McIntosh Embodies Toughness And Ferocity On The Field
October 31, 2017 | Football
By Rich Myhre
Though his proper name is Joseph McIntosh, his mother Sayom McIntosh took to calling him JoJo as a small child. When he first started school, he would write JoJo on his assignments, "so the teachers called me JoJo and then everyone else started calling me JoJo."
These days, he said, "everybody still calls me JoJo. My mother will call me Joe if she's being light-hearted and she calls me Joseph if I'm in trouble."
Sayom McIntosh was born in Cambodia and came to the United States when she was 4 years old, accompanied by her mother, father and five older brothers. The family was escaping that country's Khmer Rouge regime under ruthless dictator Pol Pot.
Fleeing their homeland "was hard for them," McIntosh said, "but they made it here and just made the most out of (life in their new country)."
McIntosh has never been to Cambodia, but has extended family there "and I'd love to go there someday."
You're introduced to JoJo McIntosh, and he greets you with a big smile and a warm handshake. You chat for a time, and then come away thinking he's one of the nicest young men you'd ever hope to meet.
Of course, such a pleasant encounter would never occur on a football field.
On game days of the college season, the usually friendly, usually easygoing McIntosh becomes a relentless, remorseless and absolutely punishing player from his safety position in Washington's defensive secondary. On a team known for big hitters, the 6-foot-1, 219-pound McIntosh still stands out.
"JoJo is a ferocious hitter," confirmed UW defensive back coach Jimmy Lake. "That's the first thing I think of when I think of JoJo McIntosh. Whether he's hitting running backs or hitting receivers, he's a ferocious hitter and a ferocious tackler. He's one of those old-school safeties where (an opponent) better know where No. 14 is back there, or that might be your last play of the game.
"He's a guy you can talk to and he's real nice, but then you see him out there on Saturday and you're like, 'Whoa.'"
Oregon running back Royce Freeman would probably agree. Against Washington a year ago, Freeman caught a second-quarter flat pass and was promptly planted on his backside, courtesy of a particularly violent McIntosh hit. OK, so Freeman was vulnerable because he had no chance, after the reception, to evade the oncoming McIntosh. Still, the crushing tackle was a signature moment in Washington's eventual 70-21 thumping of the Ducks, and it was potent enough that Freeman, a gifted player with NFL potential, went to the sideline for the rest of the game.
"That was a huge moment," Lake said. "For our safety to take out a player – and you don't want anybody to get hurt – but after that hit, (Freeman) didn't come back into the football game."
Moreover, Lake added, the ferocity of the tackle signified that "our will was being forced onto that team. So it was huge."
As a footnote, McIntosh also got the better of Freeman early in the game, wrenching the ball loose after a Freeman carry. UW linebacker Keishawn Bierria fell on the fumble, thwarting a potential Oregon scoring drive.
It has been like this almost from the beginning for McIntosh, now a fourth-year junior. He began making his mark soon after taking the field for the first time as a redshirt freshman in the 2015 opener, and he has appeared in every game since. Going back to last season's opener, McIntosh has started every game except one because he embodies what Lake and UW head coach Chris Petersen demand from their defensive backs.
To play in Washington's secondary, McIntosh explained, "you have to have grit, which is something Coach Lake talks about that all the time. It's about playing with an edge. You're not going to win every play and you might even get knocked down on a play, but you have to get up and tell yourself, 'OK, I'm going to get (the opponent) this next play and I'm going to keep on winning.'
"You can't be scared," he said. "You have to want to go and hit. … Toughness all the time, that's the mindset. And it's the culture of the whole defense, not just in the DB room. Everyone is tough."
McIntosh arrived at Washington in Petersen's inaugural recruiting class of 2014, so the team veterans were holdovers from previous UW head coach Steve Sarkisian. Safety Brian Clay and cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Kevin King were early mentors who "definitely pushed me and brought me up," McIntosh said.
In particular, King had a significant influence on the young McIntosh. "To this day," he said, "I call (King) my brother. When I first got here my locker was right next to his and from then on the two of us have just been like best friends. Even though he played a different position, he was always there to push me and to help me learn my plays. And even with stuff about life outside of football, he was always there for me."
These days McIntosh is particularly close to fellow safeties Taylor Rapp and Ezekiel Turner. And like McIntosh, Rapp and Taylor have a penchant for bone-jarring tackles.
Because McIntosh is now in his fourth season, he is one of the oldest players in what is a relatively young corps of defensive backs. For that reason, Lake sat down with McIntosh in the past offseason and asked him to take a more active leadership role.
On a 2016 team that included NFL-bound defensive backs King, Sidney Jones and Budda Baker, McIntosh "wasn't really asked to do that," Lake said. "But he was asked to do it going into this season, and he's done an unbelievable job of leading a young secondary. If things go wrong here and there, he takes it upon himself to bring the group up, and he lets them know that's unacceptable and the standards are higher.
"He is the leader of our group," Lake added. "By far, he's the leader of our secondary."
For McIntosh, it is a role he relishes because it means mentoring a group of fellow defensive backs he holds dear.
"Being in that (defensive back) room is just amazing," he said. "It just feels really good, knowing you're a DB at the University of Washington."
