Raleigh McKenzie (born February 8, 1963) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

. During a 16-year football career, he played for four different teams. Raleigh played guard for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

from 1985 to 1994. Nicknamed "Rallo", he played primarily as a reserve during his first season before becoming a vital starter due to injury. He started in each game after that at any of the five positions on the offensive line, but his speciality was center. He played on two Super Bowl Champion teams in 1987 and 1991. He was named to the All-NFL Team in 1991. He also played for the Philadelphia Eagles, San Diego Chargers, and Green Bay Packers. McKenzie attended

Austin-East High School Austin-East High School, also known as Austin-East Magnet High School, is a public high school in Knoxville, Tennessee, operated by Knox County Schools. The school includes a magnet school program in performing arts. History Austin-East is the ...

in Knoxville, where he and his identical twin brother Reggie played both at

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

and on the offensive line (future Raiders Director of Player Personnel Joey Clinkscales was among their teammates). Raleigh was named the 11th-best recruit in Tennessee by the '' Knoxville News Sentinel'' following his senior year. The McKenzie brothers played for the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

from 1981 to 1984. Both played linebacker as freshmen, but Raleigh switched to center during his sophomore season. Playing alongside All-American Bill Mayo and future NFL lineman

Bruce Wilkerson Bruce Alan Wilkerson (born July 28, 1964) is a former American football player who played offensive tackle for three National Football League (NFL) teams from 1987 to 1997. He started in Super Bowl XXXI for the Green Bay Packers. Wilkerson pla ...

, McKenzie anchored a line that helped running back

Johnnie Jones Johnnie Henry Jones (born June 30, 1962) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Though drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in 1985, injuries prev ...

set school records for rushing in 1984. McKenzie's position coach was future Vol head coach Phillip Fulmer.1984 Tennessee Squad
" ''1984 Tennessee Volunteers Football Guide'' (University of Tennessee, 1984), p. 55. In September 2011, the McKenzie brothers were honored as UT "Legends of the Game" during the Vols' game against

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. McKenzie joined the Redskins for training camp in 2001 assisting the personnel department. He also ran summer football camp. Before joining his brother in Oakland, Raleigh was an assistant football coach at

Herndon High School Herndon High School is a fully accredited four year public high school in Herndon, Virginia, United States. Herndon serves grades 9-12 and is a part of the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) system. Herndon High School serves the town of He ...

in Virginia.John Painter,
Catching Up: Raleigh and Reggie McKenzie
" UTSports.com, September 9, 2011. Retrieved: August 2, 2013. When his brother Reggie was hired as the general manager of the Oakland Raiders, Raleigh joined the team as a scout. After Reggie was fired in late 2018, Raleigh stayed on until after the 2019 NFL Draft, when new general manager Mike Mayock announced Raleigh would not be retained. Both brothers are members of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenzie, Raleigh 1963 births Living people American football offensive guards American football centers Tennessee Volunteers football players American twins Washington Redskins players Philadelphia Eagles players San Diego Chargers players Green Bay Packers players Twin sportspeople Players of American football from Knoxville, Tennessee