Keith McGill "trying to stay clean", says troubles are behind him

With the extra pick the Raiders acquired in a third round trade with the Dolphins, the Raiders grabbed big defensive back, Keith McGill out of Utah. The 6-3 DB played safety in junior college but was switched to cornerback at Utah. He is a very talented back who had a shoulder injury that kept him out for a season an a half at Utah.

He took a year off before starting junior college and was a fifth year senior which is why he is 25-years-old. His age and injury are part of the reason he was still on the board in the fourth round. There was also some off the field issues.

He missed the entire 2012 season with a medical redshirt rehabbing a serious shoulder injury. Then he was arrested for a DUI. He needed to step back and re-examine things. He had a one-year-old daughter as well.

"All that stuff was years ago, two years ago," said McGill. "I've been trying to stay clean and I've been trying to show everybody that that was the past and that's exactly what it was. Obviously that's going to come up because it's a concern for teams. But all the teams that passed on me they are going to realize it's a big mistake and the Oakland Raiders are going to realize that it's probably a rally good draft pick."

The Raiders have been focusing on high character individuals since Regge McKenzie took over as general manager two years ago. That philosophy in general isn't as much of a priority on the third day of the draft. At that point, he said he prefers to look into the players eyes and use his gut to decide of the player has put his characters issues behind him. That's the philosophy he used when considering McGill.

"It was probably 2012 where I grew as person," McGill continued. "I made some mistakes. I sat down with the coaches and talked about determining where I wanted my life to go. I realized that everything could be taken away in a flash, and that the window was closing. There comes a point in time in your life where you make a decision to become a man or remain a boy. That's what I did before the 2013 season. It got me in the situation I am in now."

McGill has kept clean since then and had a fantastic season, shutting down Pac-12 receivers. He didn't match his 7 interceptions in 2011 but had 13 passes defended and made first team All-Pac-12.

His daughter is now 3-years-old and he credits his relationship with her as helping him with turning his career around.

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