As most of the team headed out of the Verde Dickey Dome after the normal two-hour practice on Tuesday, Arizona State senior wide receiver Malik McClain headed back out on the field and strapped up his yellow Adidas gloves for another session of catching balls with teammate and fellow wide receiver Kaleb Black.
It’s all about McClain playing a little bit of catch-up as he prepares for the 2024 season opener against Wyoming. McClain missed the first week of preseason training camp due to a family matter. While seven days may not seem like a lot, it can be in this sport.
“It’s football, everything moves fast,” said McClain.
McClain is a former four-star wide receiver who was in the ESPN 300 after starring as a prep at the vaunted IMG Academy in Florida. He began his career at Florida State before transferring and playing last season with Penn State.
Despite missing the start of camp, the 6-foot-4 inch McClain has already impressed in his new home in Tempe under new wide receivers coach Hines Ward. The former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver was hired in April to lead the room.
“His length is really what helps us,” Ward said. “Troy (Omeire) is really our only other big guy. Troy’s been kind of banged up in camp, so having another guy to fill in as a great catch radius, using his size. Now it’s a matter of getting him conditioned, caught up and ready to play. So far, so good. He’s had a phenomenal camp.”
McClain has relished the opportunity to learn under someone like Ward, who was the MVP of Super Bowl 40 against the Seattle Seahawks in 2006.
It’s not often someone who made $38.9 million in career earnings in the NFL comes down to college to become a position coach.
“It’s been huge,” McClain said about Ward’s presence. “Great mentor. Great person, on and off the field. He teaches us a lot. He pours into it. We just gotta soak it up.”
It’s safe to assume that McClain will certainly be a factor in the offense with his large frame.
“He has a thirst for knowledge,” Ward said. “He wants to learn. He wants to get better. You can see it. Sometimes, when you’re a senior, it’s your last run, and you kind of start to get buckled down on everything and try to put in the time. He’s going to be an asset to us. We have to use him in the rotation.”
Redshirt sophomore Jordyn Tyson and redshirt senior Xavier Guillory look to be ahead, but McClain is projected to slot in right after them.
With former prep star Jake Smith, who made a name for himself at Scottsdale Notre Dame Preparatory as the Gatorade National Football Player of the Year in 2018-2019, now back in Arizona and in the fold after returning from injury, the wide receiver room is eager to prove itself as redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt guides the offense.
ASU football depth chart: How roster stacks up for game vs Wyoming
McClain went the musical route, comparing the group to a song by Peter Tosh, a Jamaican reggae musician who passed away in 1987.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of the song, ‘Stepping Razor,’ but it basically means it’s a razor on the ground and if you step on it, you might die,” McClain said. “They got us on the ground right now, and we’re a razor. We’re extremely dangerous. They don’t know what’s coming at all.”
Or, in the words of Peter Tosh:
“I’m like a flashing laser and a rolling thunder.
“I’m dangerous, dangerous
“I’m like a stepping razor
“Don’t you watch my size
“I’m dangerous, I’m dangerous.”
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, ASU and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at [email protected] or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.
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Publish date : 2024-08-30 03:02:00
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