Tony McRae (American football)

Tony McRae (born May 3, 1993) is an American college football coach and former cornerback. He is the cornerbacks coach for North Carolina Central University, a position he has held since 2022. He played college football at North Carolina A&T, and signed with the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2016.

Tony McRae
North Carolina Central Eagles
Position:Cornerbacks coach
Personal information
Born: (1993-05-03) May 3, 1993 (age 31)
McColl, South Carolina, U.S.
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school:Scotland
(Laurinburg, North Carolina)
College:North Carolina A&T
Undrafted:2016
Career history
As a player:
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:40
Forced fumbles:2
Pass deflections:2
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early life edit

McRae attended Scotland High School, in Laurinburg, North Carolina where he played varsity football and basketball. During his senior year, McRae helped lead the Fighting Scotts to a 14–0 undefeated season and the 2011 NCHSAA 4A State football championship.[1] McRae's performance earned a place on the 2011 All-Cape Fear Regional Team as he was the leading rusher among NC state champion teams with 1,835 yards and 32 touchdowns.[2]

College career edit

McRae accepted an athletic scholarship to attend North Carolina A&T State University, where he played for coach Rod Broadway's as a member of his first NC A&T Aggies football recruiting class.[3]

2012 season edit

As a true freshman, McRae played in all 11 of the Aggie's games, and started in 3 of them. He would get his first start at cornerback to replace starting left cornerback Deji Olatoye who moved to free safety to replace of an injured Isaiah Martin.[4] McRae would finish the 2012 season with a total of 23 tackles, 14 of them solo and 9 assisted; 4 broken up passes and 9 Kick returns.

2013 season edit

McRae began his sophomore with a 4 solo, 1 pass breakup and a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the season opener against Appalachian State. The Aggies would go on to upset Appalachian State 24–21, resulting in North Carolina A&T's first win over the mountaineers since 1993.[5] Of the 11 games he played in that season, McRae would total 11 solo tackles, 1 assist, 2 pass breakups, 3 defended passes and 1 interception.

2014 season edit

For his Junior season McRae would start in all 12 games and opened the season with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Alabama A&M in the 2014 MEAC/SWAC Challenge. Against Elon, McRae put up a career high 9 tackles and 5 defended passes.[4] He ended the season with 62 total tackles, 46 of them being unassisted, 5 interceptions, 16 passes defended and 14 kickoffs returned for 360 total yards and 1 touchdown. McRae was ranked 13th in the nation in passes defended, 15th in interceptions and 4th in kickoff return touchdowns.[4]

2015 season edit

Starting in all 12 games played, McRae has a season best performance[6] against Delaware state in which he returned a kickoff for 75 yards for a touchdown, earned 6 tackles and 1 interception. He would finish the season leading the Aggies with 55 Tackles, 14 assists, 8 Pass defended, 22 kick returns for 622 yards and 2 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. McRae's performance earned him first-team All MEAC and Boxtorow first-team All-American recognition.[7]

College statistics edit

Season GP Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
Solo Ast Cmb TfL Yds Sck Yds Int Yds BU PD QBH FR Yds TD FF Blk
2012[8] 11 14 9 23 0.5 2 0.0 0 0 4 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
2013[9] 11 11 2 13 0 0 0.0 0 1 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
2014[10] 12 46 16 62 2 8 0.0 0 5 84 11 16 0 0 0 0 0 0
2015[11] 12 41 14 55 4 8 1.5 4 3 21 5 8 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career 46 112 41 153 6.5 18 1.5 4 9 109 22 27 1 0 0 0 0 0

Professional career edit

According to ESPN, McRae was ranked the 85th best cornerback entering the 2016 NFL Draft.[12]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 9 in
(1.75 m)
178 lb
(81 kg)
4.56 s 1.59 s 2.60 s 4.33 s 7.55 s 36.5 in
(0.93 m)
10 ft 5 in
(3.18 m)
13 reps
All values were taken at NC A&T Pro Day.[13]

Oakland Raiders edit

McRae was signed by the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent on May 10, 2016.[14] He was waived on May 16, 2016.[15]

Cincinnati Bengals edit

On August 9, 2016, McRae signed with the Cincinnati Bengals.[16] He was waived on September 3, 2016, and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[17][18] He was released on September 16, 2016, but was later re-signed on November 29, 2016.[19][20] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Bengals on January 2, 2017.[21]

On September 2, 2017, McRae was waived by the Bengals.[22]

Baltimore Ravens edit

On September 5, 2017, McRae was signed to the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad.[23] He was promoted to the active roster on September 16, 2017.[24] He was waived by the Ravens on October 21, 2017.[25]

Buffalo Bills edit

On October 23, 2017, McRae was claimed off waivers by the Buffalo Bills, but was released two days later.[26][27]

Cincinnati Bengals (second stint) edit

On October 27, 2017, McRae was signed to the Bengals' practice squad.[28] He was promoted to the active roster on December 9, 2017.[29]

On September 13, 2018, in a game against the Baltimore Ravens, McRae recorded 2 forced fumbles.[30]

