Pernell McPhee (born December 17, 1988) 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 ...

player who was a

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in the

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(NFL). He is currently an assistant coach at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. He played

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for the Mississippi State Bulldogs and was selected by the

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 ...

in the fifth round of the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

. He has also played in the NFL for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

and

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 ...

Early life

Pernell attended Pahokee High School, where he was teammates with Dwight Bentley and Janoris Jenkins. McPhee only played one year of

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 ...

and started on both sides of the ball, playing offensive tackle and defensive end. He registered 75 total tackles, including 35 tackles for loss and 19 quarterback sacks to go along with 12 forced fumbles as a senior. He helped lead Pahokee to a 14–0 record that included a 25–11 win over John Brantley's Ocala Trinity Catholic for the 2006 FHSAA Class 2B State Championship. McPhee was named all-state following that season. In addition to his exploits on the football field, he was also a two-year starter in basketball. He originally signed with the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

out of high school before going the

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

route.

College career

Spent the first two years of his college career at

Itawamba Community College Itawamba Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Fulton, Mississippi. Additional campuses are in Belden and Tupelo. History Itawamba Community College began as an extension of Itawamba County Agricultural Hi ...

in Fulton, Mississippi where he was named an NJCAA All-American as a sophomore, a season in which he led the nation with 13.5 sacks. During his career at ICC, he tallied 124 tackles (92 solo), 32.5 sacks, 73.5 TFL, 47 QB pressures, and 4 FFs in 18 games. In 2019, McPhee was selected to the ICC Athletic Hall of Fame. After completing his two years at ICC he transferred to

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

. He was named to the coaches All-SEC first-team as a senior in 2010 and was named first-team All-SEC as a junior in 2009. He served as a team captain in 2010. During his Bulldogs career, he started all 25 of the games in which he appeared and totaled 91 tackles (46 solo), 7 sacks, 22 TFL, 20 QB pressures, 2 FFs, and 4 pass breakups. In 2009, he was twice named the SEC Defensive Lineman of the week.

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens (first stint)

McPhee was selected by the

in the fifth round with the 165th overall pick of the

. McPhee collected 6.0 sacks as a rookie for the Ravens in 2011, plus 23 tackles and a forced fumble while playing in all 16 regular season games. On January 12, 2013, in the AFC Divisional Playoff against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

, McPhee recorded a strip-sack on quarterback

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the In ...

. The Ravens would go on win that game 38–35 in double overtime. On January 20, 2013, in the AFC Championship against the

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, McPhee tipped a pass from quarterback

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that led to an interception by Dannell Ellerbe with 6:49 remaining in regulation. This led to the Ravens winning that game 28–13 and earning a trip to

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...

, where they would defeat the

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by a score of 34–31. McPhee switched from defensive end to outside linebacker for the 2013 season. In the 2014 season, McPhee finished with a career high 7.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

Chicago Bears

On March 10, 2015, McPhee signed a five-year contract with the

. On September 27 on the road at CenturyLink Field, McPhee came up with two back to back sacks in a 0–26 loss to the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

. In the 2015 season, McPhee led the team with 18 quarterback hits. McPhee started the 2016 season on the PUP list with a knee injury. He was activated to the active roster on October 20, 2016. In 2017, McPhee played in 13 games with five starts before suffering a shoulder injury in Week 15. He was placed on injured reserve on December 20, 2017. On February 26, 2018, McPhee was released.

Washington Redskins

On March 26, 2018 McPhee signed a one-year, $1.8 million contract with the

Baltimore Ravens (second stint)

On May 17, 2019, McPhee signed with the Ravens. He was placed on injured reserve on October 21, 2019, with a triceps injury. On May 12, 2020, McPhee re-signed with the Ravens. He was placed on the reserve/

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list by the team on November 24, 2020 and activated on December 4, 2020. On March 16, 2021, McPhee signed a one-year contract extension with the Ravens. On November 20, 2021, McPhee was 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 ...

with an knee injury. He was activated on December 20, 2021.

Coaching career

In March 2024, McPhee was hired by the University of Michigan as an assistant football coach, coaching under his former defensive coordinator while at the Baltimore Ravens, and current Michigan defensive coordinator, Don Martindale.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

Mississippi State Bulldogs bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McPhee, Pernell 1988 births Living people Players of American football from Orlando, Florida American football defensive ends American football linebackers Mississippi State Bulldogs football players Players of American football from Pahokee, Florida Baltimore Ravens players Chicago Bears players Washington Redskins players Pahokee High School alumni Michigan Wolverines football coaches Coaches of American football from Florida