Mike McLaughlin eager for his shot in Baltimore

OWINGS MILLS, Md. – It didn’t take long for the Baltimore Ravens to begin recruiting Boston College linebacker Mike McLaughlin.

Shortly after the Ravens turned in the card to select Morehouse offensive tackle Ramon Harewood in the sixth round for their final draft pick, coach John Harbaugh was on the telephone with McLaughlin.

The hard-sell approach worked as McLaughlin signed a free agent deal with the Ravens after receiving interest from the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, St. Louis Rams and the Detroit Lions.

“Coach Harbaugh definitely made it clear that they wanted me in Baltimore,” McLaughlin said in a telephone interview. “He called about three or four times, and he was very persuasive and honest with me. He told me that they wanted to look at me at linebacker and fullback and on special teams, and he told me this would be a great fit for me.

“I’m very happy with my decision. The Ravens are a great organization and they seem like the perfect place for me. I’m all about hitting hard, running around and playing the game the right away. That’s what they’ve established in Baltimore with guys like Ray Lewis. I can’t wait to get started.”

McLaughlin arrived in Baltimore on Thursday for a physical and will hit the field today for a mandatory minicamp, which will include most of the Ravens’ veteran players, seven draft picks as well as several undrafted rookies and players invited on a tryout basis.

The Ravens have a need for a backup to Pro Bowl fullback Le’Ron McClain after recently cutting Charles Ali and shifting Edgar Jones back to outside linebacker. McLaughlin has also been practicing his long snapping.

“I played fullback in high school and it’s a lot of fun,” McLaughlin said. “Any position where you get to hit somebody is right up my alley. I’ll play anywhere they want me to.”

The 6-foot, 242-pounder rushed for 1,005 yards and 22 touchdowns as a high school senior in Woburn, Mass.

At Boston College, he was strictly a middle linebacker.

He recorded 221 career tackles and 19 ½ tackles for losses.

As a junior, he posted 89 tackles, four sacks and a dozen tackles for losses.

A torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered before his senior year limited McLaughlin to nine starts and 56 tackles last season. The Eagles’ defensive captain was invited to the East-West Shrine game.

A slow 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine, a clocking between 4.84 and 4.87 seconds, hurt McClaughlin’s draft prospects.

“I would have been drafted if I had run faster,” said McLaughlin, who bench pressed 225 pounds 29 times and registered a 38 ½ inch vertical leap. “I can run in the 4.7 range, so it’s not like I’m slow. I play the game with instincts and I play hard. It’s about having heart and toughness and being smart. It’s football, not a track meet.”

McLaughlin said a major reason why he chose the Ravens is their history of developing undrafted players, including linebackers Bart Scott and Dannell Ellerbe, center Mike Flynn and safety Will Demps.

“I saw a lot of inside linebackers get drafted that I thought I should have gone ahead of,” McLaughlin said. “I was getting mad during the draft. All it does is motivate me. I’ll keep that in mind when I’m on the field.”

Follow me on Twitter: RavensInsider