Jeremy Maclin

Jeremy Maclin (born May 11, 1988) is an American football wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Missouri, and was a two-time All-American as a kick returner. He was selected by the Eagles in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft.

Early years
Maclin was born in Chesterfield, Missouri. He attended Kirkwood High School in Kirkwood, Missouri from 2002 to 2006, where he was a letterman in football and basketball.

College career


Maclin attended the University of Missouri, where he played on coach Gary Pinkel's Missouri Tigers football team from 2006 to 2008. He played as a redshirt sophomore wide receiver, punt and kick return specialist for the Missouri Tigers in 2007 and 2008. He holds the NCAA freshman record for most all-purpose yards in a single season. His yardage totals in four categories were: 307 punt returning, 375 rushing, 1,039 kickoff returning, and 1,055 receiving for a total of 2,776 yards; an average of 198.3 yards per game in his 14 games.

2007 season
Maclin was named as a Consensus First-team All-American by the Associated Press as a wide receiver and as an All-Purpose player. Maclin, paired with Heisman Trophy finalist Chase Daniel led the Missouri Tigers to a 12-2 record and victory in the 2008 Cotton Bowl Classic. Maclin also gained All-America selections on various other teams as a kick returner. He finished his All-American season with 80 receptions and 16 touchdowns.

2008 season
Maclin began his second season with the Tigers (2008) with high expectations and possible consideration for the Heisman Trophy. In the Tigers’ season-opener against the Illinois Fighting Illini, he returned a kickoff for a touchdown but left the game with an ankle injury. He had 4 receptions for 31 yards and a touchdown. The next game, against Southeast Missouri State, Maclin caught only 2 passes for 20 yards and a touchdown. Maclin was also involved in a trick play, however, in which quarterback Chase Daniel lined up at wide receiver and Maclin lined up at quarterback. Maclin threw a lateral to Daniel, who threw down field for a touchdown. Maclin recorded 6 receptions for 172 yards and 3 touchdowns against Nevada.

He led all of major-college football in all-purpose yards per game with 202.36 (2,833 yds. in 14 G), over 15 yards more than second-place Jahvid Best (187.25) of California. He had 1,260 receiving, 1,010 kickoff return, 293 rushing, and 270 punt returns yardage for 2,833 all-purpose yards.

He was named to the Associated Press All-American as a wide receiver, and he was once again named to the First-team as the All-Purpose player. Maclin was a unanimous pick in 2007 for the same position as a freshman.

College statistics
(through Dec. 29, 2008)

* school record + NCAA freshman record

Source:

2009 NFL Draft
Maclin was considered a top National Football League prospect following his second season, and roommate Sean Weatherspoon hoped to convince Maclin to return for his junior year instead of leaving Missouri for the 2009 NFL Draft. Weatherspoon’s efforts were unsuccessful, and on January 9, 2009, Maclin declared for the 2009 NFL Draft. Draft analyst Mel Kiper projected Maclin to go to the Oakland Raiders with the seventh pick in the first round of the NFL Draft, but that was after Michael Crabtree, another highly-regarded prospect at wide receiver, measured in at 6'1", two inches shorter than his published height. Crabtree also suffered a broken bone (Jones fracture) in his left foot prohibiting him from working out at the NFL Combine. Maclin’s personal best in the 40-yard dash was 4.31 seconds, but he wanted to lower that to 4.29 seconds in the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. He tripped and fell during a passing drill at the NFL Scouting Combine on February 22, 2009, hyperextending his left knee, and wasn’t running at full speed, but previously to his fall, unofficially ran the 40-yard dash in 4.34 seconds and 4.4 seconds that morning. He ran the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine in 4.45 sec., but the earlier unofficial times conflicted with other reports that said he ran the dash first in 4.34 seconds and then 4.44 seconds. After originally believing he had to get an MRI on his injured left knee, it was reported he would not need one as the knee was healthy by the end of the Combine. He also had a sore right hip because of the fall, but that also proved to be minor. Maclin scored very high for a wide receiver on the Wonderlic Test with a score of 25, compared to the normal score of 18 for wide receivers.

2009 season
Maclin went further down in the draft than expected, but was eventually drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round at 19th overall.

On August 3, after eight days of disagreements with the Eagles front office, Maclin signed a 5-year, $15.5 million deal ($9.5 million guaranteed).

Maclin started in his first NFL game on September 27, 2009 against the Kansas City Chiefs in week 3 in place of the injured Kevin Curtis. He caught four passes for 33 yards in that game.

On October 11, 2009 Jeremy Maclin scored his first NFL career touchdown on a 51-yard reception from Donovan McNabb as the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 33-14. Maclin also recorded his second NFL touchdown reception later in the game.

On December 27, 2009, in a home game against the Denver Broncos and with the score tied 27-27, Maclin made a decisive catch on the sideline to extend a crucial late drive for the Eagles. McNabb threw a tight spiral to the sideline and Maclin caught it while toeing the line. Initially the catch was ruled incomplete, but upon further review was ruled a catch and first down. Three plays later Eagles Kicker David Akers kicked the game winning field goal, sealing victory for Philadelphia 30-27. For this he received Rookie of the Week honors.

On January 9, 2010, in the Eagles’ NFC Wildcard game against the Dallas Cowboys, Maclin became the youngest player to score a touchdown in NFL postseason history, aged 21 years and 243 days. In the second quarter, he caught a 76 yard pass from Michael Vick, Vick’s longest career touchdown pass and Maclin’s longest career touchdown catch. With 146 yards, Maclin broke the Eagles record for receiving yards in a playoff game, breaking Keith Jackson's record of 142 yards set during the 1988 NFC Divisional Game against the Chicago Bears. Jeremy Maclin and Desean Jackson could be the ideal young tandem in the NFL.

2010 season
On August 3, 2010, Maclin was carted off the training camp practice field with a leg injury. Further evaluation showed that he suffered a bone bruise. Maclin has since returned and caught 70 passes for 964 yards the longest for 83 yards. He has scored 10 touchdowns. In the 2010-2011 season Maclin led the league in Red Zone receiving touchdowns with 7, tying division rival Hakeem Nicks.

2011 season
Maclin was placed on the active/non-football illness list on August 3, 2011. On August 5, Andy Reid said that he expected Maclin to be healthy for the regular season. It was revealed on August 17 that Maclin was held out of training camp because of a lymphoma scare. An inflammatory virus was determined as the cause of the symptoms he showed and he did not have cancer. He was activated from the active/non-football illness list on August 27. In week 2, Maclin caught 13 passes with 171 yards and 2 TDs but lost to the Atlanta Falcons 31-35.