Though his proper name is Joseph McIntosh, his mother Sayom McIntosh took to calling him JoJo as a small child. When he first started school, he would write JoJo on his assignments, "so the teachers called me JoJo and then everyone else started calling me JoJo."
These days, he said, "everybody still calls me JoJo. My mother will call me Joe if she's being light-hearted and she calls me Joseph if I'm in trouble."
Sayom McIntosh was born in Cambodia and came to the United States when she was 4 years old, accompanied by her mother, father and five older brothers. The family was escaping that country's Khmer Rouge regime under ruthless dictator Pol Pot.
Fleeing their homeland "was hard for them," McIntosh said, "but they made it here and just made the most out of (life in their new country)."
McIntosh has never been to Cambodia, but has extended family there "and I'd love to go there someday."
You're introduced to JoJo McIntosh, and he greets you with a big smile and a warm handshake. You chat for a time, and then come away thinking he's one of the nicest young men you'd ever hope to meet.
Of course, such a pleasant encounter would never occur on a football field.
On game days of the college season, the usually friendly, usually easygoing McIntosh becomes a relentless, remorseless and absolutely punishing player from his safety position in Washington's defensive secondary. On a team known for big hitters, the 6-foot-1, 219-pound McIntosh still stands out.
"JoJo is a ferocious hitter," confirmed UW defensive back coach Jimmy Lake. "That's the first thing I think of when I think of JoJo McIntosh. Whether he's hitting running backs or hitting receivers, he's a ferocious hitter and a ferocious tackler. He's one of those old-school safeties where (an opponent) better know where No. 14 is back there, or that might be your last play of the game.
"He's a guy you can talk to and he's real nice, but then you see him out there on Saturday and you're like, 'Whoa.'"
Oregon running back Royce Freeman would probably agree. Against Washington a year ago, Freeman caught a second-quarter flat pass and was promptly planted on his backside, courtesy of a particularly violent McIntosh hit. OK, so Freeman was vulnerable because he had no chance, after the reception, to evade the oncoming McIntosh. Still, the crushing tackle was a signature moment in Washington's eventual 70-21 thumping of the Ducks, and it was potent enough that Freeman, a gifted player with NFL potential, went to the sideline for the rest of the game.
"That was a huge moment," Lake said. "For our safety to take out a player – and you don't want anybody to get hurt – but after that hit, (Freeman) didn't come back into the football game."
Moreover, Lake added, the ferocity of the tackle signified that "our will was being forced onto that team. So it was huge."
As a footnote, McIntosh also got the better of Freeman early in the game, wrenching the ball loose after a Freeman carry. UW linebacker Keishawn Bierria fell on the fumble, thwarting a potential Oregon scoring drive.
It has been like this almost from the beginning for McIntosh, now a fourth-year junior. He began making his mark soon after taking the field for the first time as a redshirt freshman in the 2015 opener, and he has appeared in every game since. Going back to last season's opener, McIntosh has started every game except one because he embodies what Lake and UW head coach Chris Petersen demand from their defensive backs.
To play in Washington's secondary, McIntosh explained, "you have to have grit, which is something Coach Lake talks about that all the time. It's about playing with an edge. You're not going to win every play and you might even get knocked down on a play, but you have to get up and tell yourself, 'OK, I'm going to get (the opponent) this next play and I'm going to keep on winning.'
"You can't be scared," he said. "You have to want to go and hit. … Toughness all the time, that's the mindset. And it's the culture of the whole defense, not just in the DB room. Everyone is tough."
McIntosh arrived at Washington in Petersen's inaugural recruiting class of 2014, so the team veterans were holdovers from previous UW head coach Steve Sarkisian. Safety Brian Clay and cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Kevin King were early mentors who "definitely pushed me and brought me up," McIntosh said.
In particular, King had a significant influence on the young McIntosh. "To this day," he said, "I call (King) my brother. When I first got here my locker was right next to his and from then on the two of us have just been like best friends. Even though he played a different position, he was always there to push me and to help me learn my plays. And even with stuff about life outside of football, he was always there for me."
These days McIntosh is particularly close to fellow safeties Taylor Rapp and Ezekiel Turner. And like McIntosh, Rapp and Taylor have a penchant for bone-jarring tackles.
Because McIntosh is now in his fourth season, he is one of the oldest players in what is a relatively young corps of defensive backs. For that reason, Lake sat down with McIntosh in the past offseason and asked him to take a more active leadership role.
On a 2016 team that included NFL-bound defensive backs King, Sidney Jones and Budda Baker, McIntosh "wasn't really asked to do that," Lake said. "But he was asked to do it going into this season, and he's done an unbelievable job of leading a young secondary. If things go wrong here and there, he takes it upon himself to bring the group up, and he lets them know that's unacceptable and the standards are higher.
"He is the leader of our group," Lake added. "By far, he's the leader of our secondary."
For McIntosh, it is a role he relishes because it means mentoring a group of fellow defensive backs he holds dear.
"Being in that (defensive back) room is just amazing," he said. "It just feels really good, knowing you're a DB at the University of Washington."
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