By Mike Vorel
The Seattle Times
Pay no attention to the giant skull painted onto JoJo McIntosh’s T-shirt.
If you were at the Dempsey Indoor Center for Washington’s Pro Day on Monday, you couldn’t miss it. The former UW safety ditched a black hoodie to reveal the logo of Marvel’s “Punisher,” a superhero whose primary motivation is revenge. It might seem fitting, too, considering that McIntosh — a 6-foot-1, 205-pound defensive back — was noticeably absent from the invitation list for the NFL combine last month.
A whopping nine Huskies — including fellow defensive backs Byron Murphy, Taylor Rapp and Jordan Miller — participated in Indianapolis. But not McIntosh, who started 39 of his final 40 collegiate games. Not McIntosh, who had 211 tackles in four quietly consistent seasons. Not McIntosh, an All-Pac-12 second-team selection in 2017. McIntosh watched it on television.
But did the combine snub seep into his subconscious? Did it motivate McIntosh to prove some people wrong?
“I didn’t even pay too much mind to it,” he said with a shrug. “At the end of the day, I’ve got to come to pro day and perform. Combine or pro day, I’ve got to show up.”
So McIntosh showed up Monday — and he wasn’t the only one. Behind a white chain partition, a host of Husky alums watched their former teammates perform. Dante Pettis was there, with purple highlights in his hair. John Ross was there too. Same with Danny Shelton, Kevin King, Darrell Daniels and Will Dissly.
But let’s pay special attention to Zeke Turner, a former Husky safety who tallied 16 tackles in 16 games with the Arizona Cardinals last season.
As McIntosh, Turner — who made 100 tackles for UW from 2015 to 2017 — was not invited to the NFL combine last winter. He unsurprisingly went undrafted before ultimately catching on in Arizona.
He exceeded expectations, and — along with his fellow UW defensive backs — provided a path for McIntosh to follow.
“I talk to Zeke all the time,” McIntosh said. “All the DBs that have passed (into the NFL), we talk all the time. Those are my brothers. All of us are going to work. Some of us are underrated, and that’s OK.
“Kevin King, I don’t think he ever got first-team Pac-12, but you see he’s the first one taken in the second round (of the 2017 NFL draft). Everybody’s going to work. It’s that Dawg in us. That’s what Washington instills in us.”
But what has Turner, specifically, instilled in McIntosh?
“You’ve just got to take it day by day, control what you can control, and whenever you get the opportunity you’ve got to make the best of it,” the 22-year-old Turner told The Times on Monday. “Just stay locked in and keep playing football how you have been. Whatever wants to work itself out will work itself out.”
He added: “Ever since I’ve been here, that’s been my boy.”
Monday, Turner’s boy posted a 36-inch vertical jump (while King loudly shouted encouragement). He ran the 40-yard dash as well, though as of this interview Monday he had not received his results and UW does not post official times.
Combine or not, he took advantage of his opportunity.
“I was a little nervous, I’m not going to lie,” McIntosh said. “But it was fun. Knowing that (NFL scouts) are out here scouting us, that’s a blessing. It feels amazing that I’m out here and I get to prove myself.”
Prove, not punish. Respect, not revenge. McIntosh performed on his pro day … and then he celebrated accordingly.
“I’m going to go eat some junk food because I’ve been eating healthy for the last three months,” said a smiling McIntosh, who noted that donuts were likely on the menu.
Perhaps, as Turner, McIntosh will go undrafted this month. Perhaps his path to professional football will stretch more sideways than straight. Perhaps that Punisher shirt meant more than the senior safety was willing to say.
But Monday, at least, it seemed like what mattered most was the smile, not the skull.
“I came out here and gave it my all,” McIntosh said. “I came and attacked it. I just made sure I had fun. I was walking around smiling, and I’m just happy for the journey.”
