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Ronald McKinnon
University of North Alabama
McKinnon, a native of Elba, Ala., was a four-year starter on Lion
football teams from 1992-95 and is one of the most honored athletes in
college football history. A four-time, first-team All-GSC selection,
McKinnon is one of just a handful of three-time consensus All-Americans
in NCAA Division II history. He was selected the winner of the 1995
Harlon Hill Trophy as NCAA Division II National Player of the Year,
becoming the first - and so far only - defensive player to win the
award. He helped lead UNA to a combined 48-5-1 record that included
three straight GSC championships and three straight NCAA Division II
National Championships. He closed his career as the leading tackler in
school and GSC history with 621 total stops and 407 primary stops. He
had 29 career tackles for loss, seven sacks, 11 interceptions and
recovered five fumbles. As a senior he had 139 tackles, 11 tackles for
loss, four interceptions and four sacks. He was named to the Gulf South
Conference "Team of the Quarter Century" for 1971-95, was selected the
"GSC Defensive Player of the Quarter Century" for 1971-95 and was named
to the NCAA Division II "Team of the Quarter Century" for 1973-97. He
was selected for the 50th Anniversary UNA Football Team for
1949-98, the Gulf South Conference Team of the 1990s and was named
Alabama Sports Writers Association State Professional Athlete of the
Year for 1998. He signed a free agent contract with the Arizona
Cardinals of the National Football League following his senior season
and spent the next 10 seasons in professional football. McKinnon played
in 157 NFL games, spending nine seasons with the Cardinals and one with
the New Orleans Saints. He finished his professional career with more
than 1,000 tackles, 12 sacks and 10 pass interceptions.
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