Stephen Richard McGee (born September 27, 1985) 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 with ...
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
in 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) for the
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 ...
. He also was a member of the
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...
in 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 ...
(CFL). He was drafted by the Cowboys in the fourth round of the
2009 NFL Draft. 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
Texas A&M
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
.
Early years
McGee attended
Burnet High School
Burnet High School is a public high school located in Burnet, Texas, USA, and classified as a 4A school by the UIL. It is part of the Burnet Consolidated Independent School District located in central Burnet County. In 2015, the school was rated ...
. As a sophomore, he was named the starter at
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
. One of his teammates was future
NFL wide receiver Jordan Shipley
Jordan Shipley (born December 23, 1985) is a former American football wide receiver. Shipley played college football for the University of Texas, and received consensus All-American recognition. He was picked by the Cincinnati Bengals in the t ...
. He led his team to a 28-2 mark and back-to-back
Class 3A state title games in his last 2 years, while being a two-time All-state and a three-time All-district selection.
As a junior, he suffered a torn medial collateral ligament against top-ranked
Sinton High School in the first half of the state quarterfinals. The next week, he still played against
Jasper High School, helping the team score 35 first-half points.
As a senior, he completed 196 of 313 passes (62.6%) for 3,579 yards, with 47 touchdowns and three interceptions (none in the regular season). He was named the
Class 3A Offensive Most Valuable Player. He finished his high-school career with a 36-5 record, 8,256 passing yards, and a 3A state-record 101 passing touchdowns.
In
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 ...
, he received all-district honors as a sophomore, but was not able to play as a junior because of his knee injury. He also competed in
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
, advancing to the regional meet with the 400- and 1,600-meter relays. A straight-A student, McGee was Burnet's best student athlete and graduated 9th in his senior class of over 250 and a semester early.
College career
2005 season
After
redshirting the 2004 season, he made his debut as an Aggie against
SMU, compiling 3 of 3 passes for 56 yards in a 66–8 victory. He continued to play as a backup to starter
Reggie McNeal
Reginald Parrish McNeal (born September 20, 1983) is a former professional American football player. He played five seasons in the Canadian Football League. He played college football at Texas A&M University.
High school career
McNeal attended ...
in the games against Colorado, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma. He took over the starting role for the final two games of the season, due to a sprained ankle injury suffered by McNeal. In those two contests, McGee rushed for 175 yards on 34 carries (5.1 per carry) and completed 9 of 29 passes for 83 yards, while leading the Aggies to 10 scoring opportunities on 19 drives. During the final matchup against Texas, McGee outrushed Texas quarterback
Vince Young
Vincent Paul Young Jr. (born May 18, 1983) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. Young was drafted by the Tennessee Titans as the third overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, and ...
108 yards to 19, but the Aggies lost 29–40.
For the season, McGee recorded 24 of 53 passes for 283 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in eight games. He rushed for 235 yards and two touchdowns on 43 carries (5.5-yard avg.).
2006 season
McGee was sidelined most of fall camp with a torn muscle in his throwing arm. He still managed to start all 13 games, leading the team to a 9–4 record. He led the Aggies to a 12-7 victory over rival
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
with a rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter. The victory contributed to end the hopes of the
Texas team winning back-to-back
Big 12 Conference championship and a third consecutive
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of American college football, including ...
berth.
He set the A&M single-season completion record of 62%, registering 2,295 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, and two interceptions on 194 of 313 attempts, while starting all 13 games.
2007 season
In June 2007, McGee appeared on the cover of ''
Dave Campbell's Texas Football
''Dave Campbell's Texas Football'' is a biannual magazine previewing American football teams in the state of Texas.
It previews football teams in Texas at all levels, from the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans, college football, to the r ...
'', alongside
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
quarterback
Colt McCoy
Daniel "Colt" McCoy (born September 5, 1986) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas, where he won several awards and honors as a senior in 2009. McC ...
and
TCU defensive end
Tommy Blake
Tommy Earl Blake, Jr. (born January 15, 1985) is a former American football defensive end who played college football at Texas Christian University.
Early life
Blake grew up in a tiny town in Texas. At just 10 months old his mother died of pn ...
.
On October 20, he was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for 167 yards on 35 carries against
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
. McGee passed for a career-high of 362 yards in the 2007 Texas game, leading his team to a second consecutive victory over the Longhorns.
