Loading ...McKay making visit, says football his first love
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As reported in Tuesday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, receiver Mekale McKay will arrive on Saturday for an official visit to Arkansas and could be a late addition to the 2012 recruiting class.
McKay, 6-6, 190, 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash, of Louisville, (Ky.) Moore, reports having around 16 scholarship offers, including Arkansas, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Louisville and Illinois.
“What I’m looking forward to the most is dealing with the players and getting to know the guys,” said McKay, who cited Coach Bobby Petrino’s receiver friendly offense and his relationship with offensive coordinator Paul Petrino for most of his interest in the Razorbacks. ”Basically seeing how Arkansas plans to use me in the offense. ”
Also a basketball prospect with six scholarship offers, McKay planned to sign to play football with Texas El Paso and play basketball but had a change of heart a few days before national signing day and reopened his recruiting. He plans to play both sports at Arkansas should he ink with the Razorbacks.
“The recruiting started going along and then I knew my first love was football,” said McKay, who reports a 41.5-inch vertical. “I proceeded to get recruited in football and had various offers and then I met Tim Floyd from UTEP . He was good guy and I had a good relationship and I committed and when I committed most of the schools thought of me being strictly a basketball player. That was the wrong image. The football program at Texas-El Paso, I wasn’t as comfortable with them as I was with the basketball program. So I chose to decommit and schools started showing interest.”
McKay, who moved to Louisville from Houston, Texas his freshman year, has narrowed his list down to Arkansas and Ole Miss, whom he has officially visited. What will it take for him to be a Razorback?
“Just me being comfortable with the program” said McKay, who has a 3.0 grade point average and is considering sports broadcasting as his major. “The fans, how they treat the guys. Just the love around the program.”
His love of the game of football started early.
“I’ve been playing football my whole life,” McKay said. “I started out playing quarterback. In little league, I played running back. I wasn’t as tall as everyone. Over a summer or two I just sprouted up. Once I got into the receiver mix, the 40 started to come around and just the exercising drills to stretch your body and after that God just blessed me.”
Moore assistant coach Antoine Horton said McKay soon realized the caliber of prospects signing scholarships to play football at the top colleges and knew he was on that level.
“Playing both sports, he didn’t have the opportunity to go football camps like other kids,” Horton said. “He was playing AAU, a nationally ranked AAU team. Since he was freshman he had been playing AAU ball.”
Horton said McKay turned heads when he recorded a 4.4 in the 40 yard dash during a Nike camp at Ohio State last spring.
“People just didn’t know about him,” Horton said. “Louisville isn’t a highly a highly recruited area for football. So no one really knew about him I had to reach out to a lot of coaches and let them know he was out there.”
Horton, who coaches defensive backs, said McKay played some at cornerback and safety.
“He had tremendous footwork to be that big,” Horton said. “To be a 6-6 guy playing cornerback is unheard of but he can actually play 1-on-1 and he’ll hit you. He made a lot of tackles. A couple of times I put him into the game and soon as he went into the game he got an interception and ran it back for a touchdown on two different occasions and two different years.”
McKay, who had 38 receptions for 894 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior, is a difference maker, according to Horton.
“He’s somebody you need on the football at all times,” Horton said. “As long as he’s in a game he can really take over a game by himself. His junior year he had several catches where he was tripled covered, double covered. He still made the catch.”
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Lets reel this one in! Looks like a diamond in the rough!
6’6″+41.5″=12′ reach. Hello, goal line fade…
This young man WILL be a HOG.
-What will it take for him to be a Razorback?
“Just me being comfortable with the program” said McKay, who has a 3.0 grade point average and is considering sports broadcasting as his major. “The fans, how they treat the guys. Just the love around the program.” -
Nobody shows the love like us HOG fans. We will make him feel welcome & right at home.
GO HOGS GO!!! WPS!!!
Look, this kid can play both receiver and corner as a football player. So in that regard he is just as valuable as Neal, and he could also provide a lot of help for the BB Hogs, and Lord knows, they need help.
I hope he signs this weekend and we forget about Neal.
