Darnerien Richard McCants (born August 1, 1978) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. He was selected by 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

in the fifth round of the

2001 NFL draft The 2001 NFL draft was the 66th draft annual of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at the Th ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Delaware State Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a privately governed, state-assisted historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The un ...

. McCants played 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

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 (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

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

and

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: ''Les Alouettes de Montréal'') are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has disbanded twice and been re-established thrice. The Alouettes compe ...

Early life

As a senior at

Arundel High School Arundel High School is a public high school located in Gambrills, Maryland, a suburb of Anne Arundel County. The school is part of the Anne Arundel County Public School system, and is the primary high school for Gambrills and portions of the ...

Gambrills, Maryland Gambrills refers to two neighboring places in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States, located in the Annapolis metro area: the unincorporated community of Gambrills, and the Gambrills census-designated place (CDP). The area was named after ...

, McCants was an All-State, All-County and All-Metro selection in one season of organized

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

. He led his teams to county and regional championships. McCants was also a state champion in the high jump. McCants previously played one year of JV football at

Oakland Mills High School Oakland Mills High School was established in 1973 as one of the first high schools to serve the planned community of Columbia, Maryland, established by James Rouse and his company, The Rouse Company in 1967 in Howard County, midway between Balt ...

Columbia, Maryland Columbia is a planned community in Howard County, Maryland, United States, consisting of 10 self-contained villages. With a population of 104,681 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the second-most-populous community in Maryland ...

before transferring to Arundel. He spent his freshman year at

Wilde Lake High School Wilde Lake High School is a secondary school located at the village of Wilde Lake in Columbia, Maryland, Columbia, Maryland, United States. It is one of the 13 public high schools in Howard County, Maryland, Howard County. The school is central ...

College career

Delaware State University Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a Statutory college#Outside New York State, privately governed, state-assisted Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Land-grant university, land-grant research universi ...

, McCants played his best season as a senior, at

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

, tallying career-highs of 36 catches, 692 receiving yards and 18

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. His touchdown total set Delaware State and

MEAC The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern and the Mid-Atlantic United States. It participates in the Nation ...

records, and was No. 1 in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Sponsored by the National Collegiate A ...

Professional career

Washington Redskins

McCants was selected by the

in the fifth round of the

. After showing promise as an

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on the opposite side of the field ...

threat in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, He fell out of favor with the new coaching staff and spent much of

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

on the inactive list. He was released after the 2004 season.

Philadelphia Eagles

Before the 2005 season McCants signed with the

. When active in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, he primarily played on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. He was released prior to the 2006 season.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

On July 11, 2007, McCants was signed by the

with whom he played three games.

Team Tennessee

On January 26, 2008, he was selected 38th overall by

Team Tennessee The All American Football League (AAFL) was a proposed professional American football minor league. The league, which was to combine a professional pay structure with the requirement that all players be college graduates, had originally been sche ...

in the

2008 AAFL Draft The 2008 All American Football League draft took place in Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia ...

Baltimore Ravens

On July 25, 2008, McCants signed with the

. He was later released on August 26.

Montreal Alouettes

On December 18, 2008, McCants signed with the

. He was released by the Alouettes on March 17, 2009.

NFL career statistics

Music career

Outside of football, Darnerien is an R&B singer, signed by the record label MacVizion LLC. McCants says his music is inspired by artists such as R. Kelly and Michael Jackson.

Coaching

McCants worked as a personal trainer upon retiring from football in 2009. McCants lives in Ashburn, Virginia and prior to 2019 he coached there at both

Briar Woods High School Briar Woods High School is a public secondary school located in Ashburn, an unincorporated area in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States, and is part of Loudoun County Public Schools. The school serves students who live in the Broadlands, Bra ...

and

Rock Ridge High School Rock Ridge High School is a public secondary school in Ashburn, Loudoun County, Virginia. The school is part of the Loudoun County Public Schools system. It is currently the fourth newest high school in the school system. Rock Ridge's student ...

for six years. In 2019 McCants became a jumping coach for the track team at

which he had attended as a freshman. In September 2021, he was listed as Wilde Lake's head coach for cross country and boys indoor track, as well as assistant coach for boys outdoor track. McCants has expressed the intent to become an educator, having majored in education at Delaware State. In 2020, he started the nonprofit Finding Me Foundation which seeks to combat juvenile delinquency by introducing children to reading. In 2017 and 2019, McCants played in the biennial Congressional Football Game for Charity, an event featuring members of Congress and former NFL players playing against

Capitol Police Capitol police in the United States are agencies charged with the provision of security police services for various state agencies, but especially state legislatures. Capitol police may function as part of the state police or may be an independe ...

officers to benefit the Capitol Police Memorial Fund, Our Military Kids and A Advantage 4 Kids.

References

External links

Just Sports StatsOfficial Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCants, Darnerien 1978 births Living people American football wide receivers Baltimore Ravens players Canadian football wide receivers Delaware State Hornets football players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Montreal Alouettes players People from Gambrills, Maryland People from Odenton, Maryland Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from Anne Arundel County, Maryland Washington Redskins players Players of Canadian football from Maryland