The dominoes in college football often fall in peculiar ways, leading to unexpected stories. Such was the case for the ultra talented Steve McNair in 1991. A star in a variety of sports at Mount Olive High School in Mississippi, McNair made himself a sought after recruit in not only the college football ranks but in baseball as well. A selection by the MLB’s Seattle Mariners in that year’s amateur draft, McNair decided that his best prospects were on the gridiron and how right he was. After leading Mount Olive to the 1989
state title, McNair was a hot name in the recruiting world around that time for his prowess on both sides of the ball and some big time programs came calling.
Florida came in with a full-ride scholarship for McNair to play running back and it wasn’t that crazy of a proposal seeing as how good McNair was with his legs. But he wanted to keep playing quarterback and that was something that just wouldn’t be possible with the Gators. With standouts like Shane Matthews and Brian Fox already crowding that room, McNair decided to forgo the offer from Steve Spurrier and Florida. While the Gators went on to win three SEC championships over the next four years, McNair took his talents to the much less well-known Alcorn State back home in Mississippi. The Braves, though, would not be in the shadows for much longer.
It took a lot of stars aligning for McNair to end up in Lorman, but once he did Alcorn State was never the same. Over his four years, McNair shined brighter than arguably any college player at any level in the early 90s. He threw for 4,707 yards, ran for another 3,590 and accounted for 85 total touchdowns all while guiding the Braves to the Division I-AA (now FCS) playoffs twice, winning the Walter Payton Award (whilst even being considered for the Heisman Trophy) and being named the SWAC’s Offensive Player of the Year all four years. It was a college career unlike any other and, for fans that just so happened to be in attendance on November 12, 1994 for his final home game, McNair left them with a parting gift they would never forget.
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His senior season was his best and the last time he played in front of his home fans in Mississippi was against #6-ranked Troy. The Trojans came in with a 7-2 record and, like Alcorn State, had their eyes on the postseason. The Braves were fresh off a 45-45 tie with Samford the week prior and, with two losses already, knew they probably needed to win out if they were to compete for a SWAC championship and playoff spot. It was a big game for all those reasons, of course, but records and standings paled in comparison to the fact that it was McNair’s last hurrah at home. Everyone knew the NFL was waiting and for many it would be their last chance to see him in person in purple and gold. He would not disappoint.
Troy meant business when they came in and early on the “Spinks Jinx” was in jeopardy. Alcorn State had not lost at Jack Spinks Stadium during McNair’s college career and well before that but the Trojans got as close as anyone did to snapping that streak. It was evident from the start that both the Braves and Spartans were about as evenly matched as could be, especially after a scoreless first quarter. Troy would be the ones to break through in the second and when they did all hell broke loose with them.
Trojans quarterback Jeremy Rowell ran in for a 12-yard run to make it 7-0. McNair would dart a nine-yard scoring pass to his brother Tim in response and thus the back and forth began. A 66-yard pick six from Troy defensive back Demetric Shipman later on in the second quarter would help the visitors jump out to a 21-7 advantage. For the first real time all day, Alcorn State fans were in doubt that the home winning streak would continue.
McNair did not often make those sorts of mistakes and when he did they were few and far between. He orchestrated two consecutive scoring drives to knot the game back up at the break. Braves running back Cherone Harness would cap each possession with two-yard scoring pushes and when the two teams headed to the locker room it was 21 all.
Alcorn State nabbed its first lead of the day in the third quarter. McNair hit Marcus Hinton for a six-yard touchdown but the point after attempt failed. From there, though, the game would start to crumble around McNair and his team. Troy went on to score 17 straight points and as time was waning, the Braves found themselves on the wrong end of a 44-33 score line with just 7:57 to play. It felt like it would take some magic to keep the “Spinks Jinx” alive and, fortunately for Alcorn State and its fans, magic was something that McNair was full of.
McNair didn’t waste time getting the first score that his unit needed and he again looked to his brother to get it. He connected with Tim once more who took it 58 yards for the score. A failed two-point attempt, though, made it so they’d still need another touchdown. The Braves fans were reinvigorated with 6:07 remaining but with their team still trailing by five, the knew they’d need help from a defense that had been unable to provide it for much of the afternoon.
That defense, however, rose to the occasion when it needed to most. On fourth and short with under two minutes remaining, they stuffed Rowell and put the ball back in McNair’s hands. With 1:50 to go, McNair would stamp his legacy.
From the 31-yard line he commanded a drive that got Alcorn State all the way down to the shadow of Troy’s goal line in just six plays. On the seventh, McNair took the snap and handed the ball off to Harness who plowed in for his fourth score of the afternoon. The crowd exploded and only got louder as McNair himself ran it in for the two-point conversion. The clock ticked down the final seconds of McNair’s last home game in Larmon and for the final time in front of his own fans, McNair walked off the field a winner.
He completed 36 of his 49 pass attempts for 476 yards against the Trojans. On top of that he ran for 110 yards on 18 carries in a performance that was vintage McNair. What’s more is that he had once again willed his team to victory on a day where it seemed like it would not be in the cards. Even Troy head coach Larry Blakeney had to tip his cap to the one-man wonder that was McNair. “It seems inevitable that it always comes down to him with the ball in his hands,” Blakeney said following the game. “If anybody out there has a Heisman vote and doesn’t vote for him, it’s a farce. He’s the best football player I’ve ever seen.”
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The Braves would go on to win the next week at Jackson State in a 52-34 runaway, earning them a share of the SWAC title and berth in the playoffs where they bowed out to eventual I-AA champion Youngstown State in the opening round. McNair did not win that year’s Heisman but to even be in the running as I-AA player was extremely rare. Colorado running back Rashaan Salaam would take home that honor. McNair would instead get the Walter Payton Award.
He got drafted the following spring in the 1995 NFL Draft as the third overall selection by the Houston Oilers. His stellar football life would carry on for another 13 years with the Oilers (turned Tennessee Titans) and Baltimore Ravens. In July of 2009, McNair was tragically killed at the age of 36 in his place of residence in Nashville. He has since been posthumously inducted into the HBCU Hall of Fame as well as the College Football Hall of Fame. His #9 has been retired by the Titans organization.
His tragic end never did overshadow what he was able to accomplish on the football field, especially in his early days. Anyone who watched college football in the early 1990s knew who Steve “Air” McNair was and who Alcorn State was. He injected an interest into I-AA and HBCU football that had not been there before on a national level and to date he is the single most impactful player to ever wear a Braves uniform. That final performance at Jack Spinks Stadium was reminiscent of what his entire college and professional career was; simply larger than life.
