As NC State’s McKay fights for starting spot, vision for future extends beyond football
Tim McKay wants to change Raleigh as badly as he wants to pancake defensive linemen.
The N.C. State offensive tackle, who graduated from Wakefield High, already has his sights set on a post-football career he hopes will keep him in his hometown long after he’s done playing for the Wolfpack.
“I want to invest in a local startup right here in the Triangle,” said McKay, who was 16 years old when he enrolled at N.C. State in January of 2019, “and really help them grow and get off the ground and then expand to other states.”
McKay earned his business degree from N.C. State in May. He wants to continue playing football, both at N.C. State and then professionally, but whenever his he hangs up the helmet and shoulder pads, he wants to help Raleigh grow. Inspired by a recent trip to Charlotte, McKay said he’d like to explore adding infrastructure — specifically light rail — to the state capital.
McKay, a redshirt sophomore, has dedicated a lot of time to studying the setup of major cities across the United States.
“I know it can’t be like San Francisco or Miami,” McKay said. “But I can definitely take key points from Miami, what they’re doing with bitcoin and Crypto currency, and San Francisco, they’re heavy in their investing, in New York with their real estate, and try to bring it here to Raleigh.”
‘A whole different Tim’
First, though, McKay wants to earn a starting job on the Wolfpack’s offensive line.
He played in all 12 of N.C. State’s games in 2021, seeing a total of 321 snaps as the team’s sixth offensive lineman. His 2020 season was cut short by a lower body injury that required surgery. Fully healthy, McKay hopes to be in the running for the one starting spot remaining on the offensive line — left tackle, the position recently vacated by first-round NFL draft pick Ickey Ekwonu.
Redshirt sophomore Anthony Belton and redshirt freshman Anthony Carter, Jr. will also be in the mix. Belton started the spring game at left tackle, while McKay started at right tackle. McKay has the most experience, having played in 18 games in three seasons. Belton was in for 11 snaps last season.
Wolfpack tight end Chris Toudle said, off the field, McKay is a humble guy that takes a while to come out of his shell. Around his fellow offensive linemen, McKay (6-4, 315 pounds) loosens up and is more likely to crack a joke. On the field, he flips a switch.
“You’ll see a whole different Tim,” Toudle said. “On the field he’s about his business. He’s ready to be physical, talk a little junk and stuff like that. That’s how I know Tim.”
Finding community
That humble personality belies his ability to sniff out and capitalize on opportunities.
When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world two summers ago, McKay had a lot of free time on his hands.
He started reading everything he could about the city of Raleigh, and startup companies.
“I think the massive amount of cool startups that (have) come out during COVID, with supply chain and just health tech in general,” McKay explained, “people making loads of money and really making an impact on the country, that really got me excited.”
McKay took that excitement to Twitter, and started sharing his thoughts on everything from Web3 to Crypto currency and NFTs, and has even found himself in Twitter conversations with venture capitalists.
He has found a community of non-athletes to share his thoughts and ideas, using his current platform as an N.C. State football player to build his brand. McKay has become one of the many N.C. State athletes to serve as a spokesperson for the Gopher App, now that NCAA athletes can profit off of their name, image and likeness. He’s also partnered with a data analytics sports company that checks the performance of athletes.
“We have a diverse fan base like people in the block chain,” McKay said. “People are in real estate, people do startups. I’ve been DMing people all the time. My goal right now is if I post a tweet, just make one connection with someone.”
Chasing two dreams
McKay, keeps the business conversations limited to Twitter, though, electing to avoid the talk in the locker room.
“I think Tim is like the only person I know to be honest who is doing that type of stuff,” Toudle said. “It seems like he’s doing a pretty good job of it. He’s developing his market, he’s building his own brand, so it’s pretty cool.”
Last season, McKay put his business interest on the back burner to focus on football and school. Moving forward, it’s all about finding that balance.
“Well, football is first you know, all this other stuff comes after,” McKay said. “My parents have always taught me to have some goals, (N.C. State) Coach (Dave) Doeren too — chase two dreams. I’ve been focusing on football a lot, getting healthy and just staying on the field and being comfortable out there. But also knowing that football can end any time so having other plans … it’s mostly a weekend thing.”
This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 5:33 AM.
