Zechariah McPhearson ( ; born March 21, 1998) is an

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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

for 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 ...

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). 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 ...

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

Early life and education

Zech McPhearson was born on March 21, 1998, 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 ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. He went to Riverdale Baptist High School. He went to two colleges,

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...

and

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

. After two seasons with Penn State where he played a combined 9 games, and had 14 tackles, he transferred to Texas Tech. With the Red Raiders, he played and started all 12 games in his junior year. He had 51 tackles (42 solo) with them that year. He also had two blocked kicks. In his senior season, he appeared in all 10 games, starting 9, and had 53 tackles. He had at least two tackles in all 10 games and had four interceptions in the season. He was named First-team All- Big 12 by the conference coaches,

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

and the Phil Steele Magazine. He was named third-team All-American by Pro Football Focus and was named First-team All-Texas by Dave Campbell's Texas Football.

Professional career

McPhearson was drafted in the fourth round with the 123rd pick in the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...

by the

. He signed his four-year rookie contract with Philadelphia on June 3, 2021. In Week 1 of the 2022 season, McPhearson was named

NFC NFC may refer to: Psychology * Need for cognition, in psychology * Need for closure, social psychological term Sports * NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game * NCAA Football Championship (Philippines) * Nati ...

Special Teams Player of the Week, after he made 2 special teams tackles and recovered a surprise onside kick attempt in a 38–35 win over the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. He is the first Eagle to receive the award since

Jake Elliott Jake Daniel Elliott (born January 21, 1995) is an American football placekicker for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Memphis Tigers football, Memphis. He was part of the Eagles' Super Bo ...

in 2021. During a preseason game against Cleveland in 2023, McPhearson suffered a torn Achilles which ended his season. He was

waived/injured The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see ''Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

on August 19, 2023, and placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

Personal life

McPhearson's family has a history of playing sports. His father, Gerrick, earned a tryout for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

as a defensive back in 1988, and his mother, Kim, played in the

National Women's Football League The National Women's Football League (NWFL) was a women's American football league that operated from 1974 to 1988. Background The first attempts to formalize women's gridiron football came about during the 1960s when Sid Friedman, an entrepren ...

. His older brother Gerrick played for 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. ...

. His older brother Derrick played football at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

, then spend some time with the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

organization. Emmanuel played football at 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 ...

. Jeremiah played at IUP. Joshua played football at Penn State. Matthew was a 4th round draft pick out of high school to the

Arizona Diamondback The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

organization. His sister Kimberly plays collegiate soccer.

References

External links

Penn State Nittany Lions bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McPhearson, Zech Living people 1998 births Texas Tech Red Raiders football players Sportspeople from Columbia, Maryland Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from Maryland Penn State Nittany Lions football players American football cornerbacks