Maclin pressor tomorrow

[Mr. Laz]

expected to announce that he's entering NFL draft

espn

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by DaKCMan AP

You're seriously mistaken. Jeff Demps has world-class speed. Holliday over at LSU is faster than Maclin too.

And they're both 4-5 inches shorter...

[DaKCMan AP]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

And they're both 4-5 inches shorter...

That's wonderful, but I'm not arguing that Maclin isn't a speedster and exceptionally so for his size. The comment was that he's the fastest person seen in pads and/or the fastest player in college football. That's just not true.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by DaKCMan AP

That's wonderful, but I'm not arguing that Maclin isn't a speedster and exceptionally so for his size. The comment was that he's the fastest person seen in pads and/or the fastest player in college football. That's just not true.

I'd take Maclin's field speed over a guy like Holliday any day. Just think it holds up better at Maclin's size with pads on than it does for Holliday (or the tiny speedster at Clemson, his name slips my mind).

It did kind of amaze me how many smallish RBs Florida has... but those guys are tough and successful.

[bkkcoh]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

He can go anywhere but the Raiders so I can at least root for him.

Amen and Rep

[dj56dt58]

it would be nice if he would have played for MU one more year so we can get a qb this year and grab him next year..we need a returner badly..not sure how good of an NFL receiver he's gonna be but he's gonna be a top returner

[KChiefs1]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft0...ory?id=3821549

Maclin, expected 1st-rounder, to go pro

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Outrunning defenses came easy for Missouri wide receiver and return specialist Jeremy Maclin. Saying goodbye was the hard part.

The two-time All-American announced his widely expected decision to turn pro Friday -- but not before breaking down in tears at the microphone before a crowd of reporters, grateful teammates and coaches.


"This decision hasn't been easy," Maclin said, adding that he didn't completely make up his mind until 10 minutes before the news conference. "As much as I love you guys ... I feel like I'm ready for the next level."


The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Maclin scored 17 touchdowns and caught 102 passes for Missouri this season while leading the nation in all-purpose yardage, helping elevate the Tigers to national prominence with a brief stint at No. 1 in the late-season rankings last year and consecutive appearances in the Big 12 Conference championship.

As a freshman, he scored 16 touchdowns and immediately electrified a program mired in mediocrity for years. Maclin sat out his first year in Columbia after injuring his knee during summer workouts, but announced his presence in the 2007 season opener with two touchdowns in a home victory against Illinois.

He totaled 2,833 all-purpose yards this season -- fifth-most in NCAA history -- and capped his career by igniting Missouri's comeback victory over Northwestern in the Alamo Bowl with a third-quarter punt return and then catching the game-winning touchdown pass in overtime.

Several mock drafts have rated Maclin as a first-round pick, some projecting him for the top 10.

"He's the elite of the elite," said assistant coach Cornell Ford, who helped recruit Maclin. "He set the bar for this program."

Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said he gave Maclin his blessing to move on to the NFL.

"That's the right thing for him, which is ultimately the right thing for our program," Pinkel said. "He asked me if I thought he was ready, and I said, 'Yes.' Maybe that's being too honest, but it's the truth."

Pinkel said he knew right away that Maclin was a special player. He recounted driving home after the 2007 game against Illinois and telling his wife, "We've got a superstar here."

Maclin said that the specter of another, potentially career-ending injury loomed large in his decision to leave early.

"It's definitely something you think about," he said. "In a worst-case scenario, you get hurt and you can never play football again."

Missouri finished the 2008 season at 10-4, collecting double-digit victories in consecutive years for the first time in school history.

With a high-powered spread offense led by 2007 Heisman Trophy finalist Chase Daniel at quarterback, the Tigers began the season with expectations of contending for a national championship. But those dreams faded following an upset loss at home to Oklahoma State, a lopsided defeat to then No. 1-Texas in Austin and a 41-point drubbing by Oklahoma in the conference title game.

[Thig Lyfe]

Draft 'em, Scott!!!!!!

