From humble beginnings in Lethbridge to the bright lights of the NFL draft, one local athlete is making his community proud.
Tanner McLachlan played for the Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Rams during his high school career, but he hopes to soon be playing in Ohio for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Selected in the sixth round as the 194th-overall pick in this year’s draft, McLachlan says he never expected to be getting the phone call he had always wanted.
“For me, the Super Bowl was playing in the provincial championship,” McLachlan said. “Now, I’ll hopefully get to play in a (real) Super Bowl.”
Staff with the Bengals called McLachlan just as they were about to draft him. He says this gave him an unforgettable moment to share with his loved ones.
“It’s something that I’ve been working towards my whole life, so to be able to experience that with my family and to be back in my hometown to get that phone call was just a dream come true,” McLachlan said.
Despite his clear success, his former coach with the Rams, David Lowry, says he thought the player he met so many years ago was destined for a career on the court.
“If truth be told, I kind of thought his first love was basketball. That really was my first impression of him, that he didn’t really think football was going to be his thing,” Lowry said. “But the more he played, the more he fell in love with the game and you could just tell … he finally could tell, his opportunities really laid on the football field.”
McLachlan’s father, Sheldon, says his son was always hard-working, but this moment is still simply surreal.
“I don’t know if, when he was young, I ever envisioned him making it to the big time but certainly I saw him as a go-getter,” Sheldon said. “He had the mindset to do what needed to be done.”
Indeed, McLachlan got it done. In his most recent season with the University of Arizona, he completed his 79th career reception as a tight end, surpassing NFL legend Rob Gronkowski’s record there.
“Something I picked up from my head coach in Arizona was ‘chase dreams that people would laugh at,’ Shoot for something that people would laugh at you for because it’s so out of this world,” McLachlan said.
His father says it was always important for all his children to be involved in sports for many reasons, including physical and mental health.
“We very much did everything we could to support them and get them involved in all types of sports.”
Furthermore, Lowry says the LCI football program is designed to ensure kids become better athletes and better people.
“We try and have athletes that are more than just football players,” Lowry said. “We want them to be great citizens, to be great representatives of not just our school and our team, but also their families, their names and our community at large.”
Upon being drafted, McLachlan says the reality suddenly came into view and he had a new team, a new family.
“The first thing that popped into my mind is that I’ll be catching balls from Joe Burrow,” McLachlan said.
Even with the future tinted in Bengal orange, he says he will never lose sight of his roots in the Albertan school.
“LCI is where I fell in love with sports.”
For those who currently move the chains at LCI, McLachlan stands as proof a player can rise above the odds.
“Chase your dreams and take it as far as you can, in any aspect of your life, it doesn’t have to be football, it doesn’t have to be sports,” McLachlan said.
Flying to a training camp next week, he says he hopes to make the most of his journey while competing for a roster spot this upcoming season.
If the NFL plan does not pan out, McLachlan has options with the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL, as the team drafted him on Tuesday.