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WATCH: Penn State wide receiver Malik McClain run routes at Pro Day

Headshot 5x7 reduced qualityby:Thomas Frank Carr•03/27/23•

ThomasFrankCarr

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Former Penn State wide recevier Malik McClain. (Photo: Dan Althouse/BWI)

Penn State held its annual Pro Day on Friday, where a full compliment of 2023 NFL Draft hopefuls attended. While all of them didn’t perform, most put their skills on display for the assembled scouts and front-office officials from NFL teams. However, it wasn’t just players moving on from Penn State that made an appearance. Two current Penn State wide receivers caught passes from quarterback Sean Clifford during his on-field work.

The player we’ll focus on right now is wide receiver, Malik McClain. First, check out his highlights from the afternoon. While Lambert-Smith ran primarily deep routes for Clifford, McClain showed off his footwork and route running. For a 6-4 wide receiver, the Florida State transfer looked good, mainly running crisp routes on Friday.

Penn State receiver Malik McClain shows off for NFL scouts a year early

While McClain looks good running routes against air in shorts, the coaching staff hasn’t yet heaped praise on the receiver when given a chance. Offensive Coordinator Mike Yurcich likes what he’s seen from a physical standpoint but is still learning more about McClain,

“I think Malik is a unique guy, and he brings really good size. He’s got good enough speed. He’s a guy that, from an attitude standpoint, you can see that he likes to compete. So I think just overall, if you had to sum it up, he’s a very competitive guy that’s going to raise the elevation and the competitiveness in that room.”

Penn State head coach James Franklin hasn’t seen enough from the players outside of Lambert-Smith and third-year receiver Harrison Wallace to say that there’s a clear-cut separation between the receiver vying for playing time.

“There’s going to be a competition really with all of those guys. But I think that’s probably one of the big question marks between now and the first game: who will be that third guy that will separate? There’s a number of guys that I think are battling for it. But who’s going to separate themselves from the pack and be a true number three, or are we going to rotate that position all year long?” Franklin said after practice a week ago.

McClain, much like teammate Malick Meiga, has an impressive combination of size and speed. The difference is that McClain doesn’t have the same history as the Penn State staff. His goal over the next three weeks is to prove that he’s close to the player running route in front of NFL Scouts, not just another name and face in a crowded wide receiver room.

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