Vince McMahon is one of the biggest personalities in professional sports, and his grandson is hoping to bring a similar persona to the Indiana Hoosiers football program.
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A big name running back arrived in Bloomington, IN in the summer of 2022 for preseason workouts and he didn't even have a scholarship. Declan McMahon, the grandson of WWE founder Vince McMahon and son of former WWE superstar Shane McMahon, joined the Indiana Hoosiers football team as a walk-on last year after a promising high school career at Poly Prep Country in Brooklyn, NY as a running back who also lined up under center at QB occasionally.
I am extremely grateful and excited to announce my commitment to play Football at Indiana University. Go Hoosiers! #LEO pic.twitter.com/Tpb0OxVzSg
— Declan James McMahon (@ODmcmahon) April 7, 2022
Declan is wrestling royalty, but he has decided not to purse the bright lights of the professional wrestling ring just yet.
His play in high school also garnered attention from Duke, Rutgers, Fordham and East Carolina, but Declan ultimately decided to bring his talents to Indiana as a preferred walk-on. He redshirted as a freshman and has not seen action on the field yet in the 2023 season, but that hasn't stopped the young running back from making an impact on his team.
Sideline "turnover" trophies have become very popular in college football since Miami's "turnover chain" debuted several years ago, and McMahon consulted with his grandfather Vince to design a special, WWE-style accessory for the Hoosiers defense. A massive WWE-official championship belt was specially made by the wrestling company for IU and dubbed the "takeaway belt", the Hoosiers are making the most of their connection the executive chairman and CEO of the WWE.
Tom Allen wants to see more of IU football's "legit, heavy, big" WWE takeaway belt #iufb https://t.co/YXnOlWuhgF via @daily_hoosier
— Mike Schumann @ The Daily Hoosier (@daily_hoosier) September 14, 2023
The Indiana defense has already been able to bust out the belt twice this year, intercepting Ohio State Quarterback Kyle McCord two weeks ago, and Louisville QB Jack Plummer earlier today. The defense has celebrated with a Ric Flair style swagger each time they received the belt, as the turnovers and new trophy fire up Declan McMahon and the rest of the Hoosiers team. An awesome, unique sideline trinket presented to the Hoosiers with thanks from the first family of wrestling.
