Kenny McIntosh, former Broward Player of the Year at University, goes to Seattle in Draft

He was a varsity wide receiver when he was still in middle school, earned first-team All-Broward County honors from the Miami Herald three times as a running back at NSU University and even threw a touchdown for the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2021 College Football Playoff. Now, Kenny McIntosh is also an NFL player after landing with the Seattle Seahawks with the 20th pick of the seventh round — No. 237 overall — in the 2023 NFL Draft on Saturday

The 6-foot, 204-pound running back is the 10th player from South Florida to picked in this NFL Draft and the second player from his high school, following Boston College’s Zay Flowers, who went to the Ravens in the first round Thursday.

McIntosh — the younger brother of NFL defensive end R.J. McIntosh, who played at Miami — has been on this track since he was in eighth grade, when he first suited up for the Sharks as a receiver. By his sophomore season, he was already one of the best players in Broward County and he ran for at least 1,200 yards in each of his final three seasons in Fort Lauderdale.

As a senior at NSU University, McIntosh rushed for 1,423 yards and 20 touchdowns, and was the Herald’s Broward County Offensive Player of the Year for Classes 5A-Independent. He was the No. 11 running back in the Class of 2019, according to the 247Sports composite rankings and also won a state title with the NSU University boys’ basketball team in 2018, playing next to Jazz center Vernon Carey Jr.

At Georgia, he had to wait his turn to capture stardom, though. In each of his first three seasons in Athens, McIntosh failed to rush for even 350 yards, but he broke out as a junior last year with 149 carries for 829 yards and 10 touchdowns, plus 43 catches for 505 yards and two more touchdowns. In his career, he had 279 carries for 1,582 yards and 16 touchdowns, and 76 catches for 861 yards and four touchdowns.

His receiving ability always made him valuable and he accounted for more than 350 yards from scrimmage in his second and third seasons with the Bulldogs.

His most memorable moment, though, was probably as a passer. In the 2021 semifinals at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, McIntosh connected with wide receiver Adonai Mitchell — now at Texas — for an 18-yard touchdown to help spark Georgia’s rout of Michigan.

The Bulldogs went on to win their first national title since 1981 and then repeated last year with McIntosh as their leading rusher.

McIntosh has had the nickname “The Blueprint” since he was young — it’s still his Twitter handle — and he followed a good one to the NFL.