“Dreams come true no matter where you come from, or how you started. It all depends on how you finish. And I’m just getting started,” were the exact words of Falcon defenseman Takkarist Mckinley, who recounted how courage and determination were key to achieving dreams after the franchise picked him in the 1st round of the 2017 NFL season. Draft.
For the California native, making it to the NFLCe was not only a dream come true, but also a promise kept. Seeing his grandmother Myrtle Collins lying on her deathbed in 2011 after suffering multiple blows, Mckinley made a promise to her that he was determined to keep even though it was the last thing he would do, it was to build a life away from the harsh environment he was born and raised in, to play football for a Division 1 school and finally make it to the NFL.
Takkarist Mckinley walked to the stage Thursday night April 28, 2017 with a huge framed photo of his late grandmother, after the Atlantic Falcons picked him 26th in the first round of the NFL Draft, proud to have fulfilled his promise to a dying woman and may her dearest grandmother be too be proud of him wherever she is.
Takkarist McKinley – Biography
McKinley was born in Oakland, California on November 2, 1995, as
Takkarist Yellow McKinley. He never knew his father, and his mother, Tedgela Mitchell, abandoned him when he was 5, reappeared when he was 17, and disappeared again.
Takkarist was raised by his grandmother MyrtleCollins who worked mines and water cans on the streets of Northern California to pay his bills and support himself and his grandson.
Mckinley attended Kennedy High School, in Richmond, California, where he played for the school’s football team. As a junior he recorded fifty sacks, sixty tackles and as a senior he made eleven sacks. He also competed in track events.
He originally committed to the University of California, Berkeley, but he didn’t graduate from college and had to choose a community college, Contra Costa College. During his season at Contra Costa College, he recorded 33 tackles and 10 sacks. The following season (2014), he was transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he began his college career playing with the UCLA Bruins.
He made a promise to himself to play exclusively on the defensive end and lead the nation in sacks, but that doesn’t seem to be the case as his first two seasons with the Bruins aren’t anything spectacular as he spends the most clear of his time along the inside of the defensive line, registering just seven sacks.
During his junior season (2015), the Takkarist Mckinley played thirteen games and started twelve. His record that year was thirty-five tackles and 3.5 sacks and his senior season ended with ten sacks.
NFL Career
After his senior season, he received an invite to the NFL Combine as an outside linebacker. Aside from the short shuttle and the three-cone drill, Takkarist performed all of his drills on the combine. After the combine, he underwent surgery to repair a broken bone and a torn labrum in his shoulder. Due to the surgery, he was unable to make it to UCLA Pro Day.
McKinley was ranked 2nd best outside linebacker in the draft by Bucky Brooks (NFL analyst), 3rd best NFLDraftScout.com, 4th best edge defenseman by Mike Mayock, NFL analyst, 5th best edge defenseman by Sports Illustrated and 5th best defensive end by ESPN. NFL pundits also projected to elect him in the first or second round of the draft.
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The Atlanta Falcons would later name him as the 26th in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft in April 2017. The following month, he signed a 4-year contract with the franchise, worth 10, $21 million, with a guarantee of $7.89 million and a signing bonus of $5.57 million.
He played sixteen games in his rookie season with a record of twenty tackles and six sacks, which made him the 4th best rookie in the league and the 2nd best on the team after Adrian Clayborn.
His height, weight and measurements
The defensive end stands at the height of 1.88 m (6″ 2 in) and weighs 113 kg (250 lb). His arm length is 34 3/4″ and his hand size is 9 3/4″.
