After earning a starting spot last year, redshirt sophomore safety Verone McKinley III is raring to dominate this season.
The Texas native started 11 games in 2019, making 46 tackles and tying for the Pac-12 lead with four interceptions. For a team that lost Jevon Holland, Brady Breeze and Thomas Graham Jr., his experience will be vital for the Oregon secondary.
To prepare for this long-awaited season and a leadership role, McKinley spent a lot of time off the field perfecting his game as well.
“I’ve been watching a lot of film from the NFL to college so I can strengthen my mind [and] so I can get better and better even when [I’m] not playing,” he said.
McKinley has also been active on social media, analyzing NFL players on Twitter to help improve his game.
“I know I’m not in the NFL, so yeah, I critique those guys, but it’s just to get better,” he said. “Concepts are pretty much the same. We run a lot of things here at Oregon that are seen in the NFL … I’m just trying to strengthen my mind, that’s all.”
With a year of success at the college level already under his belt, McKinley can shake off those first-year jitters and fully embrace his role on the team. And there’s no place he’d rather be doing it than at the University of Oregon.
“Oregon’s different,” he said. “It’s such a great school, honestly. From the campus to the teachers to academic staff to our coaches, and it’s like a family.”
McKinley has found success, but it’s been a long road to get to this point, as is the case for any athlete. His father, Verone McKinley Jr., has been a pivotal part of that journey.
“It’s something that he’s worked hard for,” McKinley Jr. said. “To get to see that hard work paying off is a blessing.”
There have been plenty of sacrifices that he and his family have had to make to develop him into the player he is now.
“Getting to all the practices and balancing school and athletics,” McKinley Jr. said. “I think the athlete’s sacrifice [is] socially, and I think for the parents, the family just sacrifices their time and getting to and from practice and all those games. It’s just a lot of time committed to the sport that they’re in.”
McKinley prides himself on his versatility, and he has his dad to thank for that.
“I always coached and developed him to be a football player, and being a defensive back — not just a corner, not just a safety, not a nickel — but just being a complete defensive back,” McKinley Jr. said. “Being able to cover, being able to tackle, just being able to play all aspects of the game.”
Oregon safeties coach Keith Heyward is well aware of McKinley’s versatility and plans to utilize it to its full capacity.
“Right now, he’s our starting free safety, but Verone has that versatility where, if need be at any point — he’s smart within our scheme — he can play the nickel position,” Heyward said.
McKinley started at free safety in Saturday’s season opener against Stanford. He had four tackles before he was ejected on a controversial targeting call. He will have to miss the first half of the Ducks’ game next week against Washington State.
Still, McKinley is unlikely to be phased by a small hiccup like that. He’s smart enough to not let it deter him from his goals.
“He [has] a high football IQ,” Heyward said. “He knows ball. His dad is a coach, and Verone is all over it.”
At the end of the day, McKinley has a high bar in terms of what he wants to accomplish this year.
“Last year was my first year, I got my feet wet, now I’m trying to be dominant,” he said.
