BRYANT McKINNIE
University of Miami, FL
Offensive Tackle, 2000-01
 
Bryant McKinnie remembers getting breakfast with his family the morning after Miami had snapped its five-year losing streak to rival Florida State. While browsing one of the local newspapers, McKinnie's family was thrilled to see that he was highlighted as one of the standout offensive players from the game, along with Ken Dorsey and Jeremy Shockey.
 
"That was my moment where people say I may have arrived," McKinnie said. "Because I was kind of under the radar. You didn't really know who I was. This was my first big challenge."
 
McKinnie had redshirted the previous season, after transferring from Lackawanna College in Scranton, Pa. Before long, the college world would become intimately aware of him. Especially opposing defensive linemen.
 
Fast forward to that season's Sugar Bowl, and McKinnie impressed against Florida standout pass rusher Alex Brown in a Hurricanes win. That week also featured some FSU flavor, albeit indirectly.
 
"It's the only time I ever cheered for Florida State that season," McKinnie said. "If they won (in the Orange Bowl), we would've split the national championship. However, we didn't.
 
"That's why we don't rely on them," he added, laughing.
 
McKinnie could joke about it, as he helped Miami win its fifth national championship just one year later, in the 2001 season. Now, he has become the 10th former Hurricanes player to make the College Football Hall of Fame.
 
McKinnie's stat line is legendary — a rarity for a left tackle. He did not allow a single sack during his Miami career. He won the Outland Trophy in 2001 and finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting. Miami went 23-1 during McKinnie's two years of playing. The program never finished a season lower than No. 2. His offense averaged 5.3 yards per carry during the historic 2001 season.
 
"I played with a lot of offensive linemen throughout my career, and he's hands-down the best," former Miami running back Jarrett Payton said. "You talk about what you look for out of a teammate and what you're looking for as a friend, he was always there for me. We were very close when I was at Miami — me, him and Vernon Carey. If you saw one of us, you saw all three of us together. So, I got a chance to know him as a person. I watched him work to be just so dominant on the left side. He didn't give up a sack back then; it's insane to think about for him, as a guy playing left tackle.
 
"But he not only worked so hard, he also was a guy that kind of brought everybody together. Being such a towering human being over everybody, he always had a real kind heart and made sure that everybody was on the same page, and I think that's what made him special not only as a football player, but also as a leader and as a friend."
 
McKinnie credits his teammates and coaches for his success, recalling the hype in the lead-up to a game against fellow Hall inductee Dwight Freeney and Syracuse in 2001. A national magazine had done a spread dubbing Freeney the "Sack Master," featuring an illustration of Freeney carrying a Santa-like bag with helmets of opponents whose quarterbacks he had sacked. McKinnie stayed late for film study with Mario Cristobal, then a graduate assistant with Miami, and the message was simple: Either McKinnie gives up a sack, or he doesn't. With ESPN's "College GameDay" in town, McKinnie and Miami were flawless in a 59-0 win.
 
The Vikings drafted McKinnie No. 7 overall the following spring, and he made a Pro Bowl (2009) and won a Super Bowl (XLVII) across a 12-year career with three different teams. McKinnie founded the B Major Foundation, which provides resources to single-parent households and promotes AIDS awareness among youth. He is also the COO of the translation company LetzChat, and the lessons from the gridiron have guided his business sense in the boardroom.
 
"I've been on teams in college and in the NFL that have made it to the highest levels, and I ask what did we do in both situations? What's in common?" McKinnie said. "There's been a lot of camaraderie outside the sport. Off the field, everyone gets along great and has each other's back. When you get in there, you don't want to let the person down next to you. You want to hold up your end of the bargain. I apply that to business."
 
UP CLOSE:
 

• Named a unanimous First Team All-American in 2001, claiming the Outland Trophy as the best interior lineman in the nation.
• Anchored an offensive line that averaged 5.3 yards per rushing attempt and 43.2 points per game in 2001.
• Never allowed a single sack during his entire college career, playing a key role on an offensive unit that ranked No. 2 in 2000 and No. 3 in 2001 nationally in total offense.
• Played for head coaches Larry Coker and Butch Davis.
• Becomes the ninth Hurricane player to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.