Rattlers kicker Shane McInerney left Ireland and soccer to chase his NFL dream

When COVID-19 hit in 2020, Shane McInerney was in his native Ireland, playing professional soccer. That shut down his season, and prompted him to seek another ball to kick.

He said he bought himself an NFL football and a stick that holds the ball and started driving the ball on a field. Over and over and over.

McInerney, who is from Galway, Ireland, came to the United States, found a football scholarship at Peru State in Nebraska, and thought maybe he'd get taken in the NFL draft at the age of 30. That didn't happen.

So here he is in Phoenix, four games into his Indoor Football League with the Rattlers and, after a shaky start, has nailed every extra point. He has made 31 of 33 tries, and know he'll have to be spot on Sunday when the Rattlers (9-4) face their toughest opponent of the season, the 9-3 Massachusetts Pirates, at 3 p.m. at Footprint Center in a rematch of the IFL championship game two years ago.

The Rattlers lost that game in overtime. This marks the first time the teams meet up in Phoenix since then.

McInerney was picked up by the Rattlers after Craig Peterson suffered an injury. Coach Kevin Guy said he came from a recommendation of the Vegas Knight Hawks coach, who also was looking at McInerney to kick for them.

Built like a defensive end, he calls himself an NFL prospect on his Twitter handle.

For now, he's trying to not miss an extra point as the Rattlers try for their seventh consecutive win and clinch a first-round game at home for the playoffs.

"I was really focused on my soccer career," McInerney said. "I thought I was going to finish off my soccer career until I was 33 or 34. Then, during lockdown in COVID, I was out of contract in soccer. I figured I'd try something else.

"I came back to America, in Chicago, and started working with a kicking coach there. Went to college on a full scholarship in Nebraska. I've made a lot of progress since then."

He started this season in the National Arena League with the Orlando Predators of the former Arena Football League. He did well there. He said he had interested from both Vegas and the Rattlers this season.

"They brought me in here and I've really enjoyed it so far," McInerney said. "It's a top organization."

After missing a couple of extra points in the first half of his Rattlers debut, he hasn't missed.

"My biggest strength is my mental strength, my mentality," McInerney said. "I usually bounce quick from a miss. You've got to move on to the next one."

He wants to help the Rattlers win the IFL championship, but his goal he said is to kick in the NFL.

"I just have to keep coming out here one day at a time, one week at a time and hopefully perform well," he said. "But, yeah, my end goal is to end up in the NFL."

IFL final rematch

This will be the toughest game of the year for the Rattlers. Coach Kevin Guy let his team know that in practice this week.

He has noticed that the Pirates are adding pieces they had from their championship year in 2021. Quarterback Alejandro Bennifield returned to action in last week's win over Bay Area. He keyed the Pirates' title season. Nose guard Ezekiel Rose recently joined the team. He dominated the defensive front in the final three games of the 2021 IFL championship season.

Guy feels the Pirates are comparable to the team his Rattlers faced in the championship game two years ago. The Pirates have won their last five games, the Rattlers their last six.

"They are very talented from top to bottom," Guy said. "Again, this is going to be the best team we've played this year. We have to be in the right mindset. We have to be ready to play.

"We need Rattler Nation in full force to win out this year."

The Rattlers have a bye next week, before closing out the regular season July 15 at Footprint Center against Northern Arizona.

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter@azc_obert

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Rattlers kicker McInerney left Ireland and soccer to chase his NFL dream