Jason A. McKie is an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 fullback

Fullback (American football)

A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...

 who currently a free agent

Free agent

In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....

. He was signed as a undrafted free agent out of Temple University

Temple University

Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...

 by the Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in 2002.

He is the first cousin of writer/Radio personality Tiffanie "Keera Kee" McKie and third cousin of current Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...

 assistant coach and former NBA

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 guard Aaron McKie

Aaron McKie

Aaron Fitzgerald McKie is an American former professional basketball player in the NBA and currently an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers...

.

Early years

McKie attended Gulf Breeze High School

Gulf Breeze High School

Gulf Breeze High School is a public secondary school located at 675 Gulf Breeze Parkway in Gulf Breeze, Florida. It is one of six high schools of the Santa Rosa County School District and is the only high school in the city of Gulf Breeze....

 in and was a standout in football

High school football

High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....

 and weight lifting team. As a senior in high school in Gulf Breeze, Florida, McKie was named Prep Football Final’s Offensive Player of the Year rushing for 1,281 yards and scoring 16 touchdowns on 183 carries. He won prep wrestling 5-A state championship as a senior. In weightlifting, he was the Florida Class 5A 238 pound class state champion as a senior.

College career

McKie achieved the highest GPA among senior football players as a prep before earning Athletic Director's Academic List honors at Temple as a junior. He started 26 games at fullback during his four seasons at Temple (1998–2001) where he was a two-time team captain, rushing for 700 yards and eight touchdowns on 169 carries with 44 catches for 460 yards and one touchdown. As a senior, McKie was the Owls second-leading rusher with 227 yards and two touchdowns on 36 carries while catching ten passes for 57 yards.

Chicago Bears

McKie entered the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent, and signed with Philadelphia (4/23/02) where he spent time on the practice squad. He was signed to the Cowboys' active roster (12/7/02) then waived by Dallas (8/17/03). He signed with Chicago (8/19/03) and was elevated to Bears active roster (11/21/03). McKie became the Bears full time starter in 2006 and signed a 5-year contract extension (11/2/06). On March 16, 2010 he was released from the Bears after 7 years with the team. He had 2 years left on his contract.

New Orleans Saints

On May 24, 2010 McKie signed a 1 year contract with the New Orleans Saints, but he was cut on July 29, 2010. On August 20, 2010, the Saints signed McKie again, replacing injured fullback Marcus Mailei

Marcus Mailei

Marcus Anthony Mailei is an American football fullback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2009...

. On Sept 10, 2010 the Saints terminated McKie's contract.

Baltimore Ravens

Jason McKie was signed by Baltimore after the Ravens' Le'Ron McClain

Le'Ron McClain

- Baltimore Ravens :McClain signed with the Ravens on July 27, 2007. He scored his first career touchdown on a Kyle Boller pass against the San Diego Chargers on November 25, 2007...

 was injured against Tampa Bay, in Week 12. McKie was eventually waived on January 14, 2010. McKie was re-signed February 10. He was released on August 5, 2011.

Community involvement

McKie has been active in the community throughout his NFL career. In 2008, McKie launched the Jason McKie Foundation of the Institute for Science and Health which focuses on programs in the areas of education and wellness with an emphasis on making an impact in the lives of families of soldiers. The Foundation provides educational scholarships to children and spouses affected by a loss or severely injured parent or spouse. Through the Foundation, McKie also looks to host various activities with military families to give back to those who give so much to our country.

Personal

Mckie lives in Gurnee, Illinois

Gurnee, Illinois

Gurnee is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 28,834 at the 2000 census, and estimated to be 30,772 in 2005. The village borders the city of Waukegan and is considered a part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Gurnee is perhaps best known for being the location of...

 and has two sons Jason and Jordan.

External links

• Jason McKie player card at ESPN.com
  ESPN
  Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
  
  
• New Orleans Saints bio page
• http://www.wwl.com/pages/8074031.php?