McGee contributed to 62% of the team's total offensive yards (3,210 yards). He started all 13 games, completing 211 of 364 passes (58.0%) for 2,311 yards, with 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He led all Big 12 quarterbacks in rushing with 899 yards on 181 attempts, while also scoring fie rushing touchdowns and posting four 100-plus-yard rushing games. He was one of only three quarterbacks in the nation to throw for over 2,300 yards and rush for over 875 yards.
2008 season
McGee came into A&M as a highly regarded passing quarterback, though he was forced to play in an
option offense
An option offense is an American football offensive system in which a key player (usually the quarterback) has several "options" of how each play will proceed based upon the actions of the defense. Traditionally, option-based offenses rely on ru ...
for three years under head coach
Dennis Franchione
Dennis Wayne Franchione (born March 28, 1951), also known as Coach Fran, is a retired American football coach. He is the former head football coach at Texas State University, a position he held from 1990 to 1991, when the school w ...
. When
Mike Sherman
Michael Francis Sherman (born December 19, 1954) is an American gridiron football coach and former player who most recently was the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was the head coach of the Green B ...
took over as the new head coach, the expectation became that he could thrive in a professional-style offense. He competed for the starting job with sophomore
Jerrod Johnson
Jerrod Terrel Johnson (born July 27, 1988) is a former American football quarterback and current coach who is the quarterbacks coach with the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). After previously working for the Vikings in an ...
, who was moved to
wide receiver. McGee was named the starter for the season opener against
Arkansas State
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage l ...
, but the Aggies lost 14-18.
In the second game against the
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
, McGee suffered a sprained right shoulder on the opening series and Johnson replaced him for the rest of the contest, completing 10 of 19 for 124 yards and three touchdowns. In the following game against Army, McGee reaggravated his shoulder injury during the second quarter and likewise had to sit out for the rest of the contest, watching Johnson lead the team to a 21-17 victory.
McGee did not see action in the following two games against Oklahoma State and Kansas State. In the Texas Tech game, he entered the field for one play, which he used to throw a 3-yard touchdown.
Afterwards, he did not play in the victories against Iowa State and Colorado. He saw action in the home matchup against Oklahoma, which also happened to be Senior Day. He finished the game completing 10 of 19 passes for 82 yards. The Aggies lost to the Sooners 66–28.
In the season finale against the University of Texas, he entered the game late in the first quarter in relief of Johnson, to lead the team with 207 yards on 16 of 24 completions. He also had three rushing attempts for a negative 20 yards in a 49–9 loss. During the season, he completed 56 of 85 passes (65.9%) for 586 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, despite being limited by a right shoulder injury that forced him to see action in only six games with three starts. He became the fifth quarterback in school history to surpass 5,000 career passing yards.
He finished his college career with 485 of 815 completions for a 59.5% average (school record), 5,475 passing yards (fourth in school history), 7,225 total yards (second in school history), 1,750 rushing yards (third in school history by a quarterback), and 11 rushing touchdowns.
At the end of the year, McGee was named the 2008 winner of the
Fellowship of Christian Athletes
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international non-profit Christian sports ministry founded in 1954 and based in Kansas City, Missouri. It has staff offices located throughout the United States and abroad.
History
FCA was found ...
'
National Bobby Bowden Award, which recognizes the "student athlete who conducts himself as a faith model in the community, in the classroom, and on the field".
On January 17, 2009, McGee shared the quarterback position with
Tom Brandstater
Thomas Brandstater (born October 21, 1984) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. He played college football for the Fresno State Bulldogs. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the sixth round of the 2009 NF ...
for the West team in the
East–West Shrine Game, completing 9 of 14 passes for 128 yards and one touchdown in a 24–19 loss.
College statistics
College awards
*Twice honorable-mention
All-Big 12 (2006, 2007)
*Two-time first-team Academic All-Big 12 (2007, 2008)
*
Bobby Bowden Award winner (2008)
Professional career
Pre-draft
At the 2009
NFL Combine
The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...
, McGee ran a 4.66-second
40-yard dash, which ranked second in his group. He came in fourth after recording 33.0 inches in the
vertical jump
A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...
, and fifth with his 9'4" in the
broad jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...
. He weighed 222 pounds and measured 6-foot-2 at the Texas A&M Pro Day on March 4, 2009.
Dallas Cowboys
McGee was selected by the
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 ...
in the fourth round (101st overall) of the
2009 NFL Draft. He became the first
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
drafted by the Cowboys since
Quincy Carter
LaVonya Quintelle "Quincy" Carter (born October 13, 1977) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Georgia and for the National Football League teams Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets. Outside the NFL, he also was ...
in 2001, and the second since 1991. The Cowboys believed him to be a project, since he was mostly employed as an option quarterback, but had the athletic traits and work ethic to succeed. He signed a four-year deal on July 28. He suffered a sprained right medial cruciate ligament, while throwing his first touchdown in the third preseason game against the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
, forcing him to miss the possibility of considerable playing time in the final preseason contest against the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
. In the regular season, he was the third-string quarterback and was declared inactive in all 16 games and two playoff contests.
