‘Chainsaw’ creates buzz

Kevin McCullough’s Wednesday afternoon is being spent playing radio co-host to KXLY’s Keith Osso on ‘The Dennis Patchin Show.’

As the two go on air inside the small studio, Osso introduces McCullough by his nickname – The Chainsaw – as a loud, buzzing noise revs up across the airwaves.

“You’ve got your own sound effect,” Osso proudly points out.

“I’ve made it,” McCullough jokingly adds.

So in terms of corresponding nicknames and sound effects, the Spokane Shock (17-1) linebacker has made it. But in terms of football, he’s not yet satisfied. McCullough, the Shock’s “Jack linebacker,” wants out of the box – completely.

While he’s enjoying his time in Spokane, he’s hoping to return to the great outdoors as soon as possible.

“The outdoor game has more of a run focus and that’s what I have always been really involved in as a linebacker – I’m a run stopper,” McCullough said. “In the indoor game, there’s not a whole lot of running that goes on. When they do run, it’s exciting for myself and our other linebacker Lee Foliaki – because he feels the same way I do.

“I just like being free – to roam wherever I want to go.”

Where he wants to go, ultimately, is the NFL.

The former walk-on at the University of Cincinnati, who played one season in junior college at Grand Rapids, was Cincinnati’s leading tackler (72) and leader in tackles for loss (14.5) and was an All-Big East Conference first-team selection in his 2006-07 senior campaign.

While playing for Cincinnati, McCullough and Shock quarterback Nick Davila were teammates.

Davila made the first start of his college career on senior night when the Bearcats defeated then seventh-ranked Rutgers 30-11. McCullough was no slouch in the game, either. He recorded career highs with 10 total tackles and nine solos, along with three tackles for loss.

“We were both junior college transfers,” McCullough said. “I was there for one year before Nick came and then we became friends. Nick was friends with everyone on the team – he’s one of those guys that gets along with every single person. It was fun playing with him.”

After graduating, McCullough went to camp with the New York Jets and was released after rookie camp. He did a two-day workout with the Chicago Bears and then practiced for a week with the AFL’s Columbus Destroyers while they were on their playoff run last season.

The Shock came calling, but McCullough remained stubborn about not wanting to play in the arenafootball2 league.

“Coach Shack (Adam Shackleford) called me about six times,” McCullough said. “I finally returned a phone call – I felt bad about that.”

But his mindset was reasonable.

“You just get released by an NFL team and af2 teams are calling. You’re kind of like, ‘Come on – I’m up here, I don’t want to go down there.’ That’s how I felt,” McCullough said. “Once I talked to them and found out what they were all about I definitely changed my mind.”

Finally, McCullough came to the realization that if he wanted to go into the NFL, he had to start somewhere. Some film was better than no film. So he and girlfriend Alyssa Olson – who golfed for Cincinnati – packed up a car and drove to Spokane.

“I found out that they do things right here – they have a great coaching staff and a lot of athletic and talented players, so I thought it would be a good fit. There are five af2 teams within a four-hour drive of my hometown (of Cleveland). But I knew that my best chance of moving up would be to come out here.”

As the Shock prepared for Saturday’s National Conference championship game against the Amarillo Dusters, McCullough said he’s changed his mind about the arena game.

“I feel completely different – I felt differently almost as soon as I got here and realized who I was on the field with,” he said. “A lot of people don’t realize we have a lot of guys who made it through final cuts of NFL training camps or were top-rated guys coming out of college. Sometimes things don’t work out the first time around and you have to go down to a minor league system.”

His overall goals haven’t changed though.

“I think if you come down here, and you prove yourself, obviously the next logical step is the AFL,” McCullough said. “But the NFL is starting to look at af2 guys more and more because of the talent level that’s down here. Some guys, believe it or not, enjoy the indoor game. They like it better. That’s not me. I’ll always love the outdoor game.

“I’m trying to make it up there with them at some point – someday.”