Robert McClain

Robert McClain

McClain with the Atlanta Falcons
No. 27, 35, 36
Position:	Cornerback
Personal information
Born:	(1988-07-22) July 22, 1988 (age 35) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height:	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight:	180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school:	Patuxent (Lusby, Maryland)
College:	Connecticut (2006–2009)
NFL draft:	2010  / Round: 7 / Pick: 249
Career history
Carolina Panthers (2010–2011) Jacksonville Jaguars (2011) Atlanta Falcons (2012–2014) New England Patriots (2015)* Carolina Panthers (2015–2016) San Diego Chargers (2016) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2017)
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles: 298 Sacks: 2.5 Forced fumbles: 2 Fumble recoveries: 5 Interceptions: 7 Defensive touchdowns: 1
Player stats at PFR

Robert "Reggie" McClain (born July 22, 1988) is a former American football cornerback.

McClain was a cornerback, punt returner, and kick returner with the University of Connecticut Huskies. He was a co-captain in 2009 and was selected as All-Big East Second-team cornerback by the coaches and first-team Big East as a punt returner. He received the Brian Kozlowski Award, named for the former Husky tight end and 13-year NFL veteran. McClain finished his senior season with 60 tackles, four interceptions, three pass breakups and a fumble recovery on defense, and stepped in as the punt returner halfway through the season running back 15 punts for a Big East leading 222 yards and a touchdown. ^[1] McClain was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the seventh round of the 2010 NFL draft.

High school career

McClain was an All-State selection at Patuxent High School in Lusby, Maryland, under head coach Steve Crounse. McClain was named first-team All-Metro by the Washington Post as a cornerback, named All-League as both a running back and a cornerback as a senior and all league cornerback as a junior. He rushed for 1,105 yards and 12 touchdowns, caught 25 passes for 421 yards and four touchdowns, and returned five kickoffs for touchdowns in 2005, one short of the national single season record. McClain also returned a punt 98 yards for a touchdown, intercepted six passes in 2005, broke up 19 others, and made 53 tackles. He attended high school with former UConn tailback Terry Caulley. He attended Eaglecrest High School in Aurora, Colorado in 2002-2003, where he played as a starting running back. He then later attended Patuxent High School for the remainder of his high school career.

College career

2006 season

McClain played in the final seven games on special teams returning 13 kickoffs for an average of 19.0 yards and two punts. He made five tackles in coverage, four of them solo tackles, and was named the Offensive Scout Team Player of the Week on three occasions. ^[2]

2007 season

McClain played corner back and on special teams in 13 games. He recovered a fumble at Pittsburgh and recorded his first career interception against Maine. He made five tackles at West Virginia, four tackles and an interception in a win over Rutgers, and intercepted an end zone pass in the against University of South Florida. He became a starter in the final regular season game at West Virginia University and was a nickel back for much of the season finishing with 30 tackles (19 solo), three interceptions and three other pass breakups. ^{[2] [3]}

2008 season

In the 2008 season, McClain intercepted two Cincinnati passes, returning one for a touchdown to help secure a victory. ^[4] He started against Syracuse November 15 after an injury to Darius Butler and returned an interception 37 yards for a touchdown. He played in all 13 games with four starts, recorded 30 tackles on the season and led the team in tackles in an International Bowl victory over Buffalo University January 3 with eight (including 3.5 tackles for a loss). He accumulated a total of three interceptions on the season, 5.5 tackles for a loss, five pass breakups, a quarterback hurry. ^{[2] [3]}

2009 season

McClain was tied for second best with 4 interceptions in the Big East, was third on his team with 60 tackles in regular season play, and was considered a prospect for the NFL draft. ^{[2] [5]} In 10 games he returned 15 punts for 222 yards, an average return of 14.8 yards, including one returned for a touchdown. ^[3] He also returned two kickoffs for 24 yards. ^[3] He intercepted 10 passes during his career at UConn. ^[3]

After a performance in the PapaJohns.com Bowl at Legion Field where McClain was "seemingly was everywhere on defense and special teams Saturday in the Huskies’ 20-7 win over South Carolina", with four tackles, two tackles for loss, three pass breakups" and impressive punt returns, McClain said he will be trying for a pro football career. "I’m praying to God it happens so I can continue playing football and work hard. Hopefully I get invited somewhere. If it works out, it works out, great. If it doesn’t, it’s the military. I’m going to the Marines. I’ve got to have a plan in case football doesn’t work out." McClain also said he would remember the season, his coaches and his teammate and friend "Jazz" (Jasper Howard) who died in a stabbing during the season for the rest of his life. ^[6]

