When you look at Jeremy Maclin’s stat line from Saturday’s game against Illinois it might look disheartening (4 receptions for only 31 yards). However, Jeremy did not play a full game. Missouri fans got a scare in the 4th quarter when Maclin was carted off the field. School spokesman Chad Moller said today an MRI exam revealed a slight injury to the tendon in the ankle. In fact, Maclin may even play this weekend.

This is not that start we wanted for Jeremy Maclin (who missed all of the 2006 season with a knee injury), but no one can predict injuries and they can happen to everyone. Missouri did end up winning the game though, 52-42, so that’s a good thing.

Jeremy is going to attempt to practice this afternoon, so we’ll keep you posted on his status.

Jeremy Maclin and the Missouri Tigers take the field vs. Illinois on Saturday August 30th for the first game of the year. I know Maclin is just itching to get back on the field and build on that insane 2007 season he put up. Everyone’s talking Heisman for Jeremy, so we’re all anxious to see if he can come out of the gate firing! I’ll have a full game preview later this week.

I have two things I wanted to touch on today.

1. Jeremy Maclin was in a USA Today article this morning. It’s called “Sky’s the limit for explosive Missouri wideout Maclin,” and you can read it here.

2. Tuesday, August 26 is Jeremy’s 20th birthday! Happy Birthday and don’t do anything too crazy!

Generally teams look to a senior quarterback like Chase Daniel for leadership. But that may not be the case with the Missouri Tigers this year. Sophomore Jeremy Maclin wants that role.

“It’s not really about topping it, it’s becoming a better player. I can become a better player and not top what I did last year. That’s definitely my focus, is just becoming a more polished receiver, a better leader, just leading everybody and showing them the way.”

Jeremy is taking all the steps necessary to become a great team mate and a respected receiver in the NCAA. Even the coaches are on board. “The great thing about Jeremy is his work ethic is so good. His practice habits are better than they’ve ever been, he’s stronger than he’s ever been, he’s faster than he’s ever been, he’s more physical than he’s ever been. We expect him to have a better year this year than he had last year.”

I’m not one to hype players, but I think this reallycould be a record breaking year for Jeremy Maclin. He has all the physical tools to be outstanding and best of all he has a Heisman-calibur QB throwing him the ball.

USA Today wrote an article about the top 5 favorite Non-QB Heisman candidates. On the list were Knowshon Moreno, Chris Wells, Michael Crabtree, Ian Johnson, and your very own Jeremy Maclin. Here’s what they had to say about him:

Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri: Could be hurt by having a Heisman Trophy favorite on his team in Chase Daniel. Maclin rushed for 375 yards and 4 TDs, caught 80 passes for 1,055 ards and 9 TDs and returned three kicks for 3 TDs. Desmond Howard in 1991 showed what a combination back can do for your Heisman chances. The game against Texas on Oct. 18 will say a lot for his and Daniel’s chances.

I’m not sure having Chase Daniel will hurt Maclins chances at becoming a Heisman winner. Reggie Bush won a Heisman with Matt Leinart on the team. What Maclin needs to do to secure a spot in college football history is make big plays in big games. He needs to have that “Heisman moment”.

Stu Durando of the St. Louis Today newspaper wrote an awesome article about Jeremy Maclin and his progress this offseason. The Missouri Tigers just started practice a few days ago, and already Maclin is wowing the coaching staff. Check out what Stu said:

We already had been told that receiver Jeremy Maclin is bigger, faster and stronger than last season, and now it appears, also quicker, according to coach Gary Pinkel.

We had seen what he can do with raw talent: 80 catches, 375 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns and a ridiculous amount of versatility in his first collegiate season.

Now we’re told that Maclin has added another weapon to his repertoire. He has discovered how to practice efficiently. And that’s no joke. That’s how a good player gets better, and Pinkel said Maclin has figured it out.

“His practice habits are completely different,” Pinkel said Tuesday morning. “Now you see him and he has good habits. When you have that, then fundamentally you get better. His one-on-one routes will be better along with his awareness and knowing the defenses and adjustments and the complexities of what we do on offense.”

Pinkel has seen the evidence in only two days of practice. He knows that opposing defenses are going to do everything imaginable to stop Maclin and Chase Daniel from destroying their Saturdays.

