Mekale McKay (born August 4, 1993) 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 ...

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. He is the current head coach at Marion C. Moore School. He was a member of the

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Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

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, and

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of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL), the

San Antonio Commanders The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home games a ...

of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

(AAF), the

New York Guardians New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

of the XFL, and the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). He played

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at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

before transferring to the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

Early life

Mckay attended

Moore Traditional High School Marion C. Moore is a public middle school and high school located in Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United S ...

, where he played football and

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. As a junior, he received All-district and All-region honors. As a senior, he posted 38 receptions for 894 yards and 13 touchdowns, receiving All-district and honorable-mention All-state honors.

College career

McKay accepted a football scholarship from the

. As a true freshman, he appeared in 12 games (10 starts), making 21 receptions (tied for fourth on the team) for 317 yards (second on the team) and 2 touchdowns. He transferred to the

after his freshman season. As a sophomore in 2013, he didn't need to sit out the season to comply with the

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. ...

transfer rules, because he was granted circumstances of hardship associated with the reason for the transfer. He appeared in 10 games, registering 16 receptions for 485 yards (fourth on the team) and 7 touchdowns. As a junior, he collected 44 receptions (third on the team) for 725 yards (second on the team) and 8 touchdowns. As a senior, he appeared in 11 out of 12 games. He recorded 27 receptions for 507 yards (fourth on the team) and 2 touchdowns. He made 2 receptions for 105 yards (including an 88-yard touchdown) against

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

. He had 4 receptions for 91 yards and one touchdown against the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

. He had 6 receptions for 101 yards against the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a Private university, private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church, although it is now nondenominational, and the campus ...

Professional career

NFL

McKay was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

by the

after the

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on May 2. He was waived on September 3. On November 29, he was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. On January 11, 2017, he was signed by the

to a reserve/future contract. He was cut on May 4. On June 6, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

by the

. He was released on August 31. On December 20, he was signed to the

. On January 1, 2018, he signed a reserve/future contract with the

. He was released on April 19. On May 30, he was signed as a

by the

. He was released on September 1.

San Antonio Commanders

On January 4, 2019, he signed with the

of the

. He played with the team in 7 games, until the league ceased operations in April. He had 22 receptions for 375 yards (17-yard avg.) and 4 touchdowns, as well as a 2-point conversion catch.

New York Guardians

In October 2019, he was selected by the

in the second round of the phase 1 of the 2020 XFL Draft. He was named the starter at

for the season opener. In March, amid the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the league announced that it would be cancelling the rest of the season. Playing in all 5 games, he registered 12 receptions for 184 yards and one touchdown. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

On June 11, 2020, McKay signed with the

of the

. After having two leagues he played in shut down in two consecutive years, McKay stated to the Bombers, "What a better spot for me than with a team with a championship pedigree and a young receiving corps?". He did not have a chance to play with the team after the CFL announced on August 17, that the 2020 season had been cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Canada The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Most cases over the course o ...

, ongoing restrictions on public gatherings, and the league's inability to secure federal funding to cover the money lost from not having fans in the stands. McKay was placed on the suspended list on July 9, 2021.

References

External links

Cincinnati Bearcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Mekale 1993 births Living people Players of American football from Louisville, Kentucky Players of Canadian football from Louisville, Kentucky High school football coaches in Kentucky American football wide receivers Arkansas Razorbacks football players Cincinnati Bearcats football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Chicago Bears players San Antonio Commanders players New York Guardians players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Canadian football wide receivers Indianapolis Colts players Denver Broncos players Tennessee Titans players Dallas Cowboys players