Chris McClellan Talks How Mizzou Prepared Him for NFL Career

INDIANAPOLIS — Chris McClellan wreaked havoc in the SEC for the last four years, including the last two with Missouri. Now, he's ready to take those disrupting habits to the NFL.

As a quick, 6-foot-4, 323-pound defensive tackle, McClellan grew into a strong, downhill pass rusher, while also growing into a reliable run defender. In 2025, he finished 12th in sacks in the SEC, recording six. He also recorded 87 total tackles across his two years as a Tiger.

His production with Missouri has turned him into a likely early Day-3 selection in the 2026 NFL draft.

"Honestly, I feel like I wouldn't be in this position I am without the coaching staff and the people that were around me at Mizzou," McClellan said Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine. "So the support staff is, from equipment to the training side, to nutritionist, everyone definitely had a hand in getting me to this point, as far as just changing my mentality the way I view stuff, and just making me become a better person."

McClellan transferred to Missouri after spending his first two seasons at Florida. The transition to a different scheme was, at least according to his production, not much of an issue for McClellan. He's hoping experience making that transition to a different scheme will not only show off his versatility in technique and alignment to NFL teams, but also his ability to learn new systems quickly.

"Just being able to kind of play in multiple different defenses for multiple different years, like primarily based out of a nickel at Missouri and Florida it's like more of a 3-4 defense," McClellan said. "So having that experience to kind of translate both kind of styles so I can play in any defense that I get drafted to."

McClellan's adaptability was something that showed early in his career at Florida. He entered the Gators' program as a defensive end, not spending any time in high school as a defensive tackle. But once he arrived to Florida, they instantly tasked him with learning the new position.

Even amongst that transition, he managed to have a productive freshman season, recording 23 total tackles and 1.5 sacks on 267 total defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.

With those circumstances in mind, McClellan is still, in some ways, new to the position compared to other prospects. If this is just the start for his development, NFL teams should be optimistic about his potential.

"I didn't play d-tackle until I got to college, so each year was kind of a learning experience for me, getting better," McClellan said. "Obviously, this last year, my senior is my best year, sort of understanding how to beat those into your linemen and be able to get some sack production."

Even while having the maturity to quickly make that transition, Florida edge rusher Tyreek Sapp remembers a young McClellan having lots to learn who did the work to learn where he needed to.

"Chris works hard," Sapp, who was teammates with McClellan for his two years with the Gators, said. "He busts his tail. ... Green as a freshman, as in he was just lost. But I loved it though. He was a good blueprint freshman"

If McClellan was green as a freshman, he became a seasoned leader off the field and an impactful playmaker by the end of his time with the Tigers.

"Just like overall dominance and like my ability to affect the game, I feel like I was a lot more disruptive there," McClellan said when asked what parts of his game he grew the most with the Tigers.

McClellan will have a chance to show off that playmaking to NFL teams Thursday during drills at Lucas Oil Stadium.