Leading up to an NFL Draft, scouts can test a player's speed and strength. His ability to be a leader is far more difficult.
A three-year starter at cornerback from Maryland, Dexter McDougle suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the third game of his senior year, already with 14 tackles, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries on the season.
That was when he took it upon himself to be at every practice, every game, helping the other defensive backs with anything they needed.
At the postseason team banquet, the university introduced the Dexter McDougle Ultimate Team Player Award.
McDougle was the inaugural recipient.
He was also the Jets' third-round pick in 2014.
"I had a good pre-draft visit there," McDougle said. "I was able to pick up on the film what they were telling me and the defenses they were teaching me. So I left there pretty confident. In my mind, that was one of my best draft visits. And so when they did call my name, I was pretty happy.
"I was going to come in there ready to work, ready to win. I was ready to learn, ready to compete. Pretty straightforward. (Head Coach Rex Ryan) just wanted you to come in and play football."
Which he did for a short time during training camp before he was injured during an early August practice.
"We were doing one-on-one, and I think I was going against Stephen Hill on a fade ball in the corner," McDougle said. "It was non-contact. I tried to lift up my left leg and my knee kind of buckled and it didn't get off the ground. And then we later got the diagnosis that it was a torn ACL. Once the swelling went down, I did get surgery."
Not unlike what he experienced the previous year in college, McDougle spent the season rehabbing his left knee while on injured reserve. Did the unexpected time off the field offer a Green & White lining about learning life as a New York Jet with less pressure?
"No, not really. I guess it kind of just showed me what I was missing, and it made me want to get on the field faster," McDougle said. "You kind of feel more pressure because you want to be on the field if you're not.
"I was able to take a step back and really take it all in, but at the same time, I'd much rather be on the field with my brothers. So it's good and bad. It comes with it."
Pressure aside, McDougle was able to resume playing in 2015, and his timing couldn't have been better mentor-wise.
"My first year there, it was kind of a younger group. But my following year, we had Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, Buster Skrine. I was able to really learn a lot from those guys on and off the field," McDougle said.
"It felt great when I was back. I was able to make an immediate impact. And took a while to really trust my knee. I think it took a full year. But I got back pretty quick and was able to get back to doing what I love to do."
After playing for two seasons and with the team for three, less than a week before the 2017 season got underway, McDougle was traded to Philadelphia for safety Terrence Brooks. His time on New York's I. R. list, practice squad, and 20 games on the active roster produced fond memories from the beginning.
"My draft day, and then I would say my third-season training camp, I just remember that I put the work in," McDougle said. "I got my body where I wanted it, as far as weight-wise and body fat-wise. And I could feel it. I was moving differently, playing different, grading out great every game. I had my best training camp that season. So it's definitely one of my more fond memories."
After playing with the Eagles and taking a couple of years to spend time with his family and train other athletes, in 2021, McDougle put his sweats in the closet and put on scrubs.
Having undergone his share of surgeries while playing, he's back in hospital operating rooms in Central and Northern New Jersey. However, now he's not under anesthesia.
"I'm a sales rep for (the medical device manufacturer) Medtronic, and specifically the spine division. So I'm basically in the operating rooms with orthopedic neurosurgeons, and helping out with the surgery," McDougle said. "They're using my equipment, my implants, my bone grafts, etc. So I've got to be in there making sure the surgeon is getting what he needs for a successful post op.
"It's a different perspective, obviously. I've been under the knife, but a big reason why I wanted to get into this field was to see all the preparation behind closed doors and what goes into a successful operation.
"And now I'm a part of that and play a very important role, where they won't even open the room and bring the patient in if I'm not there. To be doing this… I would have never imagined pivoting from football to this, but it's been great.
"You've got to know everything in and out about the anatomy and pathology of the spine, as well as all your instrumentation. They're going to ask you. You have to have conversations in the operating room. There's a lot of back and forth, a lot of questions."
McDougle continued.
"And then I also run imaging. They're putting the implant in in real time, and I'm running that system for them so they can see it. So it's a lot of pressure, but that's the main reason why they really like hiring athletes, because you lived in pressure. It's how you perform. Can you perform under pressure or not? That's the environment I was, I guess, raised in.
"Playing in front of 50,000, 60,000 people, something like running some operational equipment for me, isn't pressure at all, I treat the operating room on my case days like game days. I've prepared for four or five days before. I prepare for what they may do, what they may ask me, not just what I know they're going to do. I'm prepared just like I would be in any game. So that's kind of like my new game day.
"I think the most joyful thing is getting people back to normal health. I've been under the knife many times and having a successful surgery is everything. You want to be able to get back to optimal as quick as possible. You want to get back to feeling yourself. Feeling great. And for me, that's the biggest thing."
Making their home in Central New Jersey, McDougle and his wife, Brooke, have two children: Farrah and Maddox
"My family, I look forward to them every day," McDougle said. "Just knowing I achieved things that I said I would do since I was a little kid, I lived my dreams. And was also able to pivot and create a new path, create new memories. I enjoy being a guy who's resilient and somebody who never quits."
