Mekale McKay (born August 4, 1993) is a former

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

wide receiver and current Head coach at Marion C. Moore School. He also was a member of the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

, and

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL), the

San Antonio Commanders The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football franchise based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home ga ...

of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...

(AAF), and the

New York Guardians The Orlando Guardians are a professional American football team based in Orlando, Florida. The team was founded by Vince McMahon's Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the XFL. The Guardians played their home games at MetLi ...

of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

before transferring to the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

Early years

Mckay attended

Moore Traditional High School Marion C. Moore is a public middle school and high school located in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. History In 2017, the name of the school was changed from Moore Traditional School to Marion C. Moore School. On November 22, 2019 the Marion ...

, where he played football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. As a junior, he received All-district and All-region honors. As a senior, he posted 38 receptions for 894 yards and 13 touchdowns, receiving All-district and honorable-mention All-state honors.

College career

McKay accepted a football scholarship from the

. As a true freshman, he appeared in 12 games (10 starts), making 21 receptions (tied for fourth on the team) for 317 yards (second on the team) and 2 touchdowns. He transferred to the

after his freshman season. As a sophomore in 2013, he didn't need to sit out the season to comply with the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

transfer rules, because he was granted circumstances of hardship associated with the reason for the transfer. He appeared in 10 games, registering 16 receptions for 485 yards (fourth on the team) and 7 touchdowns. As a junior, he collected 44 receptions (third on the team) for 725 yards (second on the team) and 8 touchdowns. As a senior, he appeared in 11 out of 12 games. He recorded 27 receptions for 507 yards (fourth on the team) and 2 touchdowns. He made 2 receptions for 105 yards (including an 88-yard touchdown) against

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

. He had 4 receptions for 91 yards and one touchdown against the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

. He had 6 receptions for 101 yards against the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

Professional career

NFL

McKay was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

after the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

on May 2. He was waived on September 3. On November 29, he was signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. On January 11, 2017, he was signed by the

to a reserve/future contract. He was cut on May 4. On June 6, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

. He was released on August 31. On December 20, he was signed to the

. On January 1, 2018, he signed a reserve/future contract with the

. He was released on April 19. On May 30, he was signed as a

by the

. He was released on September 1.

San Antonio Commanders (AAF)

On January 4, 2019, he signed with the

of the

. He played with the team in 7 games, until the league ceased operations in April. He had 22 receptions for 375 yards (17-yard avg.) and 4 touchdowns, as well as a 2-point conversion catch.

New York Guardians (XFL)

In October 2019, he was selected by the

in the second round of the phase 1 of the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social m ...

. He was named the starter at wide receiver for the season opener. In March, amid the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the league announced that it would be cancelling the rest of the season. Playing in all 5 games, he registered 12 receptions for 184 yards and one touchdown. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL)

On June 11, 2020, McKay signed with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. After having two leagues he played in shut down in two consecutive years, McKay stated to the Bombers, "What a better spot for me than with a team with a championship pedigree and a young receiving corps?". He did not have a chance to play with the team after the CFL announced on August 17, that the 2020 season had been cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Canada The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). Most cases over the course of the pandemic have been in Ontario, Que ...

, ongoing restrictions on public gatherings, and the league's inability to secure federal funding to cover the money lost from not having fans in the stands. McKay was placed on the suspended list on July 9, 2021.

References

External links

Cincinnati Bearcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Mekale 1993 births Living people Players of American football from Louisville, Kentucky Players of Canadian football from Louisville, Kentucky High school football coaches in Kentucky American football wide receivers Arkansas Razorbacks football players Cincinnati Bearcats football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Chicago Bears players San Antonio Commanders players New York Guardians players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players