Hey Richard…does this kid have a twitter account?
@UnoMcKay_D1
If he truly runs a 4.4 and is 6’6″ tall, if he has decent hands and could bulk up to 225 or 230 and keep his speed….that’s a lot of potential folks.
Heck even if he ran a 4.55. A 6’6″ 225 pound receiver with good hands and route running skills is TOUGH!
I think we should grab this kid if we get a chance. Neal seems to be a head case.
reminds me of a player that we recruited from missouri….god what was his name….oh ya it Dorial Green Beckham
Neal to ND. Kinda glad actually, I would rather have McKay!
Kid is a playmaker. Why is the first Im hearing of him?
THIS is who I want to see as a Hog! He will end up the steal of the 2012 recruiting season!
We don’t need Neal. He’s another Ahmad Carroll. McKay is the jewel in the making. He’s the guy, I’m telling you.
Even if we don’t get McKay, we will not be hurting for WR. We are in great shape. Do I want him? Heck yes. It’s always good to get really good athletes!
McKay is going to look great in a red helmet with a white hog on the side of it! I can also see him playing basketball. With defensive back mobility and 40 yard speed like that, he must have incredible moves on the court. Let’s sign him.
if mckay had a better qb, he would have put up bigger numbers. he averaged what, 3 receptions a game. and most were jump balls that he had no chance to run after the catch on most. if the above tape is his senior highlights, im willing to bet if you count the receptions in that video, its almost his receiving totals for the year. and they are really bad passes, hes lucky he wasnt seriously injured. what i like are his measurables and his blocking ability and since he got hit on almost every reception, im willing to bet he can catch in traffic.
I hope my gut is right and we land McKay to finish this class. I knew Neal was off the table a few weeks ago, when I read that he had already made up his mind and told the coaches (the school he was choosing at the time)… McKay could turn out to be special, glad we didn’t call it quits for this class yet!
wonder if its possible to use a basketball schollie if we had someone else in mind for our last FB schollie, just a thought.
Hey guys, lets assume that we do get McKay, how would you like to see a game between Arkansas and Notre Dame and watch the 5-9 Neal trying to defend the 6-6 McKay in the passing game from someone like Wilson, Mitchell, or Allen? My money would be on McKay or Hatcher, or any other Arkansas receiver.
You can’t play football on any other schollie.
McKay played some DB in high school too. How would you like to see a 6’6″ 220lb 4.4 safety roaming the middle of the field on defense? At least we could put him in on hail mary situations.
RKV, i didnt realize that, makes sense now. lol
Question RD, other sites list him at 6’4″ while this says 6’6″, which height is he??
He was 6’4 in his junior year. But he was measured last summer and he was just under 6’6 in his bare feet.
He was also laser measured at 4.4 at the Nike camp. So these things have been objectively measured.
I really hope he commits after (or during) his visit.
I’d go with 6’6″, think he’s grown a couple of inches since his Jr. year (the most recent info I’ve found has him at 6’6″). On paper, he seems like a bigger and faster version of Marcus Monk, if that’s the case, lookout end zones.
Is he visiting anywhere else or making his decision after visiting us? Hope he becomes a Razorback! WPS!
Looks like it’s between us and ole piss. He’s already been there. Makes me like our chances….a lot!
I don’t understand why any kid with SEC football talent would want to go to Ole Miss now. It took 3 years for BP to clean up the mess left by HDN. It will take Hugh Freeze a lot longer to pick up the pieces in Oxford. Why would any kid want to play for Ole Miss?
can you say the next.. marcus monk? maybe
He has good ability with the ball as well. W/ some added lbs this kid could flurrish in BPs system. He does have swag with the ball is in his hands.
In 3 years we may look back and see M&M as a more complete player than DGB. He could have better hands than DGB right now because he played AAU and received BB schollie from Tim Floyd. DGB did not have good hands for a highly rated WR. He dropped as many passes as he caught in the all star game. M&M sounds like a better blocker at WR because his coach said he likes to make big hits on defense. RBIs are just as important as HRs
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