Picture the scene. Eoghan McLaughlin rampaging up the field from the Mayo half-back line.
For the player himself he could today be on a bike, perhaps competing in one of the grand tours. A different form of putting the foot to the pedal, or going up one of those punishing hills.
McLaughlin was a former All-Ireland junior cyclist. Football, in a serious way, would come later.
On the transition, he told RTÉ in 2021: "My first year in the International Junior Tour of Ireland in Ennis, I won the mountain jersey. I was delighted. I got full mountain points on the Corkscrew Hill, but I think there is a climb that's ten times worse, Castle Hill, just outside Doolin.
"I did the junior tour the following year as well. I put my eggs all in one basket and tried to get the yellow jersey, but I didn't get it. I had the polka-dot jersey for four days of the tour, but I lost it on the fifth day.
"Starting to play football, I don’t know if cycling has or it hasn’t helped me. I was a climber so my main objective was to have a big power output, but to be as light as I could to get up the hills as fast as possible.
"When I started playing football I was standing on the scales I was putting on muscle. I was thinking 'Oh gosh. What’s happening. I need to lose this’.
"It took me a while to understand that you need to put on a bit more weight for football. I wasn’t even going to get round a Junior B game at 65 kilos. I’d be nearly 84 kilos now."
After travelling up with some of the Mayo lads for the All-Ireland quarter-final against Roscommon in August 2017, McLaughlin was encouraged to give football another go. Going pro' as a cyclist was no longer an option.
He went back training with his club Westport.
"The first training session was hard. Oh my God, I was in an Epsom salt bath for an hour after it," McLaughlin recalled.
"It was different muscles being used. I couldn’t walk after it. When I started going regularly, it took me a year to get used to it. I was crippled after every training session."
In 2017, Westport would go on to a win a Mayo intermediate title. His brother Oisín was on the team; some of the lads he grew up with were on the team. Eoghan McLaughlin now wanted to be on the team. Five years on and Westport were Mayo senior champions.
McLaughlin was part of the success, although a patella tendon knee injury meant he missed some of the campaign. A reoccurrence of that injury saw the 22-year-old miss UL's victory over UCC in the opening round of this year's Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup on Wednesday evening.
Speaking at the launch of the Electric Ireland HEC & Camogie Third Level competitions, McLaughlin spoke more about the transition to a flying wing-back on the Gaelic fields.
"I came in and had to learn the game from scratch, the fundamental skills of it. You'd be using lots of different muscles, and my body used to be in bits after training sessions. Nutrition-wise as well, it was slightly different. But look, I had some really supportive people around me, and they helped with the transition.
"I did so many sports when I was younger so I was always kept quite fit from doing them sports. So possibly, that has helped me in my football."
McLaughlin’s debut county season in 2020 ended with an All-Star nomination and a defeat to Dublin in the All-Ireland final. In 2021, Mayo got to another Sam Maguire decider, but in the famous semi-final win over the Dubs a collision with John Small saw McLaughlin sustain a double jaw fracture.
In a league game against Monaghan last February, he jammed his foot in the turf.
More time on the sidelines.
It's a more upbeat assessment now: "I missed most of the League campaign in 2022, and it was frustrating, but thank God I was back for the important stages of the year which was the championship. I'll be okay next week."
Back then to help UL try and go one better than last year in the Sigerson Cup.
"This is my third year playing Sigerson, my final year with UL. It’s a great competition. I love playing in it.
"We’ve the same management team as last year and the previous year as well which is great. Last year [against NUIG in the final] we felt we left it behind us. I’m lucky to get another crack at it this year.
"It’s obviously in the back of your head that you want to go on and win it but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. For the time being we’re going to take it week-by-week and game-by-game."
For Mayo it's now a new regime, headed by Kevin McStay.
"I was really delighted when Kevin and his backroom team got the job," McLaughlin said of the appointment.
"I was so excited, couldn't wait to get started. He has put a huge emphasis on nailing the pre-season period, preparing and focusing for the first round of the league, Things are going really well for us so far. A number of new lads are now involved to go with the experienced guys. Exciting times over the next few weeks with the first round of the league kicking off.
Kevin has changed things a little bit; a new culture. And then you have the experienced team around him in Stephen Rochford, Donie Buckley, Liam McHale and Damien Mulligan. Going to training every night is great, trying to improve, trying to get better.
One player who will not be donning the county colours anymore is Lee Keegan, with the five-time All Star announcing his retirement earlier this week.
In paying tribute, Keegan's Westport colleague said: "Leeroy is a role model to me and obviously a few of my younger team-mates and a lot of young people around Ireland. It was difficult to see him hang up the green and red jersey. Thank God, I get to go back and play with him in the club, so I'm lucky in that sense.
"We’ve a lot of the same characteristics and strengths on the pitch. Growing up, watching Mayo football, and because Leeroy was from Westport, he inspired me a lot and was a role model for me. A bit of my game is definitely tailored to his.
"He’s a great teammate. He’d always be giving you little tips and tricks in training and pulling you aside and giving you advice. He’d be very encouraging and you’d feel very empowered by him if that makes sense.
"I’ve played with him and with Mayo now for the last three years and he just came to training every night willing to work. Just talking to more of my older teammates, he hasn’t changed since the day he walked into the dressing room. He just has a desire to win at all costs. He trains really hard. He trains like he plays."
