Kentucky Wildcats 2014 Football Preview: Meet Blake McLain
By Tyler Cox
#24 – Blake McClain
Sophomore – Defensive Back
5’11” 190
Winter Park, Florida
His performance was a pleasant surprise for the 2013 season. He’s officially listed as a cornerback, but he played as the nickelback, a combination defensive back/linebacker mix which requires an excellence in pass defense and run support. He played really well, so well that the coaches started him for the final 11 games of the season, seldom using a third linebacker because of the efficiency of his play.
As A Wildcat:
McClain had extremely good freshman season, he recorded 59 tackles, which was tied for the third-most on the team. He was tied for the teams lead in pass breakups with five. Blake McClain had one sack and one fumble forced. His career high in tackles was 12 and that came against Georgia. He played in all 12 games, starting the last 11 of the season.
Ratings:
Rivals: ***
ESPN: ***
Scout: ***
247Sports: ***
What To Expect:
It usually doesn’t get much better for your freshman season than it does that McClain had. It’s had to say he will improve on those great stats, but I do think he will improve on the season he had last year. I think they keep him at that nickelback hybrid that he was playing last year. At the nickelback position I expect McClain to have in the range of 75-80 tackles with 2 interceptions, 1 sack and 10 pass breakups. I expect him to start all 12 games including the bowl game, yes I said bowl game.