McKay was born on October 21, 1999, in Raleigh, North Carolina. He played high school football for Wakefield High School in Raleigh. With Wakefield he threw for 5,932 yards and 58 touchdowns along with 2,386 rushing yards and 39 rushing touchdowns. He was a three-time first team all-league selection from his sophomore to senior year. Coming out of high school he was ranked the third-best quarterbackinNorth Carolina and the 41st-best player in the whole state according to Rivals.com.[1] On February 27, 2016, he committed to play college football for NC State.[2]
In 2017, McKay was redshirted.[3] He was named the team's Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year.[4]
In 2018, McKay saw playing time in five games and finished the season completing seven of his eight pass attempts.[4] He threw for the most yards against Louisville as he completed five of his six attempts for 38 yards.[4] He scored his first-career touchdown against Georgia State.[4]
In 2019, McKay played in six games and started five of them.[4] He threw for a then-career-high 910 yards on the season.[5] He completed 86 of his 150 passes along with three passing touchdowns.[5] Against East Carolina, he threw for a career-high 308 passing yards along with 63 rushing yards on 25 carries.[6] In the game he also scored four total touchdowns. Following the season, he announced he would transfer from the school.[7]
In December 2019, McKay transferred to FCS school Montana State.[3] The 2020 season was postponed to the spring due to COVID-19 and Montana State chose to opt out of the spring season.[3]
In 2021, McKay started all 11 games and he went 9–2 as a starter.[3] He finished the season going 153-of-248 for 2,037 passing yards along with 17 touchdowns and only three interceptions.[7] In a near-upset against Wyoming he completed 19 of his 29 pass attempts for 202 yards and two touchdowns.[8] Prior to the team's playoff game against UT Martin, McKay announced he would transfer for a second time after he was benched for freshman Tommy Mellott.[7][9]
In 2022, McKay transferred to Elon.[10][3] He started all 12 games for the Phoenix. He finished the season completing 197 of his 323 passes for a career-high 21 touchdowns and four interceptions.[11] On the ground he also added 458 yards and three touchdowns.[11] Against Vanderbilt he had a career-high 333 passing yards as he finished the game going nineteen-of-32 for two passing touchdowns and an additional two rushing touchdowns.[5][12]
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