He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies, and was recognized as a consensus All-American kick returner.
Corey Pullig was a senior quarterback, McElroy was a Heisman Trophy candidate as a junior, and an experienced defense paved the way for Playboy and The Sporting News to rank A&M No.
Star linebacker Reggie Brown even blew a coverage at the end zone, giving up a circus-catch touchdown.
For McElroy, the injuries, along with several less than spectacular performances against Colorado, Texas Tech, Baylor and Houston, turned a season that began with Heisman hopes into a fall filled with frustration.
Aggie head Coach R. C. Slocum and others speculated that if McElroy had returned in 1996, he would have benefited from playing with a more prolific passer in Branndon Stewart and probably would have faced less eight-man defensive fronts.
These factors along with the additional experience might have resulted in McElroy's Heisman hopes coming to fruition and his entering the draft a more seasoned, more complete back.
The Cardinals released McElroy and he was claimed off waivers in July 1998 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and made an instant impact with a spectacular touchdown run in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He played well, rushing 27 times for 121 yards and a touchdown in the preseason, but the Buccaneers were deep at running back and McElroy's specialty was kickoff returns, where Tampa already featured Reidel Anthony and Warrick Dunn.
Although he spent the 1999 preseason with the Denver Broncos and was picked up later that season by the Indianapolis Colts, a combination of injuries and misfortune ensured that McElroy never played again in the NFL.