In 2019, he was re-signed for one year.[31]

On December 22, 2019, in a game against the Miami Dolphins, McRae suffered a concussion.[32]

Detroit Lions edit

On March 24, 2020, McRae signed with the Detroit Lions.[33] On November 8, 2020, he suffered a right knee injury in a game against the Minnesota Vikings. On November 9, 2020, McRae was placed on injured reserve.[34]

In the 2021 off-season, McRae became a free agent.[35]

Coaching career edit

In 2022, McRae was hired as the cornerbacks coach for North Carolina Central.[36]

References edit

  1. ^ "Scotland High School 11-12 Football Schedule". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  2. ^ "2011 All Cape Fear Region Football Team Player Info". NCPrepSports.net. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  3. ^ White, Herbert L. "N.C. A&T recruits size, speed among in-state signees". TheCharlottePost.com. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "Tony McRae Bio". NCATAggies.com. NC A&T Athletics. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  5. ^ "App State Football Comeback Falls Short in Home-Opening Loss to N.C. A&T, Mountaineers Drop To 0-2 - High Country Press". HCPress.com. September 9, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  6. ^ "NC A&T vs Delaware State Statistics". NCATAggies.com. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  7. ^ "Three Aggies Named HBCU Football All-American". NCATAggies.com. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  8. ^ "2012 Team Statistics". NCATAggies.com. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  9. ^ "2013 Team statistics". NCATAggies.com. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  10. ^ "2014 Team Statistics". NCATAggies.com. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  11. ^ "2015 Team Statistics". NCATAggies.com. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  12. ^ "Bengals sign rookie cornerback Tony McRae". CincyJungle.com. August 9, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  13. ^ "Tony McRae | North Carolina AT, CB : 2016 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  14. ^ "Oakland Raiders Announce Undrafted Free Agent Signings". Raiders.com. May 10, 2016. Archived from the original on August 19, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  15. ^ "Oakland Raiders Announce Roster Moves". Raiders.com. May 16, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  16. ^ Marcum, Jason (August 9, 2016). "Bengals sign former North Carolina A&T cornerback Tony McRae". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  17. ^ Marcum, Jason (September 3, 2016). "Bengals announce roster cuts: No surprises among Bengals' 53-man roster cutdown". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  18. ^ Marcum, Jason (September 4, 2016). "Bengals 2016 practice squad: 9 players make initial practice squad". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  19. ^ Toback, Rebecca (September 16, 2016). "Bengals Practice Squad: Bengals add Trey Hopkins to practice squad; release Tony McRae". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  20. ^ Toback, Rebecca (November 29, 2016). "Bengals add cornerback Tony McRae back to practice squad". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  21. ^ Marcum, Jason (January 2, 2017). "Bengals sign 5 players to futures contracts for 2017". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  22. ^ Toback, Rebecca (September 2, 2017). "NFL roster cuts 2017: Cincinnati Bengals 53-man roster". CincyJungle.com. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  23. ^ Mink, Ryan (September 5, 2017). "Ravens Complete Practice Squad With Four Signings". BaltimoreRavens.com. Archived from the original on January 15, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  24. ^ Mink, Ryan (September 16, 2017). "Ravens Swap Running Backs and Cornerbacks Ahead of Sunday's Game". BaltimoreRavens.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2018.
  25. ^ Mink, Ryan (October 21, 2017). "Ravens Bring Back Tony Bergstrom For Offensive Line Depth". BaltimoreRavens.com.
  26. ^ Brown, Chris (October 23, 2017). "Bills awarded waiver claim for CB McRae; release WR Clay". BuffaloBills.com.
  27. ^ Brown, Chris (October 25, 2017). "Bills awarded claim for CB Lafayette Pitts". BuffaloBills.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2018.
  28. ^ Marcum, Jason (October 27, 2017). "Bengals sign Tony McRae to practice squad; Sojourn Shelton cut to make room". CincyJungle.com.
  29. ^ Marcum, Jason (December 9, 2017). "Adam Jones to IR; Tony McRae signed from practice squad". CincyJungle.com.
  30. ^ "Tony McRae 2018 Stats per Game - NFL". ESPN. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  31. ^ Marcum, Jason (April 9, 2019). "Bengals re-sign Tony McRae". Cincy Jungle. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  32. ^ Sheeran, John (December 22, 2019). "Tony McRae suffers concussion vs. Dolphins". Cincy Jungle. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  33. ^ "Lions agree to terms with eight free agents". DetroitLions.com. March 20, 2020.
  34. ^ Birkett, Dave (November 9, 2020). "Detroit Lions' Jarrad Davis returns from COVID list; CB Tony McRae to injured reserve". Freep.com. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  35. ^ Schlitt, Erik (March 14, 2021). "Lions FA profile: Is Tony McRae's value at gunner enough to get him another shot?". Pride Of Detroit. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  36. ^ "Tony McRae - Football Coach". North Carolina Central University Athletics. Retrieved February 26, 2024.

External links edit