Alijah McGhee
| No. 29 Ottawa Redblacks | |
McGhee with the Ottawa Redblacks in 2024 | |
| Born: | October 13, 1999 Warner Robins, Georgia, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Career information | |
| Status | Active |
| CFL status | American |
| Position(s) | Defensive back |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) |
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| College | Kentucky Wesleyan (2018–2020) Minnesota State-Mankato (2021–2022) |
| High school | Northside (Warner Robins, GA) |
| Career history | |
| As player | |
| 2023–present | Ottawa Redblacks |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career stats | |
| |
Alijah McGhee (born October 13, 1999) is an American professional football defensive back for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL).[1] He played college football at Minnesota State-Mankato and Kentucky Wesleyan.[2][3]
College career
McGhee played college football for the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers from 2018 to 2020, and the Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks from 2021 to 2022. He played in 25 games at Kentucky Wesleyan where he had 82 tackles and 14 passes defended.[3] In 2021 McGhee transferred to Minnesota State-Mankato where he played in 21 games logging 80 total tackles, two interceptions, 11 passes defended, one fumble recovery and two blocked kicks.[2]
As a senior, McGhee was named D2Football.com Defensive Player of the Week and NSIC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against Bemidji State where he scored a 70-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown and a 45-yard pick-six in the first half.[4][5] He was also named to the All-NSIC Second team.[6]
Professional career
Houston Roughnecks
McGhee was selected in the 2023 XFL rookie draft by the Houston Roughnecks but did not sign with the team.[7]
Ottawa Redblacks
On August 24, 2023, it was announced that the Ottawa Redblacks had signed McGhee to the practice squad.[8] On October 14, McGhee would be signed to the active roster and make his first game appearance for the Redblacks against the Toronto Argonauts and recorded one tackle.[9] In his next game, the final game of the season against Toronto, he finished with five tackles, one forced fumble and fumble recovery.[10]
McGhee played in 12 games in the 2024 season, starting in all. He began the season on the six-game IR list due to a foot injury.[11] McGhee finished the season with 44 tackles, three interceptions and one forced fumble.[1]
On January 21, 2025, it was announced that McGhee had re-signed to the Redblacks on a one-year contract.[12]
References
- ^ a b "Alijah McGhee". CFL. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
- ^ a b "Alijah McGhee - Football". Minnesota State University - Mankato Athletics. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
- ^ a b "Alijah McGhee - Football". Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
- ^ Rominger, Mary (September 8, 2022). "McGhee named Defensive Player of the Week by D2Football.com". keyc.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
- ^ "McGhee and Sample Garner NSIC Weekly Awards - Minnesota State University - Mankato Athletics". msumavericks.com. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
- ^ "2022 NSIC Football All-Conference Teams Announced". northernsun.org. November 16, 2022. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
- ^ Perry, Mark (June 16, 2023). "XFL 2023 Rookie Draft Results: List Of Players Selected, Breakdown By Team, Positions and Colleges". XFLNewsHub. Archived from the original on March 23, 2025. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
- ^ Just, Sam (August 24, 2023). "Ottawa Redblacks Sign Future XFL Roughneck Alijah McGhee". CFLNewsHub. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
- ^ "2023-10-14 Game Tracker - TORONTO Argonauts vs. OTTAWA REDBLACKS (6380)". CFL. Archived from the original on October 29, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
- ^ "2023-10-28 Game Tracker - OTTAWA REDBLACKS vs. TORONTO Argonauts (6386)". CFL. Archived from the original on October 29, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
- ^ "BACK TO BALTIMORE: Redblacks re-sign veteran corner to help injury-depleted secondary". Ottawa Citizen. June 10, 2024. Archived from the original on June 13, 2024. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
- ^ "Ottawa Redblacks re-sign DB Alijah McGhee". 3DownNation. January 21, 2025. Archived from the original on March 22, 2025. Retrieved May 31, 2025.