In
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, he made his first start in the preseason finale against the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
, leading the Cowboys to a 27–25 victory, while completing 27 of 42 passes for 304 yards, one
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...
, and no interceptions. He began the season as the third-string quarterback and was declared inactive in the first six games. In the sixth game against the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
, starter
Tony Romo
Antonio Ramiro Romo (born April 21, 1980) is an American sportscaster and former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Eastern Illino ...
was lost for the season with a broken left clavicle. McGee was promoted to second-string quarterback behind
Jon Kitna
Jon Kelly Kitna (born September 21, 1972) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Central Washington ...
for the next 9 games. In the Christmas Day game against the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
, McGee replaced the injured Kitna in the second half, and made his first regular-season touchdown pass to
wide receiver Miles Austin
Miles Jonathon Austin III (born June 30, 1984) is an American football coach and former wide receiver who is the wide receivers coach for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played in the NFL for 10 seasons, ...
. The touchdown gave the Cowboys a 26–24 lead with 1:47 remaining, but the Cardinals soon scored a field goal to win 27–26. McGee recorded 11 of 17 passes for 111 yards, no touchdowns, and a quarterback rating of 102.8. In the season finale against the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
, McGee started his first
NFL game. He went 11-of-27 for only 127 yards, and threw a touchdown pass to
tight end
The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...
Jason Witten
Christopher Jason Witten (born May 6, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for 17 seasons, primarily for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Univers ...
with 55 seconds left to give Dallas a 14-13 victory over their divisional rival.
In
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
, Kitna could not recover from a herniated disk problem he suffered in training camp, and McGee was promoted to backup quarterback on December 14. He only saw action in one game, replacing an injured Romo in the Christmas Eve 20–7 loss to the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
, while completing 24 of 38 passes for just 182 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions.
In
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
, Kitna retired in the offseason and the Cowboys signed
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 ...
Kyle Orton
Kyle Raymond Orton (born November 14, 1982) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for Purdue, where he started four straight bowl games. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Dr ...
to a three-year contract with a $5 million signing bonus, to be the backup quarterback behind Romo. In the four preseason games where McGee appeared, he tallied no touchdown passes and one interception, and averaged 6.3 yards per attempt. On September 1, McGee was waived after he never developed into a quality backup, and the Cowboys decided to keep only two quarterbacks on the roster.
Houston Texans
On January 24,
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
, he signed a reserve/future contract with the
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
, joining head coach
Gary Kubiak
Gary Wayne Kubiak (born August 15, 1961) is a former American football coach and quarterback. He served as head coach for the NFL's Houston Texans from 2006 to 2013 and the Denver Broncos from 2015 to 2016 before stepping down from the position ...
, who was also a former
Texas A&M
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
starting quarterback. On August 26, he was released after not being able to beat-second year player
Case Keenum for the third-string quarterback job.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
On September 25,
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
, he signed with the
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons 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 ...
. He was the backup quarterback behind
Henry Burris
Henry Armand Burris Jr. (born June 4, 1975) is a gridiron football coach, former professional quarterback, and a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. He is currently an offensive quality control coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the ...
. In
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, he was the third-string quarterback behind
Zach Collaros
Zachary J. Collaros (born August 27, 1988) is an American professional Canadian football quarterback for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Collaros won the 107th Grey Cup and 108th Grey Cup as the starting quarterba ...
. He was not re-signed after the season.
Personal life
McGee completed his undergraduate coursework in less than four years, receiving a
BBA in
marketing
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...
from
Mays Business School
Mays Business School is the business school at Texas A&M University. The school educates more than 6,400 undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students in accounting, finance, management, management information systems, marketing and supply cha ...
at Texas A&M University in August 2007. He completed his master of science in marketing at Mays in 2008.
[
He enjoys ]hunting
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
. His dream job is to become a professional deer hunter. He is married to wife Britney.
References
External links
Hamilton Tiger-Cats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGee, Stephen
1985 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
American players of Canadian football
Canadian football quarterbacks
Dallas Cowboys players
Hamilton Tiger-Cats players
Houston Texans players
People from Burnet County, Texas
People from Round Rock, Texas
Players of American football from Texas
Texas A&M Aggies football players