[KChiefs1]

http://missouri.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=898527

So Long, Superstar

Gabe DeArmond
PowerMizzou.com Publisher

It seemed like an easy decision. On Tuesday afternoon, Jeremy Maclin got the call. A National Football League official told the Missouri sophomore that he was projected as a first-round pick in the NFL draft. It was the call for which Maclin had waited his whole life.

Dan Turner
Maclin ended his career with 5,609 all-purpose yards.

"It was a high when he got that information," said Jeff Parres, whose family took Maclin into their home when he was a troubled St. Louis adolescent. "This is great. I'm gone. I'm going to play in the NFL."

But over the next few days, Maclin kept feeling the pull of coming back to Columbia for his junior season.

"You kind of lean one way or the other. I've been going back and forth," Maclin said. "We've seen a lot together. You got things that you still want to achieve as a team and individually as far as national championship, Big 12 Championship, Heisman, the Biletnikoff Award. All those things. Not very many people can say they won those things and that's something I considered when making the decision."

Maclin said he did not make a final decision until about ten minutes before speaking with the media, in the midst of a meeting with Missouri coaches.

"If he's my son, what am I going to tell my son? I told him you have got to strongly consider going," Pinkel said. "He asked me if I thought he was ready and I said yeah, I do think you're ready. Maybe that's being too honest."

In the end, Maclin agreed with his coach.

"I'm saying right now, I'm entering the 2009 NFL draft," Maclin said. "I feel like I'm ready for the next level and that's what my heart told me to do."

If anyone believed this was not an easy decision, Maclin's demeanor destroyed the notion. He battled back tears multiple times during his six-and-a-half minute address. Eventually, Maclin turned and walked out of the room in mid-sentence, unable to hold back his tears.

"All those guys are like father figures to me. They didn't teach me how to just be a football player. They taught me how to be a man," he said. "I'm leaving a family. This is my family. This is where I belong."

But now, he belongs on an NFL field on Sundays. Pinkel said he discussed with Maclin the importance of getting his college degree, and that Maclin would work toward that when he had time. Over the next few months, he will be focused on preparing for the NFL combine and the April draft. Parres said the family was leaning toward Maclin continuing his training with strength coach Pat Ivey at Missouri, but that would be finalized after Maclin signs with an agent. Either way, Maclin's heart remains at Mizzou.

"I don't know where I'd be without all these guys," he said. "I represent Missouri. I will always be a Tiger."


http://missouri.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=898545

Sadness, but no regrets for Maclin

Gabe DeArmond
PowerMizzou.com Publisher

Friday wasn't supposed to be a sad day. Well, maybe for Gary Pinkel and Andy Hill, who will no longer get to coach Jeremy Maclin. Maybe for Missouri fans, who will never again watch the most electrifying player in the history of the program grace Faurot Field. But it wasn't supposed to be a sad day for Maclin himself.

Dan Turner
Maclin will go down as one of the best ever to play at Mizzou.

And yet, as I sat and watched Maclin talk to reporters about his decision to enter the 2009 NFL Draft, you'd have to have been blind to ignore the sadness that was there.

Maclin broke down in tears twice. He struggled to keep his emotions in check as he addressed the media with red-rimmed eyes.

"I have no regrets. This has been the best experience of my life," Maclin said. "This is my family."

One reporter asked Maclin if he had talked with any of his former teammates who now play on Sundays.

"I had a conversation with..." he started to answer.

That's as far as Maclin got. He turned from the podium, hugged his coach and walked out the door of the Onofrio meeting room. As he left, he shut the door on one of the most memorable careers in Missouri football history.

Ultimately, Maclin was not sad. He said again and again that he knew he was making the right choice. During a meeting with the coaches on Friday morning, Pinkel and Hill stressed to Maclin that next year's Missouri team would look different. The national championship is probably not a realistic goal. Every defensive coordinator would give No. 9 even more attention than they'd given him during his all-American sophomore season. Injuries, as Maclin knows all too well, are a factor.

