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Steve LaTreal McNair (born February 14, 1973), nicknamed Air McNair, is an American professional football player who spent 11 years as a quarterback for the Tennessee Titans (formerly Houston Oilers), until he was traded in June 2006 to the Baltimore Ravens. more...

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Collegiate career

McNair is a native of Mississippi and played collegiately there for Alcorn State University, a historically black university which competes in the NCAA's Division I-AA Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). Many major colleges recruited McNair to play defensive back, but Alcorn was one of the few institutions that recruited McNair to play quarterback. Steve followed the foot steps of his older brother, Fred McNair (who played at Alcorn 1986-1989) and chose to attend Alcorn State University.

In his senior season (1994) he amassed incredible statistics, including over 4,000 yards passing and 2,000 yards rushing for the Braves. McNair was subsequently selected with the third pick in the 1995 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers. McNair was brought along slowly in the NFL by the Oilers, backing up or sharing time with quarterbacks Chris Chandler and Dave Krieg.

NFL career

McNair's 3,558 career rushing yards and 37 touchdowns rank fifth and third respectively all-time among NFL quarterbacks. Among active quarterbacks, McNair ranks first in rushing TD's and second in rushing yards to Michael Vick. His 2,387 rushing yards from 1997-2001 also made him one of three quarterbacks in NFL history to rush for more than 2,350 yards in a five-season span. Vick had 3,570 from 2002-2006; Randall Cunningham had 3,232 from 1986-1990.

Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans

The team relocated to its new stadium in Nashville (with McNair as the new starting quarterback), and was renamed the Tennessee Titans in 1999. That year, McNair along with running back Eddie George led the team to an AFC championship and an appearance in Super Bowl XXXIV, where they lost by one yard to the St. Louis Rams. Since then, McNair has generally been recognized as one of the game's top players. McNair was named co-Most Valuable Player for the 2003 season along with Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts.

McNair was widely respected among Titans fans for being able to play while hurt, having sustained many injuries throughout his career. Through 1997 to 2003, McNair missed only nine of the possible 112 regular-season starts, five of which were due to back surgery. But in the 2003 and 2004 seasons, however, he was increasingly forced to take time off due to injury, being replaced by backup Billy Volek. On November 28, 2004, after a loss to the Houston Texans, McNair hinted that he might retire following the 2004 campaign. After the troubling season of '04, the Titans fell to 5-11, then the worst record in franchise history since 1994. On December 17, 2004, it was announced that McNair would not play any more during the 2004 season and that he would undergo surgery on his injured sternum. McNair returned for the 2005 season with the Titans and played 14 games, but failed to generate a successful campaign with the NFL's youngest and most inexperienced team around him. Although missing a few regular-season starts, McNair never missed a postseason start.

Read more at Wikipedia.org