Falcons players turn to mom for motivation

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. - As the Falcons grind their way through long days at the facility, practices in the heat and loads of information to digest, a little extra motivation can help. Undrafted defensive lineman Mackendy Cheridor relies on that family feeling -- which, for him, does not feel far away.

"Oh this feels great," said Cheridor. "I'm right at home."

That's because Cheridor played at Georgia State and Columbia High School in Decatur before that. Being close to home keeps him close to his ultimate motivation to be a success -- his mother Julienne Lacouronne.

"I just want to make her happy, so that's going to continue to be my drive," said Cheridor, "and it always will be."

Cheridor says he and his family went through tough times growing up. When he needs a little extra bit of energy, a thought of mom crosses his mind and does the trick.

"Just the struggles she went through to provide for me and my brother," said Cheridor. "Just the sad moments, I keep in my head like a photographic memory. If I know I can't go a certain day, that'll pop up right in my head that I've got to do this for my mom, so one day she can be happy and have no worries."

Plenty of players point to mom as motivation -- including intriguing offensive line prospect Matt Gono. The undrafted big man may have lots of room to improve, as he only has been playing football since high school. That's because he moved to the United States around 4 years old from Liberia.

"I play for my family," said Gono. "My parents came over here during the war, my mom came over here by herself with me and my siblings. When I see how hard [my mom] worked in her life to provide for us, I play for my family," said Gono.

Gono played college football at a small school, Division III Wesley College in Delaware. That puts an extra chip on his shoulder, to show the NFL that you don't have to be from a football powerhouse to have success.

"I play for my school, D-III school, there's not a lot of D-III guys here," said Gono. I'm trying to represent for them and my family, so that's what's driving me."

These two undrafted players are both staying confident as camp grinds on, trying to show coaches they deserve to stick around after roster cuts. Drawing inspiration, be it from family or anywhere, can only help during this month-long job interview.

"I'm going to continue to work and prove to everyone that I can do this," said Cheridor.