MUS star Mckay is No. 5 on Dandy Dozen
Gavin Mckay beat his defender off a slant-and-go route for a 44-yard yard catch against Father Ryan in the DIIAAA quarterfinals on Nov. 13. But he fell awkwardly and the defender landed on top of him. He broke his left collarbone and missed the rest of the postseason.
“It wasn’t anything too bad,” Mckay said. “But I was trying to move my arm and the range of motion wasn’t really there. There were some sharp pains.”
The 6-foot-4, 210 pound senior said that he already had an operation on the collarbone and that he’s feeling better. But he’s still in a sling and said it will take six-to-eight weeks to fully recover.
“Right now I’m just taking it easy even though it feels way better and I can move my arm more,” Mckay said. “I’ve been doing some leg work because I can’t hit the weights, but I should be able to do that early next year. And then I’ll be getting ready for Mizzou.”
Mckay said he plans to sign with Missouri next week. He’s the No. 27 prospect in Tennessee for the Class of 2021 according to the 247Sports composite. His other offers include Memphis, Southern Miss, and Liberty.
He’s No. 5 on the Commercial Appeal Dandy Dozen, a collection of the top college football prospects in the Mid-south as picked by the newspaper.
“In high school, he’s such a mismatch when we play him at wide receiver,” MUS coach Bobby Alston said. “Missouri has him as kind of a tight end, inside guy, H-back kind of guy which if we were just building the thing around Gavin, that’s what he would be.
“But for us, he was an outside threat because you’re not going to find a lot of high school corners that can defend his height and he’s fast enough in high school to play on the outside.”
He played six games this season and caught 15 passes for 216 yards and a pair of touchdowns
His dad, Orlando Mckay, starred at wide receiver in college at Washington and won a national title with the Huskies in 1991. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 1991 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers. And he was Gavin’s position coach at MUS.
“It’s always tough being a coach’s kid,” Alston said. “Sometimes coaches kids are not loved by the other players because they think there’s special treatment. But his peers elected him as a captain. Our guys love Gavin and they respect him because they know he puts in the work.”
Mckay said that he’s looking forward to lifting weights once his collarbone heals. He wants to hit the ground running when he gets to Missouri.
“I’m trying to report at 220-225 and then they’ll take it from there. Right now I’m at like 210,” Mckay said. “I’m probably down a couple of pounds this season, but I’m starting my bulking process and trying to get more explosive as I add the weight.
“Going to hit the weights hard before I get there and then they’re going to get me to like 240 or something.”
Mckay, who has been committed to Missouri since January, said that he can’t wait to get to Columbia and try to prove himself as a tight-end in the SEC.
“It just seems like the perfect place for me even after all this time,” Mckay said. “I’m just ready to get there and get to work on this new system they’ve got.”