Division II to UNLV: Junior WR Senika McKie enjoys journey

Every time UNLV junior wide receiver Senika McKie begins to warm up at Allegiant Stadium, he stares up at the lights in wonder.

Allegiant Stadium — with its 65,000 seats, NFL-quality lighting and spaceship-esque dome — is a far cry from the metal bleachers and track-encircled field of J.W. Babb Stadium at Erskine College, the Division II program in Due West, South Carolina, where McKie played before transferring to UNLV ahead of this season.

“I’m just out there looking at the lights,” McKie said. “I’ll take my little video of the stadium. It’s a blessing coming from D-II, coming from Erskine and just playing at Allegiant under all those lights.”

A 6-foot-1-inch wide receiver from Columbia, South Carolina, McKie is one of several new faces who arrived at UNLV via the transfer portal this season. Following injuries to starting wideouts Kyle Williams and Jeff Weimer, McKie has emerged as one of the Rebels’ most reliable targets.

He had five catches for 72 yards during UNLV’s 31-20 comeback win against New Mexico, then hauled in three passes for 55 yards against San Jose State, including UNLV’s lone touchdown — the first of McKie’s Rebels career.

“I think he’s only scratching the surface,” UNLV coach Marcus Arroyo said.

While McKie’s experienced early success at UNLV, his journey to Las Vegas was far from a guarantee.

McKie wasn’t highly recruited after playing at Ridge View High School in Columbia. He didn’t begin talking to Erskine College until a couple weeks after his high school season ended, and walked into an interesting situation at Erskine.

The Flying Fleet hadn’t played football since 1951, but in 2019 began recruiting players to restart their football program in 2020. Players who arrived in 2019, like McKie, used their redshirt year to train for the upcoming season.

The first year was tough for McKie. He wanted to play. Instead, the entire team lifted weights, conditioned and waited for the 2020 season. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, delaying the Flying Fleet’s debut season for a few more months. But once McKie finally got on the field, everything clicked.

“The game was slow to me,” he said. “It just came easy.”

McKie caught 54 passes 661 yards and three touchdowns during his six-game redshirt freshman season. Then, as a sophomore, he earned AFCA Division II All-American second-team honors after racking up 96 receptions for 1,133 yards and seven touchdowns. In his final game for the Flying Fleet, McKie had 19 catches for 225 yards against Kentucky State.

The South Carolina native entered the transfer portal following his sophomore season. He talked with a few high-level Division I schools, but was mainly considering offers from Gardner-Webb and Tarleton State. Then, UNLV wide receivers coach Jonathan Krause sent McKie a direct message on Twitter.

Krause heard about McKie from a friend, then got an additional recommendation from UNLV junior safety Tyson Player, a Columbia native and Ridge View alum.

“The ball skills, the consistency, the play speed, the ability to beat one-on-ones, the contested catches,” Krause said, “that’s what really stood out.”

McKie committed to the Rebels and moved to Las Vegas in time for spring football. Krause said the junior receiver bought in immediately. Arroyo called McKie’s growth during the spring some of the most significant in the program.

The former Division II wide receiver — who says he gets chills simply driving past Allegiant Stadium — wants to make sure the Rebels don’t take their college football experience for granted.

“People come from other places,” he said. “but it’s most definitely not like this.”

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.