COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Stepping into a starting linebacking job at Saint John's University can be a bit daunting.
 
A long list of All-MIAC and All-America picks at the position have come through the Johnnies' program over the years, setting the bar awfully high.
 
But that also means there are usually plenty of veteran leaders around to learn from, and Aiden McMahon spent last season soaking up every lesson he could.
 
The 6-foot-1, 220-pound sophomore was the top backup behind three-time All-MIAC selection Erik Bjork, who led SJU in tackles with 78 a year ago.
 
He said that experience provided him the preparation he needed to be successful when it came time for him to take over the starting job this fall.
 
"There is a lot of pressure when you take over a role like this because there have been so many great guys who've come before you," McMahon said. "But I was able to learn from watching the way guys like Erik and (current senior) Hayden Sanders practiced and played.
 
"I saw the amount of work they put in and it showed me what I needed to do as well."
 
Following that example has certainly paid dividends for the accounting major.
 
McMahon currently boasts a team-best 63 tackles, including 7.5 for a loss, and five sacks. Earlier this week, he was named an All-MIAC first-team selection and his efforts are a big part of why the Johnnies (10-0, 8-0 MIAC) are allowing an average of just 13 points per game heading into their postseason opener against Wisconsin-La Crosse (8-3, 5-2 WIAC) in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs at noon Saturday in Clemens Stadium.
 
"The more you get the chance to play, the better you're going to be, and we've seen that with him this season," said SJU head coach Gary Fasching '81, whose team earned the top seed in the expanded 40-team playoff field and received a bye in the first round last weekend.
 
"The game slows down for you. You're seeing him making plays now that maybe last year he'd have to think about. Now he doesn't have to think. He just reacts. He's also one of the fastest guys on our team. To have a linebacker who's able to outrun most of the opposition is a huge plus."
 
But while he might make it look easy, the path McMahon traveled to get to where he is now has been anything but.
 
He tore his right anterior cruciate ligament midway through his senior season at Maple Grove High School on a kickoff right after halftime of the Crimson's Homecoming game matchup against Wayzata.
 
"I was chasing somebody down and I just cut on it wrong," he recalls.
 
The injury kept him out of action the remainder of that season, and while he was able to play some baseball that spring, it prevented him from seeing action for the Johnnies as a freshman in the fall of 2022 as well.
 
"I don't think you can process something like that right after it happens," he said. "There I was, an 18-year-old who'd been playing sports with my friends since we were little. Then suddenly, I don't get to do that anymore. It was hard to deal with, but remembering there are bigger things in life than sports helped keep me at peace.
 
"I'd been talking to a lot of Division II and even a few Division I schools before the injury happened. But all that stopped afterward. Luckily, my coaches had some connections. I didn't make my visit to Saint John's until February of my senior year. But when I came up here, it felt right. The coaches told me they didn't have any concerns over my knee. They knew I'd eventually get back to full strength and they were willing to wait."
 
Fasching said it's difficult for any player to miss time due to injury, but it's especially hard on a freshman adjusting to life on campus for the first time.
 
Yet he said McMahon never wavered in his resolve.
 
"I always say the physical part of injuries isn't what's most difficult," Fasching said. "It's the mental and emotional part you have to deal with. Everyone wants to be out there, making connections with their teammates. And when you're injured, you can't do that.
 
"But to his credit, he persevered and did everything he needed to do to get himself healthy. He worked really hard and it's paying off for him now."
 
It helped that McMahon was able to draw on advice and encouragement from the rest of his sports-minded family. Older brother Mason was a baseball standout at Wisconsin-La Crosse who went on to pitch briefly for the St. Paul Saints and is now a promotions manager with the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves.
 
Older sister Mannon, meanwhile, was a Division I hockey standout at Minnesota-Duluth who has represented the U.S. nationally. She is now in her rookie season with the Ottawa Charge of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).
 
"I've always looked up to them both," McMahon said. "I saw how hard they each worked in their respective sports and how much time they put into making themselves better. I've definitely gone to both of them for advice at times and that's helped.
 
"But there have also been a lot of things I decided I had to figure out on my own. All three of us are different people and I wanted to chart my own path."
 
Successfully navigating that path made his return to the football field last fall even sweeter. McMahon saw action on special teams in a season-opening win over Trinity (Texas), but eventually worked his way into the linebacking rotation, finishing the season with 29 tackles, including six for a loss, 3.5 sacks and one forced fumble.
 
"One of the biggest things I took away from getting injured was being grateful for every moment you have to play football," he said. "I saw how quickly it can be taken away from you. So you need to make every chance you get to be on the field count."
 
He's continued doing that as a full-time starter this season. He had nine tackles and two sacks in a big 35-13 nonconference win over Wartburg in week two, then recorded 13 tackles in his team's dramatic 38-31 MIAC victory at Concordia on Oct. 12.
 
He added 11 tackles in a 34-0 Family Weekend win over Gustavus Adolphus on Oct. 26 at Clemens Stadium, then notched nine tackles and a sack as the Johnnies outlasted Bethel 41-33 in the MIAC Championship Game Nov. 16 in Collegeville.
 
Now McMahon is hoping to continue that success in the postseason.
 
"Of course, the end goal is winning a national championship," he said. "At a school with the history this one has, that's always what you're aiming for. But we know that's not easy to do and we have to focus on the next game in front of us.
 
"All 11 guys on this defense know what's expected of us. If we keep doing our jobs, and keep playing physical, we think we can compete with anybody."