And despite all that, Maclin strongly considered staying a college student. I asked Jeff Parres, the surrogate father who took Maclin in during his adolescent years and coached him as a budding football star, if it was fair to say that Jeremy wanted to stay, but he had to leave.

"I think that's a good way to put it," Parres said.

To understand why Maclin reacted the way he did, you have to know from where he came.

Maclin grew up more or less on his own. The story has been told and re-told. His mother battled drug addiction. Maclin and his brothers would often fend for themselves at night, even as elementary school students. As practice concluded on the youth football team, Parres often wondered where Maclin would sleep that night.

The Parres family took him in and watched him grow into a superstar. College coaches across the country wanted Maclin. He initially committed to Oklahoma, after visiting schools like Missouri and Texas Tech as well. But Maclin continued to be a fixture at Tiger games during his senior season. Eventually, the pull of playing close to home was too strong.

"Jeremy's never really been far from home," Parres said.

So Maclin signed with Mizzou. The summer before his freshman season, he suffered what Pinkel has called one of the worst knee injuries he has ever seen. The all-American career was on hold. As the Tigers won eight games and went to the Sun Bowl, Maclin watched from the sidelines. As he rehabbed his knee, Maclin showed teammates he was the same player he'd been before the injury. In his first college game against Illinois, he showed the country. Maclin put up 227 all-purpose yards and scored touchdowns on a punt return and a reception.

"Driving back on the bus after the game," Pinkel recalled, "I told my wife, 'We've got a superstar here.'"

Over the next two years, Maclin would prove that statement true. He ended his career with 182 receptions for 2315 yards and 22 touchdowns. He ran for 668 yards and six scores. He had 2,626 return yards and brought back five total kicks for touchdowns. But numbers don't do it justice. Maclin was, simply, the most exciting player this University has ever seen.

And yet, as much as Maclin did for Mizzou, he insists it may have done more for him.

"I don't know where I'd be without all these guys," he said through tears.

The feeling is mutual. The pleasure was all ours.

[Mecca]

I don't have anything against the guy but him being a top 15 pick just seems ridiculous to me, it's his 40 time and nothing else.

[eazyb81]

Originally Posted by Mecca

I don't have anything against the guy but him being a top 15 pick just seems ridiculous to me, it's his 40 time and nothing else.

WTF? Have you watched him play at all?

He's not a Tedd Ginn V2; he has very good hands and his route running improved dramatically this year. Plus he has more than just straight line speed, he can stop on a dime and get back into full gear quickly.

[Mecca]

That all may be true but his 40 time and special teams play is boosting him up, I think he's a 2 at best in the NFL, the deep threat opposite the one and I wouldn't use a top 15 pick on a guy who wasn't a 1.

[eazyb81]

Originally Posted by Mecca

That all may be true but his 40 time and special teams play is boosting him up, I think he's a 2 at best in the NFL, the deep threat opposite the one and I wouldn't use a top 15 pick on a guy who wasn't a 1.

I won't disagree with you there. Of course his special teams play will help him, and it makes him more than just an average #2 WR. He's a weapon that can score any time he touches the ball, but he's also a real WR, not just a fast guy trying to play WR.

By saying "it's his 40 time and nothing else", it made it seem that you thought he was only going to get drafted high because he has fast track speed.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by Mecca

That all may be true but his 40 time and special teams play is boosting him up, I think he's a 2 at best in the NFL, the deep threat opposite the one and I wouldn't use a top 15 pick on a guy who wasn't a 1.

It would be about as smart as taking Ted Ginn 9.

[Chief Roundup]

Did anyone else see the press conference highlights on espn?
The guy must be from the Dick Vermeil emotional tree.

[KcMizzou]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

http://missouri.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=898527

So Long, Superstar

Gabe DeArmond
PowerMizzou.com Publisher

Ugh... good read.

The kid was a blast to watch. He'll be missed.