Pinkel seems to welcome that approach. In the Cotton Bowl, Arkansas did its best to slow Maclin, and he was held to three catches for 32 yards but the Tigers’ running game exploded.

“We see everything there is (from defenses) and work against just about everything there is,” Pinkel said. “What we do with Maclin is move him. He’s all over the field. We can put Chase Coffman to further side receiver or tight in the slot and the same with Jeremy Maclin. So, it’s very difficult unless you want to line up in just man and cover one guy or double because sometimes he’s at running back. He’s all over the place.”

If this doesn’t scare the crap out of opposing defenses then I don’t know what will. I originally thought Michael Crabtree would be the best WR in the Big 12, but after reading this… I’m thinking Jeremy may win that award.

Is Jeremy Maclin too valuable to play special teams? In 2007, he averages 12.28 yards per punt return and actually took 2 of them all the way for a touchdown. For kickoffs, he returned 43 of them for over 1,000 yards and score 1 touchdown. Those are awesome stats for a returner. But the question remains, is Jeremy Maclin too valuable to the Missouri Tigers to play special teams?

In the NFL, you will never see star players returning punts or kickoffs. The chance for injury is too high.

We should see a decrease in the number of punts and kickoffs Maclin returns in 2008. This year he is a sophomore and arguably the most valuable player on the team behind Chase Daniel. If Maclin got injured on a punt return it would be devastating. I would love to see him still return some punts and kickoffs, especially in big game situations, but not when the team is winning or playing a non-conference game.

Having great return skills will help Jeremy Maclin get drafted by an NFL team, but it’s not a necessity. Guys like Calvin Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, and Braylon Edwards were not return specialists. So what do you think? Would you keep him back there returning all the kickoffs and punts, or limit him in 2008?

The 2008 college football season is approaching very quickly. I was searching around on Youtube and found this awesome Jeremy Maclin 2008 preview video. It starts out with a quote that goes like this:

“I have a tendency to start gliding. When I’m running and I know I’m beating everybody, I have a tendency to start gliding.”

EA Sports has released a spreadsheet of the player stats for all players on Top 25 teams. Since the Missouri Tigers are a Top 25 team, we’ve been given a sneak peak at Jeremy Maclin’s game stats. You can download the entire spreadsheet here.

For those of you wanting the Cliff’s Notes: Jeremy Maclin has an overall rating of 94 with 97 (speed), 97 (agility), 98 (acceleration), 96 (elusiveness), 94 (spin), 98 (juke), 93 (catching), and 92 (spectacular catching).

The Missouri Tigers were just dealt some bad news. Wide receiver Danario Alexander will miss at least the nonconference part of the Tigers’ upcoming football season, having torn a graft on his anterior cruciate ligament, a repair to his left knee that he underwent after last season. It was Alexander’s injury last season that opened the door for Jeremy Maclin to be a starter. You never wish for injury on someone, but if Alexander was never hurt, Maclin may not have had the opportunities he had last season.

But Alexander and Maclin are connected in an other way too. They roomed together last season at Missouri and Maclin has been very kind and helpful with Alexanders recovery. “He’s been through this before and knows what it takes to come back quickly,” Alexander said in April. Maclin tore his ACL in the summer before his true freshman year. He sat out that season and then broke out as a redshirt freshman last year.

With Alexander down for at least the first half of the season, even more defender’s eyes will be on Jeremy Maclin.

No wide receiver has won a Heisman since Desmond Howard in 1991. That’s almost 20 years! I’ve been browsing through some 2008 Heisman candidate lists from websites like Scout, and quite a few of them have Jeremy Maclin on the watch list.

Last year Jeremy Maclin was second in the nation in all-purpose yards, averaging 209 yards per game. It is very likely that he will continue his reign of terror since he has another Heisman candidate in Chase Daniel throwing him the ball. In order for Maclin to win the Heisman, he needs to put up gawdy numbers, help Missouri get to the National Championship game and have a Heisman “moment”. It will be hard for him to win it as long as Chase is at QB, because he will garner a lot of the attention. It will really be that spectacular “moment” that Maclin needs to seal the deal.

I think it’s possible, but not likely. Don’t forget Jeremy Maclin is only a sophomore too, and we didn’t see a sophomore win a Heisman until last year with Tim Tebow.