Missouri Tigers Legend Jeremy Maclin Inducted into College Football Hall of Fame
Former Missouri Tigers wide receiver/kick returner Jeremy Maclin was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday night.
Maclin joined the 2023 class back in January, but after several months of anxiously waiting, he was officially enshrined during the 65th NFF Annual Awards Dinner in Las Vegas, Nev. The 2023 class includes Reggie Bush, Tim Tebow, Luke Kuechly and many more college football greats.
Maclin only spent two years (2007-08) in a Tigers uniform, but he shined on every snap. The two-time consensus All-American finished both of his seasons in the top-10 of all Big 12 (Missouri moved to SEC in 2012) receiving categories.
Nevertheless, Maclin was also a major threat in the return game, as he ended his collegiate career with the 10th-most kickoff return yards in NCAA history (No. 2 in Big 12) and added two touchdowns as well. He was also in the top-5 of all punt-returning categories for both years and ran in for three scores.
Maclin spoke about his abilities as a dual threat and what made him so dangerous during the 65th NFF Annual Awards Press Conference.
"The big thing was anytime I touched the ball, I was trying to score," Maclin said. "Kind of like what (fellow inductee Reggie Bush) said, I wanted to be different. I wanted to be a guy that it didn’t matter where you gave me the football, I wanted to have an opportunity to be able to make something special happen. That 2007 Missouri team was loaded—We had a lot of guys that could do a lot of different things and I was just trying to add my own little flavor to it. I prefer punts over kickoffs, but I didn’t mind doing either one."
Missouri was No. 1 in the AP Poll at one point in 2007 and finished at the No. 4 spot. Maclin credited his teammates and fellow College Football Hall-of-Famer, head coach Gary Pinkel, for the historic season.
"We had a lot of guys that were pretty talented, but it goes way beyond that—you have to have a locker room that’s close and enjoys playing together, a group of guys that are selfless (and we had that) and GP assembled a great staff," Maclin said. "He’s like a second father to me. Not only is he a great coach but one of the better people I’ve come across in my life. They really made Mizzou feel like home."
The Tigers hadn't won 10 games in a season since 1960, but Maclin's tremendous impact helped Missouri earn double-digit victories in both of his years there. They also took home the Cotton Bowl and Alamo Bowl trophies in that span.
Similar to his time in Missouri, Maclin's impact was also immediate in the NFL, as the Philadelphia Eagles' 19th overall pick of the 2009 draft finished third in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.
He played eight years in the league for three different teams, but his time in Philadelphia was indisputably his best tenure. In his final season as an Eagle (2014), the then-26-year-old posted career highs in all three receiving categories: 85 receptions for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns.