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

McClain was drafted in the seventh round, 249th overall pick by the Carolina Panthers in the 2010 NFL draft. ^[7] On September 3, 2011, he was released on the day of final roster cuts.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On December 12, 2011, McClain signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars. ^[8] On December 30, 2011, he was released after the team claimed offensive tackle William Robinson off waivers. ^[8]

Atlanta Falcons

McClain had a standout season in 2012 for the Atlanta Falcons. After cutting Dunta Robinson, and letting Chris Owens and Brent Grimes walk to the Cleveland Browns and the Miami Dolphins, respectively, in free agency, McClain reprised his role in the nickel spot behind Asante Samuel and Desmond Trufant in 2013. He intercepted Drew Brees in Week 1.

New England Patriots

McClain signed with the New England Patriots on March 18, 2015. ^[9] He was released by the Patriots on September 5, 2015. ^[10]

Carolina Panthers (second stint)

On December 15, 2015, McClain re-signed with the Carolina Panthers and became a starter. ^[11] On February 7, 2016, he was part of the Panthers team that played in Super Bowl 50. In the game, the Panthers fell to the Denver Broncos by a score of 24–10. ^[12]

McClain was released by the Panthers on December 9, 2016. ^[13]

San Diego Chargers

McClain was claimed off waivers by the Chargers on December 12, 2016. ^[14]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On May 10, 2017, McClain signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. ^[15] On September 17, 2017, in Week 2 against the Chicago Bears, he intercepted quarterback Mike Glennon and ran the ball back 47 yards for a touchdown. ^[16]

NFL statistics

Year	Team	GP	COMB	TOTAL	AST	SACK	FF	FR	FR YDS	INT	IR YDS	AVG IR	LNG	TD	PD
2010	CAR	16	16	14	2	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
2012	ATL	15	61	53	8	0.0	0	2	28	1	32	32	32	0	10
2013	ATL	16	65	55	10	1.0	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
2014	ATL	16	59	49	10	1.0	0	0	0	2	5	3	5	0	5
2015	CAR	3	7	4	3	0.0	0	0	0	1	24	24	24	0	1
2016	CAR	11	21	17	0.5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
	SD	3	1	1	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2017	TB	14	50	41	9	0.0	0	0	0	3	53	17.7	47	1	5
Career		94	298	239	59	2.5	2	3	0	7	114	16.3	47	1	28

^[17]

Key

• GP: games played
• COMB: combined tackles
• TOTAL: total tackles
• AST: assisted tackles
• SACK: sacks
• FF: forced fumbles
• FR: fumble recoveries
• FR YDS: fumble return yards
• INT: interceptions
• IR YDS: interception return yards
• AVG IR: average interception return
• LNG: longest interception return
• TD: interceptions returned for touchdown
• PD: passes defensed

References

1. Chip Malafronte UConn presents team awards December 14, 2009 (Ramblings from The Runway blog) New Haven Register
2. Robert McClain NFL Draft Scout CBS Sports
3. Robert McClain stats ^{[ permanent dead link ]} college career CBS 5
4. Chris Mogollon Connecticut 40, Cincinnati 16 Archived March 14, 2020, at the Wayback Machine October 26, 2008 NFL Draft Bible
5. "Unknown".^{[ permanent dead link ]}
6. Desmond Conner McClain savors senior sendoff] January 3, 2010 The Hartford Courant
7. "2010 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
8. "Robert McClain". kffl.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
9. "Corner Robert McClain Says He's Signing With Patriots". boston.cbslocal.com. March 18, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
10. Howe, Jeff (September 5, 2015). "Dax Swanson, Xzavier Dickson among final cuts to get to 53-man roster". Boston Herald . Retrieved October 6, 2015.
11. Henson, Max (December 15, 2015). "Panthers sign CB Robert McClain". Panthers.com. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
12. "Super Bowl 50 - Denver Broncos vs. Carolina Panthers - February 7th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved September 2, 2017.
13. "Panthers waive Robert McClain, sign Ben Jacobs". Panthers.com. December 9, 2016. Archived from the original on December 10, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
14. Henne, Ricky (December 12, 2016). "Chargers Add Veteran Cornerback Robert McClain". Chargers.com.
15. Smith, Scott (May 10, 2017). "Buccaneers Add Robert McClain for CB Depth". Buccaneers.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2017. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
16. "Chicago Bears at Tampa Bay Buccaneers - September 17th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved October 31, 2017.
17. "Robert McClain Stats". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved April 15, 2015.

External links

• Robert McClain on X
• Carolina Panthers bio Archived May 26, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
• New England Patriots bio Archived March 21, 2015, at the Wayback Machine