Summary: McKinney led SEC freshman and ranked second in his class among FBS with 102 tackles in his redshirt freshman season of 2012. He was the leader of a defense that helped Mississippi State go from unranked at the start of the season to holding the No. 1 spot in the polls from Oct. 12-Nov. 9 in 2014.

Stacking up: NFL Media analyst Mike Mayock ranked McKinney as his fourth-best linebacker after the NFL combine, dropping him two positions among inside linebackers. Mayock moved McKinney to fifth in rankings released April 8. Counterpart Bucky Brooks, however, slotted McKinney as his top inside linebacker, calling him a "hard-hitting 'Mike' linebacker with the physical skills and intangibles to develop into a Pro Bowl-caliber player early in his career."

High school QB:In addition to being a top defensive player, McKinney started at quarterback during his senior season when he passed for 1,334 yards and 15 scores, and rushed for 702 yards and seven TDs.