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Looking at the path that led Colorado transfer CB DJ McKinney to Notre Dame

Singer headshotby: Mike Singer01/13/26MikeTSinger

The Fighting Irish added Colorado cornerback DJ McKinney out of the NCAA Transfer Portal on Monday, and Notre Dame will be his third college stop as a student-athlete. So how did McKinney’s path ultimately lead him to South Bend?

The Arlington, Texas native signed with Oklahoma State as a prospect in the 2022 class after considering and officially visiting Missouri and Arizona. Those three schools, plus Baylor, Kansas State, SMU, UCF, Vanderbilt, Colorado and Utah, made up his top 10 schools list prior to taking his official visits. He committed to the Cowboys after taking his official visits.

Listed at 6-0, 164 pounds as a high school recruit, McKinney was a consensus three-star prospect. According to the Rivals Industry Ranking — an equally weighted average that utilizes all three major recruiting services — he was the No. 759 overall player and No. 75 cornerback nationally. According to On3, he was the No. 62 corner in the country.

McKinney played three seasons of varsity football at Colleyville (Texas) Heritage High School and totaled 35 tackles, five interceptions, four passes defended and three quarterback hurries during his senior season in 2021. He was named to the Texas 5A all-state first-team defense.

As a junior, he posted 43 total tackles, two interceptions, seven passes defended and one fumble recovery for a touchdown. He also played basketball and track and field during his prep career.

McKinney saw action in four games of his freshman season at Oklahoma State in 2022. He finished the year with two tackles and was named Oklahoma State’s special teams scout team player of the week vs. Arizona State and the defensive scout team player of the week vs. Kansas.

He emerged for the Cowboys in 2023, playing in all 14 games as a redshirt freshman. He finished the year with 38 tackles, including 24 solo stops. His five pass breakups tied for the team lead. His season-high tackle total was seven in the Big 12 Championship game against Texas. 

The 6-2, 180-pounder (per Colorado’s roster) committed to the Buffaloes out of the transfer portal on Jan. 7, 2024, picking Deion Sanders’ program over Ole Miss, Washington, Florida and Kentucky. According to the On3 transfer portal industry ranking, he was the No. 453 overall player and No. 55 cornerback in that transfer cycle.

McKinney had a strong redshirt sophomore season at Colorado, starting all 13 games for the Buffs and finishing with 62 total tackles (third on the team), nine pass breakups, four third-down stops, three interceptions, three tackles for loss, two tackles for zero, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.

He led the team with 840 defensive snaps. McKinney ranked fourth in the Big 12 for both pass deflections and passes defended and against his former team, he had his first career pick-six.

McKinney battled the injury bug in 2025 and missed the Buffs’ final three games of the season, but he started in their first nine games of the year. He notched 35 total tackles, five pass breakups, one interception, and one tackle for loss.

On Jan. 1, 2026, news broke that McKinney was entering the NCAA Transfer Portal, and he quickly became a hot commodity. His portal recruitment stayed under the radar publicly, aside from a clerical error on Friday, Jan. 9 that temporarily listed him as signed in the transfer portal.

But it’s all over now. McKinney will finish his career at Notre Dame.