linfield after his senior season in 2009, the determining factor was how Lutes coach Scott Westering and defensive coordinator Craig McCord showed interest in everything in the recruit’s life outside football.

“Felt like home,” McFadden said.

Ask any Northwest Conference coach who has faced McFadden, and they will likely offer the same assessment of McFadden as UPS coach Jeff Thomas, who played the same position at Redlands University.

“An absolute playmaker,” Thomas said. “He is a ballhawk, and he hits like a ton of bricks.”

McFadden was third on the Lutes last season in tackles (54), and second in interceptions (three).

But his big plays were occasionally followed by extra-curricular stuff after the whistle – a slight shove, trash talk to the fallen receiver, or some other activity that earned him a stern sideline lecture.

“Everyone needs that edge to play good football,” McFadden said. “And in high school in Hawaii … I was taught that if you hit somebody, you don’t help them up because you just put all of your energy into putting them on the ground. And if you help them, you are just saving their energy.”

But helping an opponent up is one of many ways PLU is different than most universities – a point imparted to McFadden a number of times last season by Westering.

“That is who we are. That is how we live things. No matter how good (at football) the kid is, you are never going to rise above the team and get away with things that in most programs, the coach will say, ‘Geez, he is our stud player, we will let him do and be what he is,’ ” Westering said.

“I tell kids, this is not the Marine Corps – my way or the highway. On the other hand, there are five lanes here (to drive on). You have to be in one of those five. You can’t be driving on the shoulder, so to speak.”

Because of philosophical differences, and his own immediate on-field success, at one point last spring McFadden discussed leaving PLU to join a bigger program.

Ultimately, the reason he stayed was the same reason he was attracted to PLU in the first place – the off-the-field bond. And to keep in good standing, McFadden has had to adjust to PLU’s on-the-field protocol.

Every Thursday, McFadden goes by McCord’s office for an hour to shoot the breeze. He now considers the defensive boss a “mentor.” And his teammates have become like long-lost brothers.

So far this season, everything has worked out swimmingly. McFadden leads the team with 28 tackles, and he made the game-saving interception last week in the Lutes’ 14-6 victory over Menlo College.

“They have helped me believe I can be a part of this program, and believe in everything that is going on here. But at the same time, they tell me to just play hard, competitive football,” McFadden said. “Scott and Craig have told me before, by all means, do not lose that edge you have, or that competitive love for the game, because that is ‘L’ for Lutes – love for the game.

“From the outsider perspective, I kind of know it is hard to see how I fit in. At the same time, I fell like I fit in perfectly.”

Todd Milles: 253-597-8442 todd.milles@thenewstribune.com