Maclin declares for NFL Draft
Sophomore wide receiver Jeremy Maclin tears up after announcing his decision to enter the 2009 NFL draft during a press conference Friday morning at the Mizzou Athletic Training Complex. Maclin, a two-time All-American and MU's record holder for all-purpose yards, has been projected to be a top-10 pick in April's draft.
Andrew Worrall/Senior Staff Photographer | Sophomore wide receiver Jeremy Maclin tears up after announcing his decision to enter the 2009 NFL draft during a press conference Friday morning at the Mizzou Athletic Training Complex. Maclin, a two-time All-American and MU's record holder for all-purpose yards, has been projected to be a top-10 pick in April's draft.
Sophomore wide receiver Jeremy Maclin announced earlier today that he will not return to Missouri next season so he can pursue his professional football career. The All-American called for a press conference from Missouri's Athletic Training Complex to make the announcement.
Maclin had a terrific 2008 season as a wide receiver with 102 catches for 1260 yards and 13 touchdowns. But what makes Maclin so special is his ability to impact the game whenever he touches the ball. Maclin was also the Tiger's second leading rusher with 306 yards and two touchdowns.
His biggest impact in the NFL, however, may be via special teams. Maclin is an explosive return man that forces teams to kick the ball away from him if they don't want to pay the price, like Northwestern did in the Alamo Bowl.
Basically, Maclin is an all-purpose yardage machine. Declaring for the draft after his sophomore season is absolutely the right decision for him.
If Maclin were to come back, it would be to a quarterback that has never started a college game before. He is currently projected to be a top 15 pick; realistically, there is no room for him to move up.
Also, coming back would only risk injury and knowing that could potentially cause the speedster not to play with his typical recklessness.
As far as what his success will be like in the NFL? I'm not so sure. Maclin seems a little small at right around 6'0" 200 lbs. With his speed he could definitely be a terrific return man, but I can't imagine him being an NFL number one wide receiver.
Whatever the case, he'll be the most hyped Missouri draft pick that most students will remember, and all of them will be excited to see how he does.
4:09 p.m., Jan. 9, 2009
Mizzou! said:
We will miss him :(