Christopher James McAlister (born June 14, 1977) is a former American college and professional football player who was a

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

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 eleven seasons. He played college football for the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, and was recognized as an All-American. He was drafted by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

in the first round of the 1999 NFL Draft, and played for the Ravens for ten seasons before playing his final season with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

Early years

McAlister was born in Pasadena, California, and attended Pasadena High School. As a

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

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 ...

, he threw for 1,153 yards and rushed for 1,302 yards and also returned three punts and two interceptions for

touchdowns 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 Amer ...

. He won the conference player of the year and California's Most Valuable Player award in his senior year. McAlister also played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and, under Coach Bill Duwe, won the CIF championship in 1995. He also

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

in track. Pasadena High School retired his football jersey No. 9 in 2001.

College career

McAlister originally committed to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, where his father James was a star running back in the 1972-73 seasons. McAllister went to Mt. San Antonio College before transferring to the

and playing for the Arizona Wildcats football team from 1996 to 1998. He had an illustrious career at Arizona where he won unanimous

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

first-team honors and was a first-team All- Pac-10 selection for 3 straight seasons. He is only the 7th player in college football history (1st in Arizona history) to return a kickoff, punt and

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team ...

for touchdowns in the same season. His 18 interceptions at the end of his Arizona career ranked 3rd on the school's career-record chart behind

Chuck Cecil Charles Douglas "Chuck" Cecil (born November 8, 1964) is an American football coach and former player in the National Football League (NFL). He is currently the safeties coach at the University of Arizona in Tucson, his alma mater. He previously ...

and

Jackie Wallace Jackie Wallace (born March 13, 1951) is a former American college and professional football cornerback. He played college football at the University of Arizona from 1970 through 1972 and in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota V ...

Professional career

Pre-draft

McAlister, at 205 pounds, ran a 4.53 second 40-yard dash, 4.08 second 20-yard shuttle, 6.90 3-cone drill, and had a vertical jump of 38 inches at the 1999

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 Foo ...

Baltimore Ravens

The

selected Chris McAlister in the first round of the 1999 NFL Draft, as the tenth overall pick. McAlister had a solid rookie season in which he recorded 47 tackles (45 solo), 5 interceptions, and 16 passes deflected. He made his NFL debut at the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

on September 12, 1999. At season's end, he was named to College & Pro Football Newsweekly's 1999 All-Rookie Team. McAlister had another solid season in 2000 as the Ravens won the Super Bowl and he had a key interception in

Super Bowl XXXV Super Bowl XXXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

against the New York Giants. During the regular season, he also intercepted New York Jets and former

Vinny Testaverde Vincent Frank Testaverde Sr. (; born November 13, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons. He played college football at Miami, where he was an All-American and won the H ...

and returned it 98 yards for a touchdown. McAlister set an NFL record for the longest play when he returned a missed field goal 107 yards for a touchdown during

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, A ...

against the

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 headquar ...

on September 30, 2002. This record was later broken by Nathan Vasher on a 108-yard field goal return, tied by

Devin Hester Devin Devorris Hester Sr. (born November 4, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). He is widely regarded as the greatest return specialist i ...

and eventually broken again by

Antonio Cromartie Antonio Cromartie (born April 15, 1984) is a former American football cornerback and current cornerback coach for the Texas A&M Aggies football team. He played college football at Florida State and was drafted in the first round by the San Diego ...

on a 109-yard field goal return in 2007. McAlister earned his first

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

selection in 2003. He had 43 tackles. McAlister also intercepted three passes for 93 yards. That included an 83-yard run for a score. In 2004, McAlister signed a 7-year, $55 million contract. Ravens vs Steelers 2008 MNF 3

McAlister had arguably the best season of his career in 2006. He had two touchdowns that year and made his third Pro Bowl. But his last two seasons in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

were marked by injuries and inconsistent play. In 2008, in 5 starts before being put on Injured Reserve, he did however amass 16 tackles, 3 INTs and 1 fumble recovery, showing some of his old form. Chris McAlister had his contract terminated by the

on February 16, 2009.

New Orleans Saints

On November 17, 2009, McAlister signed with the

. In a December 6 game at 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 ...

, McAlister forced a fumble in overtime, which started the drive resulting in a game-winning field goal for

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. However, he was released on December 8, just two months before the Saints would go on to win

Super Bowl XLIV Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champions New Orleans Saints and the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Indianapolis Colts to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

. McAlister finished 2009 with 4 tackles and the forced fumble.

NFL statistics

Personal life

Chris McAlister's father James McAlister also played in the NFL, in three seasons for the New England Patriots and

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 play ...

during the 1970s. McAlister is divorced and has one daughter.The book on … Chris McAlister
'' Sporting News'', November 23, 1998. McAlister was married for three months.

References

External links

Baltimore Ravens bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McAlister, Chris 1977 births Living people All-American college football players American Conference Pro Bowl players American football cornerbacks Arizona Wildcats football players Baltimore Ravens players Mt. SAC Mounties football players New Orleans Saints players Players of American football from Pasadena, California Pasadena High School (California) alumni