FSU football: Grading our top 10 bold predictions for 2021 season
By Kelvin Hunt
Malik McClain will have a 500+ receiving yards
"I know, I know. I’ve been on record several times regarding the difficulty of freshmen wide receivers making an impact. However, one thing that favors McClain here is he was an early enrollee. That’s an advantage he’ll have over most freshmen, and I know Mike Norvell will look to put him in situations where he can win 1-on-1 matchups. What type of stat line would it take for Malik McClain to have 500 receiving yards? McClain isn’t going to be a possession receiver, so he’ll be involved in explosive plays more than not. If he can have around 30 receptions and average right over 16 yards per reception? That would put him at 500 yards on the season. One other factor is FSU plays the likes of Jacksonville State, Syracuse, and UMASS. All of those teams are terrible, not to mention Wake Forest and Boston College had terrible defenses last season. The offense should sustain more drives this year, which means more opportunities to get the ball to the receivers."
I should have known better with this prediction since it was on the high end, but that’s why we call them BOLD. I likely overvalued him as an early enrollee. McClain finished the season with 190 reception yards.
Part of me wants to say he would have benefited from having Jordan Travis healthy the entire season, but he still likely falls way short of 500 receiving yards. Hopefully, he’ll take the next step in 2022 with a year of experience under his belt.