On the toughest practice days, UCF defensive tackle Lance McDowdell pictures his family for an extra push.
He dreams about getting his family out of its rough neighborhood back home in Mount Vernon, N.Y. He imagines helping his parents send his 10-year-old sister Tasia and 13-year-old brother Keshawn to Iona Preparatory School about 20 minutes away from home and a lifetime away for a better education. And once that vision settles in his mind, he lurches his 310-pound body, full force, into anyone who steps into his path.
"When I go out there, all I'm thinking about is my mother and my family and that's it," McDowdell said.